Dr Ben Campbell

Just wanted to say a huge thank you for the kind messages and comments over the last 24 hours. Can’t express how grateful and thankful I am, genuinely saved my life last night. Day 29 of marathon training completed today, 5K run and 3K playing tennis! You are amazing, keep going!

I’m sure Belfast has many fantastic cultural, culinary and sports experiences on offer. When things settle, I hope to explore these types of things with my family. But there’s a beauty to ordinary life and ordinary places in N Ireland I’d like to celebrate as a recent transplant. As we have begun cultivating the simple rhythms of family life, a few places stand out. These are the everyday places which are already forming the context of our beautiful new life. And which confirm Belfast was the perfect choice for us. Here, in no particular order, are some of those everyday places which have already led to memories and meaning for us. 1. St Colmcille Parish Church, where our boys get a bit too loud during the Eucharist Prayer, but the parishioners are patient and welcoming. 2.The Ulster Hospital A&E where I took my six year old son one Friday when he awoke with breathing issues. The nurses and doctors were, as expected, lovely and supremely professional. 3.The Palmerston Recycling Centre where a helpful man led me to a bin where I dumped our used cardboard moving boxes. My dad loved taking me to the dump when I was young. I thought of him. 4.Belfast International Airport, and Cosmo Parking, which I’ve integrated into my regular work travel to London and Edinburgh. I bought Brian Rowan’s Political Purgatory in the airport WHSmith and read the preface while drinking a Guinness. 6.The Belfast Ravens women’s football club, where my wife went for her first training session, and returned excited about belonging to something. We watched fellow Raven, Tuathfhlaith, compete on BBC’s Gladiators and rooted for her. 5.IKEA, which has a great family-friendly canteen with windows looking over Belfast City airport. We fed the family for £18 then walked around dreaming about how we’d decorate our new home. 6.Jordan’s Town Loughshore Park, where I took the boys to run around, play and throw rocks into the ocean; and where we admired the distant Stena ferries and H&W cranes. 7.The McDonald’s drive through. London life was so hectic, so dense, and so expensive to drive in, we never had these kinds of simple moments. As silly as this sounds, I felt so grateful sitting there in the drive through queue; my boys somewhat impatiently waiting for their happy meals. 8.The local Post Office where I rushed in, panicked after I found a clamp on my car wheel. The lady at the counter was a hero, explaining what I needed to do. The car was freed the next morning, just in time for a drive to a friend’s house for a play date. I’ve lived each day here in gratitude for the love and kindness we’ve been shown. This is a city, as I guessed, well suited to family life.

New article alert 🌟 proud to have published this piece on meritocracy in honour of @BenMacCam-s work - read below 💙 as always, it has been a pleasure working with the @ClassClin folks to put this together @KatieJP7 @lizhenshawpsych @WillCurvis (1/2)

Whenever I go somewhere with water, or trees, I remember @BenMacCam. This weekend was no different, here is #30secondsofcalm (as he did) with blue skies, a beach, and even some poetry(!). There will be good days, not always, but they're there, waiting for us.