Raised: 134%
Target: £1,000.00
Raised so far: £1,344.50
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My story

 

We did it!

On Wednesday 11 June, aided and abetted by two strong and capable men, we plummeted head-first from a light aircraft two miles above the earth ... and we have lived to tell the tale. Thanks to the generosity of our family and friends, we have also helped to  enrich two charities whose work helps people to survive cancer.

The evidence is on the left. If you click on any one of the small photos (which were randomly selected by a cybermachine over which I appear to have no control at all), you go to a Flickr page where, on the right, you can click into a file called "The Evidence! (Set)". If you click on "browse" at the bottom of that set, then on "Detail" at the top left of the next page, you can see all the photos, in the correct order. If you knew all this already, sorry for wasting your time: I can only assume that your brain was not recently subjected to a G-force beyond the wildest imagination of the average 50-year-old.

Thankfully, we quickly got into the stable face-to-ground position, which instructors rather whimsically liken to "lying on a bed of air", and travelled at 125 mph through the icy atmosphere and a layer of cloud. 

 

About 45 seconds later, we were jolted unceremoniously into a vertical position as our parachutes opened. From that point, we had about seven minutes of being suspended in space, not feeling as though we were moving at all, but conscious that things on the ground (including, of course, Barry, who has more sense than both of us put together) were getting gradually larger.

 

Alison and her minder, Gary, landed on their feet – his quickly followed by hers. Steph and Steve landed on their respective posteriors, though his hit the ground first, and she was delighted to find herself – legs inelegantly splayed but all bones intact – between his polyester-clad legs.

 

Our 8-minute adventure involved our being out of the house for 13 hours and an unprecedented amount of cloud-watching and wind-assessing.

 

We both thought it was an amazing, fantastic, wonderful experience, though neither of us wishes ever to repeat it.

 

As you will know if you have visited our pages before, we aimed to raise at least £1,000 to help more people to survive cancer. We have already received just over £2,000, excluding Gift Aid. If nothing else, this project proves that we know some fantastically kind and generous people: if you are one of them, thank you very much.

 

If you haven't yet sponsored us, we would be really grateful if you would donate to either or both of two charities:

 

• If you would like to donate to the Institute of Cancer Research, please use this page.

 

• If you would like to donate to the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Unit at UCLH, please use this link.

 

• If you would like to donate half your money to each charity, please make a separate entry on each page - that would be brilliant!

 

We chose these two charities because Barry has now been in remission for over a year from the fast-growing and very rare form of lymphoma that he was diagnosed with in November 2006. We owe his life to the researchers who discovered the "magic bullet" part of his chemotherapy, and to the outstanding medical and nursing care that he received in the Leukaemia and Lymphoma Unit at University College Hospital, London while his immune system was temporarily destroyed by the chemo.

 

We booked our jumps direct with the airfield to save on costs. Barry paid the full cost of Steph's jump, and Ali paid £50 (just over one week's Student Loan!) towards hers. £115 was used to pay for the balance of Ali's jump, and all the rest of the funds raised will go direct to the two charities.

 

This is the official bit: "Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor us: The Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Unit, UCLH, will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you."


Thank you very much for your support.

With best wishes from two exhilarated and exhausted women,

Steph and Ali

Well done you two Donation by Jim and Cath 12/10/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

well done Donation by Hazel 04/10/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Well Done! Sorry it's taken me a while to donate - I have an excuse though, called Robert! :) Donation by Laura & family 09/07/08  

£10.00

Still cannot believe you did it! Sorry it has taken me so long to dip hand into pocket and retrieve sum to add to total. Well done again! Donation by Sandra Joseph 03/07/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Congratulations Donation by Helen and John 18/06/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Well Done. You made it! Donation by Bernard & Beverly Bills 15/06/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Hehe, amazing, well done :) Especially when it's so close to Father's Day. So glad your Dad's been i Donation by Sylvia Grice 14/06/08  

£25.00

Congratulations!! Happy to donate to such a worthy cause! Donation by Luke Pinkstone 12/06/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Good Luck to You Both enjoy the scenery if you can keep your eyes open!!! Donation by Pauline & Kevin Banks 10/06/08  

£25.00

All the very best Steph... We will be thinking of you :o) Donation by Lisalou & Deniseypoo 10/06/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

hope to see you at dancing in one piece Donation by rose 09/06/08  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

How could you do this to your sister! (ps thanks for loan of the carpet cleaner) Donation by Heather Smith 09/06/08  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Happy landings! Donation by Julian Bates 02/06/08  

£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid

Best of luck Donation by Sheila & Scott 31/05/08  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

This confirms the extent of your madness. Happy landings Donation by Malcolm & Kath 29/05/08  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Maybe you should drink some Red Bull, I've heard it gives you wings! x Donation by Jenny Rhodes 29/05/08  

£5.00

Half and half to two great causes, HAPPY JUMPING! Much love x Donation by Helen Rhodes 29/05/08  

£7.50

Reach for the skies, Steph! Donation by Morag Hiskett 24/05/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

You're free to enjoy the first 9999 ft 11" - It's just the last inch you need to worry about :) Donation by Anne, Peter, Ella & Becky 19/05/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

We won,t say break a leg! have a great time and enjoy the view.Well done on setting your sights high in your fundraising adventure. Donation by jen and derek 18/05/08  

£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid

Glad you checked the stats Steph! Donation by Clare Richmond 09/05/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Wow, what an amazingly crazy thing to do. Must be the best theme park ride ever. A great way to celebrate! Donation by Hazells 08/05/08  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

"If at first you don't suceed - so much for skydiving!" Good luck and have a great day. Donation by Stockbridges 07/05/08  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

I know you Pywells have big hearts ... it will be a stroll in the park! Donation by Michael 04/05/08  

£30.00 + £8.46 Gift Aid

I hear it can be fun but anm yet to be convinced so hope to get positive fedback from you's two!!! It will be fun!! A great cause good luck. Donation by Janice Ian Little 04/05/08  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Good luck to you both. What an amazing experience. Donation by Liz McElwain 01/05/08  

£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid

I'd like to pay you more, but this is all I can give for now! Best of luck, it'll be amazing xx Donation by Katie 30/04/08  

£5.00

Good luck to you both. x Donation by Katherine 29/04/08  

£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid

Best of luck to both of you. I hope you enjoy the ride! Safe landing xx Donation by Claudia Lewin 27/04/08  

£15.00

Bon chance! Donation by Tony and Jen 25/04/08  

£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid
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* Total raised online: £907.50
  Offline donations: £437.00
  Gift Aid plus supplement: £215.77

* Charities pay a small fee for our service.
Find out how much it is and what we do for it.