As some reading this may recall, last year the (then) Principal Officer team of Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service (CFO Paul Fuller, DCFO Bob Hull and ACFOs Simon Barker and myself) undertook two - and in mine and Bob’s case, three - of the 1 mile open water Great British Swims, raising funds for the Fire Fighters Charity.

This year, the four of us are aiming to take part in some of these events again. Somewhere along the way, I must have really got the bug (probably from the water in the Thames!) because this year I've entered the 'full set' of four Great Swims taking place in England - a total distance of 6 miles. This will start in Salford Quays on 15th May (1 mile); followed by Alton Water, Ipswich on 11th June (2 miles); then Lake Windermere, Lake District on 17th June (2 miles); and finally Royal Victoria Docks, London on 2nd July (1 mile).

This year, Simon Barker will be joining me for the Alton Water and London swims and Bob Hull (albeit now a pensioner!) and the Chief will be joining us both for the London swim. A great many thanks to everyone who sponsored us last year, for your generous support for the Fire Fighters Charity. We are aiming to raise funds for the Charity again this year, so please dig deep and sponsor us in getting extremely wet, cold and exhausted once more for this worthwhile cause. Thank you.

Julian.

Update 1:

Well, first one done! I completed the 1 mile at Salford Quays on Sunday 15th May. There were around 2,000 participants and I managed a time of 25 minutes and 3 seconds - which put me in 3rd position out of 79 competitors in my age group (50 to 54 year olds) and in 76th position overall. Obviously, I'm delighted! The event was televised live on BBC 2 - and I momentarily appeared on camera in the opening minutes of the programme! Next is the 2 mile swim at Alton Water, Suffolk on Saturday 11th June which both I and Simon will be doing. A big thank you to all who have sponsored us so far.

Julian.

Update 2:

Simon and I both successfully completed the 2 mile swim at Alton Water on Saturday. There were around 3,000 competitors in total at the event, of which 430 undertook the 2 mile swim - the very first time the Great Swim Series has featured this distance. I managed a time of 52 minutes, 47 seconds which again placed me in 3rd position in my age group of 50 to 54 year olds and in 36th position overall. Simon swam it in a time of 1 hour, 3 minutes, 24 seconds which put him in 28th position in his age group (45 to 49 year olds) and 178th position overall. We're both extremely pleased with our performances! Next event for me is another 2 mile - at Lake Windermere this coming Friday (less than a week's rest!). This will be followed by the grand finale - the 1 mile swim at Royal Victoria Docks on 2nd July in which hopefully all four of us will be taking part. Again, a great many thanks to everyone who has sponsored us so far.

Julian.

Update 3:

The 2 mile swim at Windermere successfully done! This was my first ever visit to the Lake District - and what a stunningly beautiful setting for a swim! Over the 3 days of the event, there were around 10,000 competitors of which 616 completed the 2 miles. I finished in a time of 52 minutes, 44 seconds (3 seconds quicker than in Suffolk!) which put me in 3rd place in my age group (yet again!) and in 48th position overall. I was especially pleased with this result given the greater numbers competing and the choppy conditions. Really looking forward to the final swim at Royal Victoria Docks on 2nd July - just need to keep up the training for a couple more weeks! As always, many thanks to all who have sponsored us.

Julian.

Final Update

Phew - that's the last! Bob and I successfully completed the final event in this years series of Great Swims in England - the 1 mile swim at Royal Victoria Docks in London on Friday 2 July. It was a great occasion with over 3,200 competitors taking part. Both I and Bob were extremely pleased with our performances – both of us breaking our previous ‘personal best’ times. I finished in a time of 24 minutes, 34 seconds, which put me once again 3rd place in my age group (50 to 54 years old) and in 115th position overall; Bob finished in a time of 30 minutes exactly, putting him in 40 place in the age group and 713 position overall. All of us again pass on our gratitude to everyone who has sponsored us in our efforts to raise funds for the Fire Fighters Charity– and for those that would still like to, this Website remains open for a further three months!

Julian.