{"id":44669,"date":"2018-11-27T15:39:43","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T15:39:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jomec.co.uk\/altcardiff\/?p=44669"},"modified":"2018-11-27T15:39:43","modified_gmt":"2018-11-27T15:39:43","slug":"cardiff-character-alan-edge-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/altcardiff\/2018\/11\/27\/cardiff-character-alan-edge-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Cardiff Character: Alan Edge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alan moved away from Newcastle to leave his psychological battles behind and found happiness and love in Cardiff<\/p>\n

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The UK government appointed the first <\/span>Minister for Suicide Prevention<\/span><\/a> last month in the wake of government-level discussions on the importance of ending the stigma around discussing mental health issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

One in four people<\/span><\/a> will experience a mental health problem at some point in their life, says CALM, a leading suicide prevention charity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alan Edge, 43, owns and manages <\/span>Princes and Paupers<\/span><\/a> vintage and bespoke clothing store in <\/span>Castle Arcade<\/span><\/a>, Cardiff city centre,<\/span>\u00a0and moved to Cardiff after facing mental health issues in Newcastle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alan describes himself as a creative, deep thinker. He says: “I’m tenacious, loving, ambitious and honest – too honest.”<\/p>\n

His life used to be \u201cerratic and volatile,\u201d he said, but now Alan is a calm and friendly Northerner, happily married and enjoying living in Cardiff, having faced his psychological battles and learnt to deal with change.<\/p>\n

Musical background<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alan\u2019s background is a musical one. He used to work as a record dealer in Newcastle, his hometown, selling second hand vinyl records.<\/p>\n

He also had his own record label and was a member of a band for \u201can exhausting 13 years,\u201d he says, but now he runs a vintage shop which aims to capture the fun and quirkiness of vintage style.<\/p>\n

Moving to Cardiff<\/strong>
\nAlan moved to Cardiff four years ago.<\/p>\n

In his thirties, he felt like his personal life wasn\u2019t working out, so when approaching his forties he decided he needed to move somewhere new.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started to blame Newcastle for how tough things were getting, but actually it was me\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After a particularly rough day, and being robbed, Alan decided he needed to get away.<\/p>\n

He no longer felt settled in Newcastle, he explains: \u201cI started to blame Newcastle for how tough things were getting, but actually it was me.<\/p>\n

I needed the change and it\u2019s hard to change when you\u2019re in the same environment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0This need for change summarises Alan’s feeling that often we all struggle \u00a0 with psychological battles that we have to deal with and support ourselves through.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 After moving to Cardiff, Alan had the opportunity to start again, but was also able to continue doing something he enjoys: reworking and tailoring bespoke and intricate vintage clothing.<\/span><\/p>\n

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