Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am proud to be part of Phil & The Strait Ladies. We are a team of four and, sometime between 18th and 27th September, Alison Ruscoe, Margaret Peet, Philip Stainsby and I will enter the waters of the Mediterranean at Tarifa, Spain, to swim to Africa. We are a team, so we are reliant upon each other for support, but each one of us will be swimming a solo of the full distance of the Gibraltar Straits, from Spain to Morocco.

We are all training hard to achieve our individual goal, and everyone has various swim events booked throughout the year, to be used as training swims for the Big Event. My training swims this year have taken place in Sydney, Australia; in the waters of Southern Spain and in the beautiful coastal waters of Poole in Dorset, UK. Back in April, I took part  in the 2Swim4Life 24 hour swim event in Guildford, Surrey; in May I participated in a swim camp in Lanzarote; and on 23rd July I successfully completed the Brownsea Island swim. Every event is a useful goal in stepping up to the next level and to keep the momentum going for the swim across the Gibraltar Strait in September.

In making this swim - which will be the biggest one I've ever done - I'll be raising funds for Lewis-Manning Hospice in Poole, Dorset. My swim will be in memory of my dear Mum who died this year on 10th June. I will be honest and say that, while Mum was so ill, and following her death, I lost my drive and momentum and was in no fit state to train properly for some weeks. However, I am now back in the swim and determined to complete this successfully for Mum, who was always interested in my swimming antics but who, nevertheless, thought I was completely mad!

Mum was in Lewis-Manning for three and a half weeks, and was looked after there with such care and compassion. Although my swim cannot bring her back, I hope that the funds raised will go some way to helping other people who, at the end of their lives, need specialist end of life care, allowing them to live the remainder of their lives with dignity, and to pass away peacefully. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you so much for reading this and for your very kind donation to Lewis-Manning Hospice.