"I am planning a 5k swim to raise money for Hospice IOM in memory of my late wife and to mark the occasion of my 80th birthday. The swim will be a personal and purposeful challenge. It will take place in the Ramsey Pool in the final week of October – my aim, to swim 200 lengths (3.1 miles) within 2 ½ hours. The sponsored swim has the full support of the hospice and the pool management." Barrie

"Thank you all for your generous support. It is really appreciated.

I swam 4k (160 lengths of the pool) on my 70th birthday, for fun, simply because I could do it. I repeated 4k on my 75th birthday to measure my decline!

Since my dear wife died, in November last year, I frequently swim between 120 and 160 lengths in a single session. I find being in the water a comfort.

So, I decided to go for 200 lengths (5k, a swimming half-marathon) to mark my 80th birthday in October. It will be a hard personal challenge, but if the swim can raise £5,000 for Hospice IOM, then it will be a challenge with real purpose. Muriel’s final days were in the wonderful care of the hospice. She also loved to swim, until her dementia became overwhelming.

She would have told me off for trying to swim so far, but would have been quietly proud.”