Wow, that was incredible!

The weather was a beautiful sunny day with fluffy clouds.  Pete and I were out of the house at 7am to be at Tilstock Airfield for 8am.  After signing papers and having a much needed sausage buttie I was briefed on how to exit the aircraft, my freefall and landing positions.  

I thought it was going to be a long day but I was one for the first three to get kitted out in a banana yellow jump suit and before I knew it I was sitting on the floor of the very small plane strapped to Simon my calm and friendly instructor.  The plane made a very smooth and gentle climb to 10'000 feet and out we flew, free fall, head first for about 25-30 seconds followed by the reassuring tug of the parachute and a gentle ride down to the ground.  

The first thing that hit me was the smell of the air up there.  I can't really describe it but it will stay with me.  Simon flew us through one of the fluffy clouds too which was ace! The view was awesome and it was really peaceful.  We could hear each other to talk as we came down.  I saw the jump before us had a rainbow coloured shoot so I checked ours out and it was blue and green (felt a bit disappointed!).  And we landed on our feet which was good.

It was great to raise some money for a brilliant charity.  Honeypot is a small charity based in Hampshire who hope to become national with facilities UK wide.  I got to know about them through Pete's Auntie who works for them and has great things to say about their work. 

The children that Honeypot helps deserve a break.  They are main carers for family members or come from a difficult  or abusive home life at the time of life that is meant to be carefree and fun.  They have little or no time to make valuable friendships.  At a time when their characters are being shaped the risks to them at this early stage in life are depression, anxiety, poor mental or physical health, social problems, isolation, bullying and absence from school).

You only have to read some of their testimonies on the Honeypot site to see how much being invited to have a break and make friends with children in similar situations means to them.  It has proven to be a life line for many of them giving them the opportunity to be who they are and act their age!  The charity also cares for the needs of the family member while they have a break.

These are children.  They are the future but also the present; working amazingly hard juggling school with caring responsibilities.  They deserve so much. What Honeypot gives makes a difference.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.