Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I know what a pain it can be when people hassle you to sponsor them, I do really appreciate it, but probably not as much as those who ASPIRE support.

You don't have to read any of this, you can just donate now!

However, I've tried to add some enteraining features to reward your thoughtfulness and generosity.

WHY? Why do I want to spend several hours sitting in a liitle boat in the middle of the English Channel, before jumping in and swimming for a couple of hours - in just my trunks?

The simple answer is becuase I'm looking forward to be smothered in goose grease (or any vegetarian substitute).

JOKE

Q: Why did the teacher jump in the sea?

A: Because he wanted to test the water.

I've swam the distance in my local pool. The following year I swam it again with some mates. The year after that, I got a bunch of kids and one of their dad's to join me. Tired of turning around, I then took part in the Snowdonia Swim Challenge earlier this year (hence the photo). So now it's England to France, no wet suit, salty water and the added challenge of finding my 'sea legs'. All being well, weather, tides etc, I embark for the continent (at some stupid time in the morning so it will be dark as well) on 5th September 2011.

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Well done for reading this far, as a reward please dig deep and donate now. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

May 2011: Training now well under way. After plenty of pool training through the winter, cold, open water training has now begun in earnest. The swims are great, but the shivering afterwards is a nuisance.  Sea swims at Brighton, then the following weekend Lyme Regis (which was a beautiful swim).

June 2011: First sessions in Dover harbour under the watchful eye of Freda Skeeter and her team of Channel swim specialists. The weirdest job among this team has got to be smearing on the vaseline. Two, one-hour swims on the Saturday and another swim on Sunday for an hour and a quarter. I need to manage a two hour stint to qualify for the main event. 

Plans are now a-foot for some river training down the Thames. It's colder than the lakes and should be more accessible.