Jeremy Taylor's Fundraising Page
Jeremy Taylor is raising money for St Catherine’s Hospice (Crawley)
“Jeremy Taylor's Fundraising Page”
on 20 September 2007
Story
On the 1st October I started to swim the English Channel … in my own special way
I’m sure you are aware that the Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, with 600 tankers passing through it daily, great shoals of jellyfish, the occasional lump of broken boat and other unmentionable items that really shouldn't be in the sea!
And I am a complete coward.
Which is why I'm doing my Channel Swim in a heated swimming pool at the Clarion Hotel (soon to be Crowne Plaza) in Crawley. But I promise that I will swim the 21 miles (2346 lengths) needed to cross the English Channel ... & when I get there, I'll be swimming back!
As you can see from the picture I'm in training and I do take this very seriously!
UPDATE:-
19-Nov, 6pm: And I'm back in the UK! Yippee. As I finished those last few hundred metres I could hear the crowd cheering and the excitement of being returned safely to lved ones. & then I remembered I'm still in a swimming pool. Still, quite an achievement, I think.
18-Nov, 12noon; Yesterday & today have put me in sight of land so I'll definitely get that last mile in tomorrow ... & then I can take up a new challenge!
16-Nov, 9am; another 100 lengths before work. Can I finish this weekend? With just over 300 lenghts to go, I'll be back in Blighty by Sunday ... or Monday!
15-Nov, 9am; I keep forgetting to bring you up to date & the old legs are getting tired now. Still, I managed a further 100 lengths of the pool this morning.
12-Nov, 6.30pm; Getting back in the swim of it today & completed a further mile. And I think I can see the White Cliffs of Dover! Or is it the side of a ferry getting closer? Oh dear, I hope it's a friendly ferry!
11-Nov, 10am; I'm still swimming away & up to 1680 lengths of the pool, which is 15 miles! Only 6 more to get home so I need to step up the daily amount ...
5-Nov, 6pm; Sorry not to have written anything for a while but I have been still at it, completing around 1/2 mile every day so I'm up to just over 10.5 miles. That's about half way back! & in the middle of all this swimming I got to redecorate our dining room!
1-Nov, 9am; Another quick half mile takes me to just over 8 miles, so I'll have to fit extra in this weekend if I'm to get to even half way by Sunday. It is proving slower coming back, but I do recall that the middle section was the hardest on the way over ... all those boats!
31-OCT, 9am; a quick half mile today before heading off to work
30-OCT, 6pm; ANOTHER DAY WIHOUT SWIMMING YESTERDAY, BUT I THINK I NEEDED IT AS TODAY SAW A VERY QUICK MILE & I'M UP TO 800 LENGTHS, WELL OVER 1/3 OF THE WAY BACK. I'M STARTING TO MEET PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THEIR WAY OVER!
28-OCT, 12noon; A FURTHER MILE, BUT IT WAS REALLY HARD WORK AFTER THE FLOOR LAYING YESTERDAY.
27-OCT, 2pm; MANAGED TO GET UP TO 5 MILES TODAY, BUT TOOK IT A BIT EASIER AS THERE'S A KITCHEN FLOOR TO LAY & WE'RE LOOKING AFTER A FRIENDS DOG, SO THAT INVOLVES WALKING!
26-OCT, 9am; NOT A HUGE AMOUNT OF TIME AVAILABLE TODAY, WHAT WITH WORK, SO I'M ONLY JUST OVER 4 MILES. HOWEVER I WILL GET TO IT OVER THE WEEKEND & HOPEFULLY BE UP TO 7 MILES BY SUNDAY EVENING. HOWEVER, I DID PROMISE TO RE-LAY THE KITCHEN FLOOR, SO THAT MAY GET IN THE WAY!
Further generosity today puts me past the £1500 target, so do you think we should go for £2000? ... I do!
