Hello Friends, Family and Swimming Fanatics,

What started as a conversation over a few drinks in the pub quickly became a reality and with the help of coach Tim Denyer, a placing was booked for 2020 and Chanel No. 4 was born. The challenge presented an obvious opportunity to help raise money for charity and Mental Health was instantly discussed as an area of interest.

James' Place is an initiative formed by Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley after they lost their 21-year-old son, James to suicide. James went looking for someone to talk about his anxiety and suicidal thoughts but sadly didn't find the urgent help he needed. James' Place now exists to support men who are experiencing a suicidal crisis.Using clear, everyday language to help men understand how they have reached crisis, and what is keeping it going. Importantly the men learn new ways of coping that will help if they are faced with a similar set of circumstances in the future. In particular, the support is focused on the individual and available free to men in the Merseyside and Hackney areas experiencing a suicidal crisis.

Male Mental Health has always been an area of importance to us 4 and with a huge growth in awareness, this seems like the perfect opportunity to continue the support network building around men and to remove the stigma associated with addressing the difficult questions in life. With 'It's ok, not to be ok' amongst many other drives to ease the internal suffering of many young men, we were delighted when James' Place agreed to work with us and we are very proud to be raising money for such an excellent charity.

With over 3 months of swimming pools and lidos being closed due to Covid 19, training has been challenging, however we are in full force, making regular trips to Dover and the window is getting nerve-rackingly close. Please join us on the ride and we'd love to hear from everyone and anyone and any donations are greatly appreciated.

See you for a pint at the end!

Much Love,

Chanel No. 4