A Tale of Two Mugs

Once upon a time I had a young lad called Joe working for me. He was 16, an apprentice, and he was a glorious fool. He frustrated me greatly but I loved him. I was his work Mum. He grew into a young man and I would spend such time with him talking about his great plan, how he was going to break away from the business and do something bloody marvellous. The xmas before he left my employ I had this mug made for him:





Operation Stop Sues (Soph) Squawking was a tongue in teeth joke with a young man who literally did things like stand in the middle of the office, after a bollocking, and smell his own shoe. And as result I would be a ranting old bint.

In retaliation, for my birthday a few months later I got this:



Best present ever. I used it for hot chocolate.

Now, Joe left the business about a year ago. He had successfully completed his apprenticeship, and buggered off to Barcelona for a job. That did not last long and he was back in the UK shortly after. This May I got a reference request because he was seeking a grant for Uni. I was so happy for him. He was shining.

2 months ago, my Joe, went into the local woods and hanged himself. He was 19 years old and had the whole world ahead of him. He was struggling with mental health issues which he kept secret from his family. I knew he had some issues with anxiety, we had talked about it a lot, and I had referred him to a councillor. It was not enough.

He was a glorious fool, and a young man, and complicated, and clever. He took his own life. Too many young men do. RIP my Joe

No-one gets to drink out of his mug anymore.