The Long Way Round: A birthday, a university, a second chance... and why I'm walking 21 miles for Marie Curie.

On the right side of the tracks.. well.. central really.. In Farnham, Surrey - July 5th 2026

The Long Way Round: A birthday, a university, a second chance... and why I'm walking 21 miles for Marie Curie.

Content note:

This article discusses depression, suicidal thoughts, bereavement, and mental health.

I turned 54 on Saturday.

July 4th, no less.

I've always been quietly proud to share my birthday with the United States. This year was celebrated in style with a drive to London, dinner and drinks, followed by the wonderfully outrageous production of The Producers at the Garrick Theatre.

London, as ever, was putting on a show of its own. Pride filled the streets with colour, music and celebration, while football supporters gathered to watch the World Cup. It reminded me of why I love the capital so much. There is always something happening.

As enjoyable as Saturday was, Sunday was actually the highlight of my weekend.

My wife Donna Davies and I drove to Farnham.

Between 1992 and 1995, I studied there for my BA (Hons), and returning after all these years was far more emotional than I expected. Walking those streets again, showing Donna where I lived, studied, and dreamed, allowed me to see my younger self through somebody else's eyes.

Farnham Train Station in 2026 - Back in 1992 - No Car.. No Money.. A Big Bag.. A Tinny Walkman and Dreams..

If you've followed my story over the last few years, you'll know it hasn't always been straightforward... Far from it.

The Long Way

My family often jokes that I never take the easy route.

Everything seems to happen the long way round.

Looking back now, I can see that many of my struggles with mental health began long before I recognised them.

My father died suddenly when I was just fifteen, on the eve of my GCSE's.

My mother struggled to rebuild her life before sadly passing away in 2004.

Like many people, I carried far more than I ever admitted.

Alcoholism was an unkind curse on an already traumatised family.

A few years ago, everything finally caught up with me.

My brother Chris died suddenly.

Bereavements accumulated. There had been prior mental health episodes, but this was the culmination of decades of unresolved trauma and depression.

The familiar treadmill of anxiety and depression refused to stop. Previous counselling failed, and medication just put a plaster on decades of trauma.

The truth is difficult to write, but important to say.

There came a point where I genuinely didn't want to be here anymore.

I had begun taking steps towards making that happen. Several actually..

Thankfully, I asked for help.

My GP was kind and compassionate. Medication was increased, and counselling was recommended, but like so many people, I discovered how difficult timely NHS counselling could be.

Sitting in the surgery car park afterwards, I searched for alternatives.

That search changed my life.

I discovered Marie Curie UK

Their counselling service gave me eight weeks of support that quite simply changed the direction of my life.

I often describe it as somebody finally helping me rebuild the foundations rather than simply repairing the cracks.

Today...

I'm no longer taking antidepressants.

I haven't touched alcohol or cigarettes for six years.

I exercise regularly and am actively training for an event

I'm healthier than I've been in decades.

Most importantly...

I'm genuinely happy to be here.

Returning to Farnham also reminded me just how unlikely my university journey really was.

I'd originally studied IT before changing direction into media.

A lecturer encouraged me to continue studying business, but something inside me wanted to explore creativity instead.

That decision eventually led me to apply for what was then a relatively new degree at the University for the Creative Arts (Then: Surrey Institute of Art and Design).

I travelled for the interview carrying little more than a portfolio of artwork and a huge amount of enthusiasm.

I genuinely didn't expect to be offered a place.

At the same time, another opportunity appeared.

I'd passed the assessment process for Heddlu Dyfed-Powys Police and was awaiting news during a recruitment freeze. So, I focused on moving forward with my degree.

There was just one problem regarding moving away to study for a degree.

I had no money.

None.

Actually, minus money, after completing my expensive 1yr media access course.

Coming from a council estate in Llandovery before moving to Cefneithin, the prospect of relocating to Surrey felt less like moving county and more like moving to Beverly Hills.

I remember nervously visiting NatWest in Carmarthen.

My proposal was simple.

If they trusted me with a very small overdraft, I'd find work, budget every penny, and withdraw only what I needed each week by cheque from Farnham. I budgeted for £50 weekly.

A few days later, I made one of the most nerve-racking telephone calls of my life from the Market Square phone box in Llandovery.

Their answer?

Yes.

But only £20 per week.

Even in 1992, that wasn't much.

It covered very basic food.

Laundry.

The absolute basics.

Nothing more.

Looking back now, I smile.

At the time, I simply refused to give up.

During every university holiday, I worked at the Pont Abraham Roadchef at the end of the M4 motorway in South Wales, eventually becoming a night shift supervisor responsible not only for the restaurant but also the forecourt. I remember cooking Bacon and Burgers on a griddle at 4AM.

