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BLOG: Men’s Day Out – ‘The best charity event in Plymouth’

With Men’s Day Out now finished for another year and 1,850 of the male population hopefully now fully recovered the St Luke’s Events Team go in to review mode. In order to attempt to make next years event even better we do our utmost to assess the wins and areas that need further thought.

We caught up with Al Joynes, a 4 year veteran of the event and founder of Plymouth based social enterprise and brand logo design platform domoredesign.com to give us his thoughts.

“Men’s Day Out is without doubt the best charity event in Plymouth. I look forward to it every year. It’s brilliantly organised on the day and has been clearly thought out so that it’s just very easy to do.

I’m sure many of the participants like me are in the same boat with a young family. My wonderful wife accepts that this isn’t just an excuse for a massive pub crawl jolly (apparently there are a good few pubs on the way) but a way in which to spread the word and support a very worthy service. Those of us that live in and around Plymouth all know or have known those that have been cared for by the team at St Luke’s.

It also poses as a great excuse to catch up with friends, colleagues and family. It’s a 12km walk carried out over 4 to 5 hours, believe me a lot of topics are covered during chats on the way around. You also find yourself chatting to complete strangers who like you have signed up to participate and the bantery and cammorardary is world-class (as you would expect from Plymouth). I particularly enjoyed talking to a couple of blokes dressed as bananas and a group dressed as Musketeers, I felt fully underdressed, but it did inspire some ideas for next year, not that fancy dress is a requirement of the event.

Throw in watching the rugby at Plymouth Albion at the end of walk, with a free pasty and pint to top it all off and you have a thoroughly entertaining brilliant day.

This year started with a full english breakfast at Plymouth City Market for our group which, as a veteran of the event, I absolutely recommend.

However, two years ago I used the Men’s Day Out as my stag-do. It was absolutely brilliant! Friends, laughs, many costume changes (thanks to my friends and ever hilarious brother), a ‘ahem’ couple of drinks, rugby and a load of money raised for charity ticked all my boxes. England also smashed France to win the Six Nations Grand Slam, but for some reason, as memorable as that should have been, I had forgotten that I’d watched the game in the Albion clubhouse and had to watch the highlights the next day.

If you know someone who is getting married after March next year I would wholeheartedly put Men’s Day Out in their eye-line as a stag do suggestion.

Above-all the most heart-warming part for me that continues year on year is the volume of motorists, who on seeing the masses of men walking together for a great cause, beeb their horns in support. I have already registered my interest for next year.” Al Joynes Domoredesign.com

If like Al, you will be looking to participate in Men’s Day Out again next year or you are interested in signing up for your very first go, you can register your interest here.

Thank you again to all those that participated in the 2018 Men’s Day Out and we hope to see you and many others again next year.