25-OCT, 9am; I'M AFRAID I DIDN'T MANAGE TO SWIM YESTERDAY, FOR SHAME. HOWEVER I'M UP TO 3.5 MILES ON MY JOURNEY HOME.
As you can see I've received another astonishing amount from Andrew Gold of Roband. & I do like the suggestion on Everest - watch out for that in 2008!
23-OCT, 9am; WITH LAST NIGHT'S SWIM & MORE THIS MORNING I'M ALREADY 2.5 MILES OFF THE FRENCH COAST ON MY WAY HOME. IF I'M A LITTLE SLOWER COMING BACK IT'S BECAUSE OF THE DUTY FREE I'VE BEEN ASKED TO BRING BACK!
Due to the fantastic generosity of BAA Gatwick I've more than achieved my original target of £1000 & this has now been raised to £1500 - Many thanks to Susie & Julie.
22-OCT, 9am; HAVING HAD A DAY OFF YESTERDAY I ATE & DRANK TOO MUCH WHICH MEANS I BETTER SWIM BACK. ONLY MANAGED 100 LENGTHS THIS MORNING, BUT I'LL GO AGAIN THIS AFTERNOON & WILL GET AT LEAST A MILE DONE TODAY.
20-OCT, 2pm; THAT'S IT! JE SUIS ARRIVEE ET JE SUIS KNACKERED!! SO, I'VE MANAGED TO SWIM 21 MILES, THE DISTANCE ACROSS THE CHANNEL. IF I HAD DONE THIS IN ONE GO I'D HAVE SWUM FOR OVER 12 HOURS SO I'M GLAD I DID IT OVER 20 DAYS!
19-OCT, 6am; WHAT WITH WORK I ONLY HAD TIME TO SWIM 1/2 MILE TODAY, BUT I KNOW THAT THERE'LL BE TIME TOMORROW TO DO THAT FINAL MILE AND I SHALL BE IN FRANCE!
18-OCT, 9am; I'M AROUND 1.5 MILES OUT FROM FRANCE NOW & I THINK THAT I CAN SEE THE COAST! IT'S GETTING QUITE BUSY OFF SHORE, SO HOPE I DON'T GET HIT BY A BOAT.
17-OCT, 9am; A FURTHER MILE THIS MORNING BRINGS ME TO LESS THAN 3 MILES FROM FRANCE! SO I BETTER SLOW DOWN OTHERWISE I'LL GET THERE BEFORE SATURDAY ... ANOTHER 1/2 MILE TONIGHT SO ABOUT 250 LENGTHS OF THE POOL TO GO.
16-OCT, 6pm; A LITTLE LESS SWIMMING TODAY, BUT STILL AROUND 70 LENGTHS
15-OCT, 9am; 1770 LENGTHS IS OVER 3/4 OF THE WAY TO FRANCE. 6pm; A FURTHER 80 LENGTHS PUTS ME ON 16.5 MILES SO I'M WELL ON TRACK FOR THE SATURDAY FINALE. THEN I CAN START SWIMMING BACK, ... ONCE I'VE HAD A NICE PAIN AU CHOCOLAT!
14-OCT, 9am; AS WE'RE OFF TO A CHINESE ALL YOU CAN EAT I THOUGH I BETTER GET SOME MORE IN. UP TO 1700 LENGTHS SO JUST UNDER 6 MILES TO GO
13-OCT, 2pm; REALLY PLEASED TO SAY THAT I'VE REACHED OVER 14 MILES WITH A DAY IN HAND AHEAD OF MY TARGET FIGURE. I'M STARTING TO GET WORRIED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE OFFERING TO HELP WITH APPLYING THE VASELINE!
12-OCT, 6pm; TOTAL TO DATE IS NOW 1,460 LENGTHS OF THE POOL, WHICH IS JUST OVER 13 MILES. IF IT HADN'T BEEN SO FOGGY RECENTLY I WONDER IF I'D BE ABLE TO SEE FRANCE!