Thinking about it now, that was an enormous responsibility for someone in their early twenties. I'm still grateful to the managers there who believed in me.

Without that job, I honestly don't know whether I would have completed my degree. I often think back at the lovely people I worked with, believe many are no longer with us.

Ironically, only a couple of weeks after committing fully to Farnham, a letter arrived inviting me to join the next police intake.

Another Sliding Doors moment.

I chose to stay with the degree.

I've never regretted it.

Farnham Changed Me

Never appreciated the Status Quo.. Except the rock band.. Deeper and Down is a banger..

Walking around the campus this weekend, I noticed a series of slogans displayed proudly around the university.

We Don't Want Your Normal.

We Don't Need Your Approval.

Radical On The Inside.

We're Not Here To Be Typical.

Thirty years later...

Those words resonated loudly with me as a message from my past..

Farnham encouraged curiosity.

It encouraged questioning.

It encouraged originality.

I was fortunate enough to hear remarkable guest speakers, including the legendary jazz musician George Melly, whose stories about art, life, and René Magritte fascinated me.

Years later, while working in Cardiff, I met him again entirely by chance at a restaurant.

To my amazement...

He remembered me.

Those are the moments education gives us that no qualification certificate ever captures.

Some of my happiest memories, though, weren't inside lecture theatres.

They were weekends wandering along London's South Bank with a battered Walkman, a packed lunch in my backpack, spending hours in the Museum of the Moving Image, and simply watching the world go by. I learned art by simply going to as many museums as possible and became fascinated by people watching the artists as much as the art. I used to sit by Van Gogh's Sunflowers and get lost in works by Da Vinci, Turner, and Holbein.

Whenever I visit London today, I still find myself making a beeline for the South Bank.

The Walkman has become AirPods.

Everything else feels remarkably familiar.

Why I'm Sharing This

Because somebody might need to hear it.

Mental health doesn't discriminate.

Depression doesn't care about your career.

Anxiety doesn't care how capable you appear.

Talking saved my life.

Support rebuilt it.

That's why, on 5 September, I'll be returning to the Gower Coast for Marie Curie's Beat the Trails challenge.

Last year, thanks to extraordinary generosity, we raised £630.

This year, my goal is bigger.

21 miles.

£1,000.

As I write this, we've already reached £681, with two months still to go.

Every pound raised is my way of saying thank you to an organisation that gave me something priceless.

Hope.

I also want to say thank you to Mountain Warehouse in Fforestfach, Swansea. I used birthday money to buy a new kit bag and training shirts, and after hearing about my challenge, Steph and Jaya kindly gave me a 20% discount. It was a small gesture that genuinely meant a great deal.

Kindness has a habit of travelling much further than the person giving it ever realises.

One Final Thought

For years, we've been told that men should stay quiet.

Keep going.

Get on with it.

I disagree.

Talking isn't weakness.

Talking is strength.

Talking isn't cheap anymore.

It's priceless.

If sharing this story encourages just one person to ask for help, then every word has been worthwhile.

If you'd like to support my Marie Curie fundraiser, share this article, or simply ask for my assistance to have a conversation with somebody who may be struggling, I'd be enormously grateful. Indeed, if you would like me to speak about my journey, I would be honoured to do so for any organisation.

Because sometimes...

The longest journeys end up taking us exactly where we were meant to be.

And sometimes...

The long way round turns out to have been the right road all along.

Remember I said about my arrangement to cash the £20 cheque weekly.. It was a deeply uncomfortable process, which lasted for the whole 3 years I was in uni. The Carmarthen branch had agreed to 'message' the Farnham branch weekly to allow me to withdraw the money. These messages rarely arrived, and involved me waiting quite often up to an hour to collect the money that was pre-arranged. The staff was friendly, but I felt an unwelcome irritation.

This process alone pushed me to my very limit.. Made me just want to give up and go home..

I never backed down..

Life has a wonderful sense of irony. After graduating, I initially pursued a business career, eventually becoming a Bank Manager with RBS before moving into Barclays Wealth Management . Following the financial crisis, however, I found myself drawn back to my first love—technology and project management. That decision shaped the career I've built over the past three decades and, in many ways, completes another chapter of what my family affectionately calls the long way round.

This is the NatWest in Farnham today.

I wanted to take out £20 for old times sake but appears that the NatWest is now closed

I'm still here, I never gave up.. but NatWest on the other hand..

Things change. Keep moving forward and keep the faith in yourself. Always.

I would be thrilled if you would please donate my weekly student equivalent of £20 or anything you can to my Marie Curie appeal.

You can and will make a difference. THANK YOU.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/tyrone-davies-2?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

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