Wrestling Demons this World Mental Health Day

“Please” and “thank you” have got to be some of the most important, impactful words out there. Pretty simple to say too, right? They should be second nature to all of us. And yet, they’re not said enough.

Ask any hospitality worker and you’ll probably find that they can cite countless times where they’ve passed someone a pint across the bar, only to be met with silence. The events of the past year have shone a light on the hospitality industry. Crucially, there was the difficult reality that this sector was particularly affected by public lockdowns and restrictions. With this, many of us began to see even more clearly how important the industry is to our everyday lives, with pubs, bars, and restaurants offering invaluable social spaces for the masses.

Today is World Mental Health Day, with a theme of ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’. It felt like the right time to share an incredible project with you. It’s no secret that support for mental health in the UK and beyond is lacking at best. Those working in hospitality are often some of the worst affected and least supported in terms of mental health. This is why, when approached by the incredible Alex Fatho-Bland, creator of the mental health awareness project Wrestling Demons, we were keen to get stuck in straight away. We wanted to raise a can for the pint pullers, the food preppers, the team managers, the menu developers, and everyone in between.

PLEASE & THANK YOU is a 4% Rice Lager that was co-created by ourselves and our friends at London Fields Brewery, along with Wrestling Demons and a number of participating bartenders, managers, and chefs. Inspired by a love of hospitality and what ‘please & thank you’ means to them, artists Nic Mac and Iain Macarthur created the perfectly fitting can art.

Proceeds from keg and can sales will go towards hospitality one-to-one therapy sessions run by Me, Myself in Mind, with a Tipjar QR code on the 440ml cans to add a donation. Check out the Wrestling Demons project for a nudge in the right direction for free and paid support services to help give businesses some direction where many don’t know where to start.

We’re chuffed with how it’s all come together, and want to say a special thank you to Alex and his hard work making it happen. PLEASE & THANK YOU is available through London Field’s webshop and through a variety of ace venues across London and the South.