Blog 12: Midships – Finding Balance in Justice and Fairness
Photo by @gettyimages
When somebody recently said to me,
“But you’re a lefty,” my automatic reply was, “Not with everything.
I write with my right, kick a ball with my left, hold a badminton racket with my left, but a table-tennis bat with my right. And when I’m in my happy place cooking in the kitchen, I pour, chop, and hold things in both hands.” Of course, they weren’t talking about that. They were implying my social viewpoints.
That moment made me stop and think. It was the first time anyone had ever said that to me.
The truth is, my driver in anything socially motivated has never been about politics. It has always been about fairness. I hate injustice. I believe in open opportunities for all, grounded in merit and hard work. That’s my default setting, my midships.
In the Navy, midships is the centre line of a vessel, the balance point that keeps everything steady. It’s not about sitting still; it’s about steering with judgement and staying true when the sea gets rough. That’s how I see values and beliefs too.
Finding Balance at Midships
In a podcast I recorded earlier this year, I used a nautical analogy. Midships is zero, the centre line. Port is left, starboard is right. To steer a ship, you adjust by a few degrees. Five degrees port or starboard will safely change your course. Push to fifteen degrees too quickly and the whole ship tilts dangerously, risking a capsize. In the Navy, you’d only do that to avoid collision or to dodge something incoming fast enough to blow a hole in your side.
That’s how I see leadership and life. My default is balanced. I’m not far left or far right. I believe in steady navigation adjusting a few degrees when needed, but always holding course with fairness, accountability, and the belief that everyone should have the chance to thrive.
Grounded in Experience
I didn’t need a PhD to form these views. I left home at sixteen with a compass set by grounded morals: the world doesn’t revolve around you, it’s nice to be nice, and treat others the way you’d like to be treated.
My journey since then, the Royal Navy, family life, leadership, successes, failures, and setbacks, has shaped me.
My dad was my lighthouse. A frustrated academic who read everything from history to coding, but also a man who worked bloody hard. After leaving the Merchant Navy as a bosun, I remember him doing twelve-hour shifts, three days on, three nights on, three days off. It might not even be legal now. But his ethics, his duty, his love of this country, his work-hard-play-hard mentality, those things drive me still.
So do I believe the state should control everything? No. Do I believe that if you’ve got money, you deserve a better start in life? No. I believe in fairness. In opportunity. In accountability.
Justice, Not Politics
For me, social justice isn’t about handouts. It’s about ensuring every person has the chance to stand on their own two feet, knowing that if they stumble there’s a safety net to catch them.
It’s about recognising that hard work should improve your life while also giving something back to society. Fairness needs safeguards so no one simply takes out of the pot without contributing. That’s not entitlement, that’s balance. It builds self-worth, meaning, and purpose.
Call me left, call me right, I call it midships, steering with fairness, integrity, and a belief that opportunity should never be defined by background.
The Bigger Picture
We are all custodians of this country. Each of us has a part to play in carrying the vision forward, making the calls, and building a democratic society where people feel aligned and included.
Leaders should be there on merit, with the humility to listen and the strength to steer us in the right direction.
Guides, whether they’re mentors, communities, or external voices, provide insight and challenge, helping us see what’s coming and navigate it together.
Social justice is about making sure that families, children, and communities are not just surviving, but thriving. That’s not politics. That’s humanity.
Closing the Circle – A Year of Breaking Barriers
When I started this Breaking Barriers series, I didn’t know it would turn into a full twelve-month journey. Each blog became a reflection of what I see every day through our work at CHEXS, children, parents, and communities navigating life’s rough waters with resilience, humour, and hope.
Here’s the journey we’ve travelled together:
Blog 1 – Poverty: We began by facing inequality head-on, the gap between visibility and access. Poverty isn’t a lifestyle choice; it’s a barrier that holds back potential.
Blog 2 – Peer-to-Peer Support: We explored the power of empathy. When young people recognise and celebrate each other’s strengths, confidence flourishes and belonging grows.
Blog 3 – The Power of Opportunities: We looked at how one moment, a door opened, a hand extended, can change a life. Opportunity is the bridge between potential and purpose.
Blog 4 – Play and Outdoor Spaces: We reminded ourselves that sometimes the simplest things, mud, trees, laughter, teach the deepest lessons about teamwork and self-belief.
Blog 5 – Discipline: We reframed discipline as consistency and fairness, not punishment. Boundaries build trust and provide the safety needed for growth.
Blog 6 – Social Media Influences: We tackled the digital storm shaping young minds. Real connection, not algorithms, gives children their sense of worth and belonging.
Blog 7 – Innovation and Social Mobility: We talked about equity and inclusion as actions, not slogans. Diversity is a fact; equity is a choice; inclusion is what we do.
Blog 8 – Meaning and Purpose: We explored how discovering your “why” gives traction to your “how.” Purpose without meaning is activity without direction.
Blog 9– Resilience: We shared what it means to keep going when life throws everything at you and how support, not isolation, builds true strength.
Blog 10 – Aspirations: We celebrated ambition, those sparks that become fires when someone believes in you and opens the right door.
Blog 11 – Expectations: We talked about integrity, doing the right thing even when no one’s watching and how the expectations we set for ourselves shape who we become.
And now, Blog 12
Midships: is where it all comes together. It’s about balance. Fairness. Justice. Steering by principle, not politics. Knowing that the centre line isn’t weakness, it’s strength. It’s where people, values, and opportunity meet.
Each theme points to the same truth: when fairness is present, when opportunities are open, and when families feel supported, people thrive.
Breaking barriers means refusing to accept that background should determine destiny. It means standing for justice, for fairness, and for the belief that every child and family deserves the chance to find their place, feel valued, and thrive.
It was a small act, yet it captured something big: It reminded me of a moment with my son during his paper round. He’d slipped a paper through the wrong letterbox by mistake. No one would ever have known, but he still went back to the shop to let the owner know. The quiet expectation to take responsibility even when no one is looking. The shop owner had his own expectation, to deliver the best service to his customers. Both sides met those expectations with honesty and respect. That’s what builds trust, and that’s what truly defines character.
Expectations deserve their place alongside meaning and purpose, aspirations, and resilience in the GROWTH Programme. They may feel like the most difficult pillar because they ask people to look inward rather than outward. But when expectations are owned by the individual, not imposed by guilt, fear, or others’ ambitions, they become the bridge that turns resilience into action, aspirations into reality, and purpose into real change.
The Final Word – Legacy, Not a Moment
At CHEXS, we’ve never chased trends or jumped on the latest mandate. We do what we do because we know it works. We walk alongside families for as long as it takes, building trust, belief, and belonging, not quick fixes.
When people ask about impact, I think of Richard. CHEXS walked alongside him from 2013 to 2015, more than ten years ago now and we’re still delivering the same model today, because it changes lives.
Richard joined CHEXS at fifteen, unsure of himself and searching for direction. Ten years later, at our Co-Design Workshop, he stood and shared his story:
“From a kid who contributed to his community to now contributing to the country’s infrastructure and raising my own family… you gave me a helping hand when I was 15, and I will forever be thanking you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.”
> That’s what fairness looks like in action.
> That’s what opportunity can do.
> That’s what happens when people are seen, believed in, and given the space to grow.
- That’s midships.
- That’s balance.
- That’s social justice.
