Thanks for visiting my Peter Pan Cup page,

This 25 December, while most normal people are waking up in their warm beds to the excitement of Christmas pressies, yummy food and seeing loved ones, I will... gulp.... be breaking the ice of the in Hyde Park London, to swim my guts out in the annual Peter Pan Cup.  Yes, it's a swimming race held each year at 8.30am on Christmas morning.  No wetsuits are allowed.

Why? (one might ask).  Because I’m sadistic and think I secretly might actually enjoy it.  Also, to raise funds for a great charity called Contact the Elderly.  They seek to fight loneliness and isolation among the elderly.  Their simple but genius idea is that one Sunday afternoon a month volunteers drive older members to a volunteer host’s home for tea, cake and companionship. Hosts take it in turn to welcome the small group of older people and volunteer drivers into their home for a few hours.

Increasingly, evidence shows that loneliness and the associated social isolation of older people plays a pivotal role in their wellbeing, affecting both their physical and mental health.  The tea parties encourage discrete regular monitoring of the health and welfare of particularly vulnerable people.  They also encourage inter-generational links.

Tito and I began volunteering for Contact the Elderly earlier in the year.  We've got to know the elderly in our group - many of whom are in their late 80’s and 90’s - and I can vouch for the fact that it's a great and worthwhile charity.  We will all grow old, and hopefully we'll be lucky enough to have great friends and family around to keep us active and social.  For those that are not so lucky however, a charity like this can be a lifeline.

If you want to find out more about Contact the Elderly or about volunteering for them, visit www.contact-the-elderly.org.uk

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure.

So please donate now - every little bit helps.  And I’ll let you know how I go on Christmas Day.  Brrrrrr...

xx Cris