11-OCT, 9am; ONCE AGAIN WORK SEEMS TO GET IN THE WAY SO ONLY TIME FOR A 1/2 MILE TODAY. BUT THE TOTAL IS STILL ON TRACK AT JUST OVER 12 MILES
10-OCT, 6pm; UNFORTUNATELY WORK GOT IN THE WAY TODAY SO ONLY ACHIEVED 150 LENGTHS TO TAKE ME UP TO NEARLY 12 MILES
9-OCT, 6pm: A SIGNIFICANT MILESTONE ACHIEVED TODAY! I'VE NOW COMPLETED HALF THE DISTANCE TO FRANCE. THAT'S 10.5 MILES BY SWIMMING 1175 LENGTHS OF THE POOL. IT'S TAKEN NEARLY 6 HOURS OF SWIMMING SO I'M ON TRACK FOR COMPLETION ON SUNDAY 21ST OCTOBER
8-OCT, 9am: DAY OFF YESTERDAY TO SEE MY MUM FOR HER BIRTHDAY, BUT BACK IN THE POOL THIS MORNING FOR ANOTHER MILE ... & STILL NO CAKE! I'M JUST PLEASED NOT TO HAVE GIVEN UP BEER.
6-OCT, 2pm: EVEN AFTER MY BROTHER'S 50TH BIRTHDAY PARTY LAST NIGHT I STILL WENT SWIMMING & COMPLETED THE 7TH MILE. SO I'M A THIRD OF THE WAY TO FRANCE! ......... & I REFUSED BIRTHDAY CAKE!
5-OCT, 9AM: ANOTHER MILE SWUM AND FEELING A LITTLE STRETCHED! TO MAKE THIS REALLY CHALLENGING, I HAVE ALSO GIVEN UP CHOCOLATE, SWEETS, CRISPS & CAKES UNTIL I COMPLETE THE SWIM. SO SURELY THAT'S WORTH SPONSORING!
4-OCT, 9AM: FEELING GOOD NOW & COMPLETED ANOTHER MILE THIS MORNING. SO THAT'S 5 MILES IN TOTAL & NEARLY A QUARTER OF THE WAY TO FRANCE!
3-OCT, 6pm: I KNOW A FEW PEOPLE QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF THIS CHALLENGE, BUT I HAVE TO SAY IT'S STILL EXHAUSTING! UP TO 4 MILES NOW.
2-OCT, 09am: ONLY TIME FOR ANOTHER 1/2 MILE THIS MORNING, BUT WILL DO MORE LATER TODAY ...... 6PM: I'M NOW UP TO 300 LENGTHS; WHICH IS WELL OVER 10% OF THE DISTANCE NEEDED!
1-Oct, 09am: FIRST MILE COMPLETED & ANOTHER 1/2 MILE THIS EVENING
Please dig deep and sponsor me today.
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: St Catherine's Hospice 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.
I thought it would be good to acknowledge the lovely people who have sponsored me off-line because I'm very grateful to you all:
Matthew Keep; Corinne Stewart; Mark Beacham; David Younger; Margaret Lakeman; Peter Busby; Peter Thair; Carolyn Bentley; Reina Alston; Susie Howells & Julie Ayres/BAA Gatwick; Keith Law; Jane Duggan; Melanie Martinez; Richard Jameson; Allison Golding; Michael Coughlin; Claire Denman; Grant Wade; Gillian Hodsdon; Rebecca Gattinesi; Karen Osborne; Matt Turner; Mark Granger; Becca Scott-Martin; Val Taylor; Martin & Gill Taylor; Sue & Kevin Fossey; Nev & Sue Sidebotham; Bill & Tan Andrews; Iris Taylor; Martin & Nina Osbaldeston; Steve Sawyer; Pauline Bylett; Tim Hayes; Mark Tuppen; Shannon Mackey-Witton; Mary Ferrari, Graham Willins, Roger Fox; Clive Flynn; ... want to see your name on the list? You know what to do!
Thanks
Jeremy