The Lost Words and Me; a guest blog post by Jamie Normington

Now and again I ask someone if they would like to do a guest post on my blog.

Jamie Normington is one of these rare people. He took it upon himself to walk from coast to coast, carrying a copy of The Lost Words, speaking with people along the way, and raising money to put a copy into every school in Cumbria and also money for and awareness of autism.

He had some strong support on twitter;

Today Jamie Normington @TLWforCumbria set off on a 200 mile walk to raise money for 200 copies of The Lost Words @RobGMacfarlane for 200 schools in Cumbria and to raise money for @Autism . His autistic nephew’s funding was cut at school . Please help him https://t.co/xbfcHxJPMr pic.twitter.com/CNFA68MCOL

— Chris Packham (@ChrisGPackham) June 3, 2019

So, read on……

The Lost Words & Me

Wow. This blog title’s a bit arrogant, isn’t it? Wait – here’s some context.

When I was 10, at the very end of the last term of primary school, I was finally nominated for a merit certificate in a school assembly.

The headmaster read out a citation and wrote a word from it on the back of my hand with a sharp Pentel rollerball. It hurt quite a bit and took a while to wash off. I’ve forgotten the rest of it, but went home for dinner, to show mum and tell her we’d to look it up before I went back. We used a recently book-club bought thesaurus to look up the word inked on my hand – “hubris”.

Ah, teachers…I wonder how many things I haven’t tried because aged 10, I’d been given my only award whilst being called a bighead. In front of everyone I knew.

Flash forward to 2019…

This June I decided to do something ‘big’, whilst initially trying to remain anonymous (it’s almost impossible). I wanted to run a Lost Words campaign for Cumbria’s schools. And I wanted to do it on my own. Not because I’m a control freak, but because I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually care. Or donate? Or even notice. I knew I’d need help but wasn’t sure what or how.

The Lost Words helped. It was the reason people noticed, cared and of course, donated. People who ‘see’ The Lost Words ‘get it’ remarkably quickly. (I’ve only ever met one person who doesn’t).  Some see further, some see faster but everyone sees something powerful.

The first time I took the book on a day walk, my group (aged 30-70) heard wren singing above the roar of a busy dual carriageway and later saw an adder slide across their limestone path and into some violets. My rucksack was too small. The book flew and fell from its straps and collected several scars that day. But it made its own mark on those who’d walked. Some went off to an actual shop to buy it and one even came to see me later that week to tell me they had. All were shocked, surprised and motivated by what we’d all discussed. The Lost Words had united them.

And I started to realise, my Lost Words walk was going to be easy. People noticed, cared and donated. I felt nothing could go wrong (that’ll be the hubris at work), but life’s not quite like that and plenty did. But it’s all just a question of how you choose to look at things isn’t it? And what you choose to do next. I chose to walk 200 miles. And I managed to raise enough money to fund a book for every school (and quite a bit more).

The single best thing to come out of my walk is not something that happened during the walk. It’s something that’s yet to happen, but if/when it does, will happen elsewhere and possibly not even involve me. But it will happen because I went on my walk. And it will be the thing I’m proudest of.

A footnote:

The strange thing is, I do have a really big head. It was this size when I was 10 (which is awkward, when you’re only four foot tall…especially when the ET film came out). But I like to think I’m no longer big-headed. Just capable of doing ‘big’ things. Like most people can…and sometimes choose to do. 

And along the way there were some surprising meetings.

Jamie achieved his target, having endured and enjoyed some of the ‘best days and the worst days ‘ of his life. Indeed he exceeded the target. Cumbria was added to the gilded map of Great Britain, created by Harry of Gorse Bush Murals

By way of the continuing magic of The lost Words we met up, in Danby, at The Lost Words exhibition, a great meeting in a beautiful place.

A recent posting on twitter saw Jamie taking a well earned rest, feet up, on an interesting chair, or is it a throne of Lost Words, waiting to head out to their natural habitats, the school library.

You know that feeling when half a ton of books are delivered on Friday just as you hoped to clock off?

It’s brilliant.

(much comfier than you’d expect too)@JackieMorrisArt @CumbrianRambler @AmyJaneBeer @NaturalistDara @rob_bushby @raringtoread @RobGMacfarlane @KendalMtnLitFes pic.twitter.com/RHDrODnQk4

— The Lost Words for Cumbria (@TLWforCumbria) July 19, 2019

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