****STOP PRESS*****Thanks to a very generous donation the amount raised so far is £1,000 more than shown on the right. Many thanks Peter! At the time of writing this, with all your help my fundraising has reached £6,000. You are wonderful people!!!!

So, whats my story?

Many of you know that I have been known to jump into various lakes or seas and...well, just swim. Lake Windermere (solo), the Dardanelles (solo), Loch Ness (relay), Lake Geneva (relay), the English Channel (relay)... well, I am at it again. This time, it's the big one, my show-stopper, the Everest of swimming, the one that I have been preparing for all these years: The English Channel, solo, non-stop, all by myself, no breaks, no excuses!

And on August 3rd 2019, after a few false starts due to changing weather conditions, that's exactly what I did. Yep, I swam from England to France in a time of 15 hours and 44 minutes. Before the event I said that I expected to do it 18-20 hours and that 16 hours would be fantastic. So...it was fantastic!! Well done me!!

I started at 5 minutes past midnight and swam for around 5 hours in the dark. That wasn't a problem, except that's when the jelly fish decided to get me!! But when the sun rose everything started looking better. Through the shipping lanes, across the path of the ferries, it went smoothly until the pain in the arms and shoulders started to tell me that I really had reached my limit. But Channel swimming is all about reaching you limit, and then going further, and further. So when I thought that I could only go on for another hour, I went on for 2 more, and then 2 more. On that Saturday my demons didn't stand a chance!!

The boat crew tell me that I started going off the rails in the last 3 hours, but as far as I was concerned all was fine. I ended up landing at the foot of a cliff, not the nice sandy beach where I was supposed to, but who cares? I made it!! Strike off one line from the bucket list!

A huge thank you to Conny, Peter and Colin who looked after me from the boat, and Neil and Toby piloting. I would never have done it without them. I gave you a hard time, I know, but what can I say? Shit happens, live with it! I

And of course all you other dreamers that form part of the world of endurance swimming. We all do it for different reasons, fighting different demons, but united in our dread of failing, fear of the unknown, and our friendship and support of each other. Only my feet set foot in France at that moment on Saturday afternoon, but there was a crowd of you with me in spirit and friendship! Thank you all, you know who you are!!

THANK YOU,  MERCI, DANKE, and BOLLOCKS TO BREXIT!!