Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

For a long time I've wanted to have a go at swiming a longer distance but never had the courage to put this to the test. Then recently I started doing Triathlons and was introduced to the "thrill" of open water swimming.  It may not be everyone's cup of tea but I love it!  This has also reawakened my ambition to swim longer distances so I've decided to take the plunge by attempting a 10K swim at Dorney Lake on Sunday 27th May. This is 6.2 miles in old money or 400 lengths of the Magnet! Although this is nothing like David Walliams amazing achievement who swam the whole of the Thames earlier this year, a 10K swim is apparently the equivalent of running a marathon in terms of effort and energy required.  It's also 3 times further than I've ever swum before so I can't say I'm very confident.  The recent cold (and wet) weather also hampered my preparation.  The lake I train in only opened last week (temperature of 11 degrees!) and there's only so many lengths you can swim in the Magnet!  This is also one of the reasons for delaying launching my sponsorship page since I wanted to have at least a little confidence of achieving this challenge.

I will be starting my swim in Dorney Lake at 9am on the 27th May and (God willing) hope to finish around 12.30 - 1.00pm - hopefully on the same day!  So - if you fancy a lunch time stroll or picnic that day, pop along to Dorney and help cheer me on the last few strokes!

I realise things are tough for many people at the moment but if you can give anything, no matter how small it would be really appreciated.  The Open Church Project will not only transform the experience of those who regularly workship at St. Peter's but more importantly it will help us connect with and support the wider Furze Platt community

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Many many thanks !

Howard