You can view the video and photographs of the skydive here:

http://wildelycreative.com/charity/first-charity-skydive/

I DID IT!!!

It was the most awesome experience - freefall is amazing and I'm still grinning at the thought of falling out of the plane.

Thank you to all my sponsors - we raised a great amount for the SAA.

(Am hooked! Might have to save up for another skydive soon!!)

 

IT'S BOOKED!!!!!

The skydive is now booked for Friday September 27th 2013. The jump will take place from Whitchurch, Shropshire with The Parachute Centre. I'll rush through the air before floating gracefully and landing softly, hopefully. Check-in time is 11am - jump will take place sometime after that. *jitters*

Just to put it into perspective

In space no one can hear you scream. During freefall with the ground rushing towards me at 130mph (or me rushing towards it!) no one can hear me scream. (7th Aug - starting to realise nerves!)

Please note: there is no date set yet for the actual parachute jump. This depends on the airfield, availability and weather conditions. This page will be updated with those details when they are clear. So if you want to watch me throw myself out of an aeroplane for a Ridiculous Act of Kindness, you can.

 

The first, second, third and fourth

July 2007 - an unkempt, skinny, black and white cat walks down a street looking for food. She can't remember the last time she ate and the rumble in her belly comes from more than hunger. There are kittens inside and a safe place must be found.

She is picked up and teased, thrown round by her tail by a group of boys. She manages to escape and rests in a hole in a hedge by a field. That night she searches for food, for company, for a hand to sooth her to purrs with a stroke. More than anything though she wants water.

This is how my first pet came to be in my life, along with her kittens when they arrived (my next 3 pets). I did some research and made sure she, Baba (for that's her name, with kittens, Harry Potter, Tamba and Lefty) had the best life I could possibly give them.

I don't know where she came from (she seems to have known a life in a family before this) and suspect she might have been thrown out or the family moved. So often animals are abandoned when a family moves to a different area. Especially cats. But also rabbits.

Abandoned and neglected

Often bought for young children rabbits are the worst treated domestic animals. Trapped alone in a hutch too small for their needs rabbits are entirely dependant upon their human for food, water and social interaction - something vital to the mental well-being of these highly sociable creatures. And if that human neglects to clean out the hutch the rabbit is left to live in it's own urine and excrement. Worse than a prisoner's life.

The fifth

May 2011 - That's how my 5th pet came to be in my life. The human involved didn't have the time or the inclination to clean out the hutch (euwww, it's a horrible job), feed it the right food (I thought sawdust would be fine), or spend any time socialising with the rabbit (it's just a rabbit).

The rabbit came to live with me. And after some research, and finding the right people to chat with through social media circles, I made sure she, Wabbit (for that's her name), had the best life I could possibly give her.

The sixth

Knowing Wabbit was a social creature I wanted to make sure she had company of her own kind, for comfort, for love, for support, to dispel any lonliness. That's where the Society for Abandoned Animals and Fudge (now known as Buddy - Buddy Wabbit) stepped in with assistance.

Fudge had been abandoned at 6 months old and taken in by the SAA. He had spent 18 months living there when I came along. The SAA helped me through the bonding process, which can be a long drawn out process but Wabbit and Fudge got on incredibly well. He came to live with us and I made sure he had the best life I could possibly give him.

June 2012 - He saw grass for probably the first time in his memory, he searched every inch of the house, learning about his new environment, noting the quickest way back to his safety place. He seemed nervous about the amount of space he had access to, that he could CHOOSE to be indoors or outdoors, he had CHOICE. He threw himself on his side next to Wabbit in a contented snuggle as he realised all was right with his world.

That's how the 6th pet came into my life.

Rescues under pressure

There were so many heart-breaking stories behind every animal at the SAA. One rabbit left behind in a hutch at the bottom of the garden when his owners moved. Trapped. Forgotten. Abandoned.

 A big softie, you might say, a soft touch, soft hearted, they're only animals. But don't we all need a bit of "soft" in our lives? Don't we all deserve food, water, shelter, comfort, love? And by we I mean every living thing on this planet. We are only animals.

And now rescue centres all over the country are reaching a crisis point. Financial pressures from every angle for humans mean more abandoned animals. And if this page helps just one more of them to find the right home for life then I've succeeded.

How you can help me help them help them (that's right, read it again)

So for a Ridiculous Act of Kindness I'm going to throw myself out of an aeroplane and scream like a banshee all the way down with my cheeks puffed out by the force of the airflow, terrified as the ground rushes closer and closer and closer, only in this nightmare I'll land without a sickening crunch-splat, I hope.

And you can give me money and I can give it to the Society for Abandoned Animals so they can help more animals for more years to come.

Thank you for helping my Ridiculous Act of Kindness and don't forget to share the link to this page on Twitter and Facebook.