Updated on Jun 27th 2012 at 12:23 PM from the JustGiving API

Feeling a little stiff this morning but the realisation of our achievement is really sinking in now.

Updated on Jun 25th 2012 at 8:53 PM from the JustGiving API

Some last minute squad changes took all afternoon to get arranged. The paperwork is strict and it's only in the last five minutes that we can officially welcome our reserves James and Tim to the team.

Updated on Jun 24th 2012 at 3:21 PM from the JustGiving API

Latest news... We have an ETD... 0130 on Tuesday.

Updated on Jun 23rd 2012 at 7:02 PM from the JustGiving API

Latest news from the captain is that assuming the winds subside as forecast, we are looking hopeful for Monday or Tuesday.

Updated on May 28th 2012 at 10:25 AM from the JustGiving API

After another long spell of training the main event once again looms on the horizon. The recent good weather has spurred us all on and we're trying to convince ourselves that it's just a nice day out on a boat with some swimming thrown in to cool off. Nigel has however kept our feet on the ground with his constant reminders of just how cold and dirty it's going to be, but thankfully the rest of us are maintaining huge optimism with ignorant bliss! Less than four weeks to go so a real desire to push our fundraising and hit our target. Every penny counts, so please tell as many people as you can and help us to get there.

Text 'CHSW22 £10' to 70070 now to sponsor us, just £10 from our friends will help us reach our target!

Update Sept 2nd 2011

After lot's of diary sychronising to find a suitable date for us to complete our challenge, we've exhausted ourselves.

Unfortunately, due to lack of availabilty of all of the squad and the closing window in the coming weeks, we have had to take the decision to postpone.

This decision has not been taken lightly, and it is because we've come so far and achieved so much as a team, that we remain determined to complete this as a team.

Our revised departure is now June 23rd-30th 2012, and we will now have to continue training.

We can't thank those who have already supported us enough, and continue to plead for every single penny we can raise for Self Unlimted.

Keep watching this space..........

 

Updated on Aug 10th 2011 at 1329

Mixed news to report!

The bad news is that we have had rather a frustrating week waiting to do our swim, and because of strong winds, we have been unable to start. This means we are now trying to arrange an alternative date in September, with backup dates going into the middle of October. We will get there eventually and I'm sure you can appreciate how disappointed we feel. That said, a recent earthquake in the channel, and a sperm whale being washed up on the beach around the corner from Dover and yachts capsizing in rough seas off Cowes haven't exactly helped calm our nerves!

The great news is that your messages of support and interest have been brilliant and highly motivating, but, above all, your generosity has been wonderful, and it has helped us achieve a total raised, so far, of over £20,000. Thank you all so much for your kind donations, and for those who still wish to donate, the site is still very much open for business! (www.justgiving.co.uk/channelswim2011)

 

Updated on Aug 8th 2011 at 10:56 AM from the JustGiving API

This is the week! The weather has been quite bad over the weekend causing us a delay. We expect to be heading off on Weds/Thurs. Thanks so much for all the donations that keep coming. Follow our progress on the links placed on our FB page.

Updated on Aug 1st 2011 at 5:47 PM from the JustGiving API

Into the final week before the big event and our teamsheet has remained largely unchanged. Our team is completed by Jason Powell who has been out with us in the sea and appears in our latest team photo.

Updated on Jul 27th 2011 at 8:52 PM from the JustGiving API

After last week's team swim in Poole, Dorset, we're all buoyed up and ready to face the music. A few of us have burnt necks from seawater and wetsuits but it's all part of the no pain no gain training. Please dig deep and sponsor us a bob or two for such a great cause, and a fantastic effort by all of the team to get to this stage.

Updated on Jul 2nd 2011 at 9:36 AM from the JustGiving API

As we arrive in July we have now been training for six solid months. The team: Liam Nye, Paul Boyle, Nigel Doggett, Gary Lubner, Andy Warren, Graham Clarke, Mark Stafford, Doug McKinnon and Tom Stanley. The challenge: Only to swim across The English Channel. Why: To raise money for an extremely deserving cause and because we're all slightly mad!

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.

Last year, whilst enjoying Christmas festivities, Liam and Paul decided it would be a good idea to give themselves a challenge and try and raise some money for a deserving cause. After serious consideration and the gathering of a team of likeminded, strong willed individuals the event was born. As a team, we will be swimming across the English Channel this August in aid of Self Unlimited.

Self Unlimited, formerly CARE, operates nationally from nine regional hubs and supports around 600 people with learning disabilities. The charity offers residential care for people with more complex needs as well as support services that include skills training and personal development for people who live more independently. Self Unlimited employs 800 full and part-time staff and has an annual turnover of c.£19m. Whilst in more recent years, the government has been looking to 'personalise' social care so that each individual has more say in what they do and where they live, there has also been significant pressure on budgets for social care, and living standards and the level of care offered are therefore under threat. As such, Self Unlimited, which relies heavily on government funding, has had to rely on fundraising as a means of supplementing its income in order to be able to support its 600 people in a full and proper way. This shift from state to private funding is likely to lead to further consolidation in the charitable sector, but we believe the steps being taken by Self Unlimited to embrace these changes will strengthen its presence around the UK and allow it to support many more people with learning difficulties in the future. www.selfunlimited.co.uk

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 Self Unlimited and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now, and if you haven't seen it yet, why not link to our facebook page for the event at http://www.facebook.com/pages/English-Channel-Swim-Aug-2011/125106057559395 where you can get a chance to meet the team and keep up with our training exploits all the way through to the big event.

Many thanks, and wish us all luck.