Having turned 60 this year I wanted to challenge myself - not only to do something that I didn't think I could do, but to raise money for two causes that are close to my heart.

I spent two years volunteering at Restart, when we were living and working in Kenya, and have seen first hand what an impact it makes on the lives of children and young people who have had the worst start in life.  Rescuing street children and giving them a safe home, it is a simple model - love them, keep them safe and make sure they are educated. 

I have a separate fundraising page for my second charity - Siobhan's Trust.

My husband, Nick, has been travelling to Ukraine over the last year to take aid and donations to refugees both in Poland and those who are displaced within Ukraine.  He has joined forces with Siobhan's Trust, a Scottish charity, who take their pizza wagons all over Ukraine to serve hot food and drinks and hand out aid to the increasingly desperate people.  Not only do they provide this essential service but they bring music, laughter and hope and make sure that the Ukrainian people do not feel forgotten.

The one thing in life that I said I would never do was to skydive!  My grandmother was sent to France as a secret agent in WW2 and, after breaking her ankle at parachute training, and four failed attempts to fly her and parachute her into France, she ended up landing by boat so I feel that I am doing this in her memory.

I suffer badly from vertigo and can't even watch Spiderman or Avatar without my tummy flipping so I am already extremely nervous about doing this but if I don't I will always wonder.  As the motto for Restart Africa says, 'Think not what you are, but what you can become.'

Event date - 22nd August 2023