Christian Dixon
Christian's Sponsored Skydive
Fundraising for The Air Ambulance Service
Story
"There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy suggests, and try it."
So, I've picked a nice day (11th September 2016) and have every intention of throwing myself out of a plane in support of The Air Ambulance Service - a hugely worthwhile cause that we all hope we will never need, but can all feel warm and fuzzy inside that it is there in case we do!!
"The first part is easy. All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it's going to hurt.
That is, it's going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground. Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard.
Clearly, it is the second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties."
One of my favourite fictional concepts is the knack to flying from the book The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams; it's long been on my list to attempt a Skydive, maybe it is that small part of me that refuses to believe that flying is impossible... surely it's just that no one has actually managed to miss the ground (yet)! As is written in big bold letters on the front of the book, "Don't Panic!", I have every intention of accepting the offer of a parachute which i believe is provided as standard.
For two reasons, then, I've accompanied this fundraising activity with something a LOT less pleasurable.
Firstly, a skydive is my idea of a rather fun activity for a Sunday (a "nice day") and it therefore seems rather unfair to be doing this in aid of charity, when I'd happily do it simply out of curiosity to test Douglas Adam's theory on the knack of flying.
Secondly, this theory suggests that you can't intentionally miss the ground. It has to be accidental - something needs to distract you at the precise moment of touchdown. Over recent years, I believe I've found the most distracting and spontaneous pain that could prove to be the knack of flying. That is, the pain incurred from spending a long time riding a bike that strikes with little warning and can be absolutely crippling. Maybe, just maybe, this will allow me to accidentally miss the ground and sore like an eagle!!
As another fundraising activity, and to ensure maximum saddle soreness, I will be riding a 100 mile route with Robin Seddon.
To keep our spirits high, the milestones we have chosen to describe the route are all humorous place-names. I imagine the humour will wear off for us as the ride goes on, but hopefully it will increase your propensity to donate generously! We will keep you up to date with pictures from each milestone (pictures of the place names, not the saddle soreness...) and will regale tales of our bravery for those who ask nicely.
Perhaps you'd happily donate to my JustGiving page to support my ambitions of learning to fly (a noble act that I'm offering double karma points for!).
Perhaps you're a traditionalist that will only part with a generous donation if there is an element of pain (fewer karma points for this, so I'd suggest doubling the donation ;) ).
Either way, thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page and i hope that you'll consider donating generously for this amazing cause!
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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.