As a charity that helps men with mental health struggles, suicide prevention and those with prostate or testicular cancer, Movember is an important cause to us, as an employer with 80% men on our workforce.

Often, there is a stigma with building sites that people can’t talk openly about their problems. We want our team, and the people around us, to know that they can.

We’re proud to have a workforce that can have a laugh together, but that also treat each other with respect, and that come together to support each other through tough times.

Movember is so important, to remind anybody struggling, that people do care, and to support people going through cancer treatment.

That's why, handful of our team will be shaving all their facial hair on 1^st November, to see who can grow the best moustache. We’ll be drumming up donations, and at the end of the month, the person with the best tash will win a crate of beer – and bragging rights!

The Movember team is:

• Steve Byram, our founder
• Ryan Byram-Clifford, decorator and Steve’s son-in-law
• Dean Byram, Steve’s brother
• Mark Seal, our head stonemason

Ryan tells his story…

“One year ago today, I sat in a waiting room to be told that the testicle I’d just had an operation to remove had a germ cell cancer lump on it.

I never want to sit in that waiting room ever again. As a keen runner, non smoker and generally fit lad, cancer was never a word I expected to hear.

That “C” word made me break down in tears instantly and I sat in shock with my wife Soph trying to console me.

It wasn’t something I ever thought I’d have to deal with and was totally ignorant to the effects, symptoms and more importantly treatments.

The word chemotherapy scared me the most. I had absolutely zero idea of what it involved. I went home that night and I just wanted to sit on my own.

I then spoke to a few people who had had testicular cancer and educated myself with the cancer booklet the hospital provided. Once educated, I was prepared to tackle what it threw at me.

Two days later, I received the amazing news the scans and tests showed it hadn’t spread, and they were recommending five years of surveillance rather than any chemo or drugs.

Again, I cried in sheer relief. It was the longest 2 days of my life waiting for that news and I’d never felt so lucky.

The surveillance program was offered due to extensive research being undertaken on these germ cell tumours.

You just never know just when you might need their research and help.

I was lucky. I had been hit in the groin with a tennis ball and found a lump. If I hadn’t been hit, it could have been there for years without me knowing.

Lads, please just check yourself. It might not only save a beloved testicle but might just save your life.

Please donate anything you can to Movember, to help anyone suffering or recovering from the horrible word cancer.

Thank you ”