UPDATE, SUNDAY 22 JAN

Had a great evening at the Rugby Club with the Red Devils.  Thank you guys for giving me the opportunity to jump with the best.  And thank you for the brilliant photo and video of the event: see the last item in My Gallery below.  Haste ye back to Bahrain!

Thank you also to all who have contributed, among the latest being the lovely British Ladies of Bahrain, who dug deep into their purses this afternoon.  I am extraordinarily grateful for your generosity, as I'm sure are Help for Heroes.       

UPDATE UPDATE..................

http://www.arabianaerospace.aero/dailies/day1/

Well, the 'daredevil' diplomat (to quote the Gulf Daily News) landed in one piece!  And the photos you've been dying to seeing are below.  It was a wonderful and exhilarating experience.  The Red Devils, in particular my buddy Nathan, were simply superb: I'm buying them some sherbets at the Rugby Club on Saturday night as a thank you. Looking forward to the next time!  

Thank you very much to those who have donated. It really means a lot to me and to Help for Heroes.

The Red Devils, the Parachute Regiment's freefall parachute display team, are at this week's Bahrain international Airshow.  They have kindly offered me the once-in-a-lifetime chance to jump out a plane at 14,000ft (that's 2½ miles above the ground) on a tandem skydive. Simply marvellous for a chap with a touch of vertigo!  So of course I said yes, not wanting to be outdone by my ambassadorial buddy in Abu Dhabi, Dominic Jermey, who jumped with them last year and in doing so raised lots of dosh for a good cause.  

I'm jumping for Help for Heroes.  In all the postings I've had I've been very conscious of the sacrifices made by our servicemen and women.  Bahrain is no different, but here Afghanistan seems a lot more real given the RAF flights going in and coming out via Manama. So I want to do my bit to help the wounded servicemen and women returning from Aghanistan.  They are true heroes.  You can play your part and it doesn't involve jumping out of a plane at a ridiculously high altitude!  Just dig deep and donate now...please!   

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.

So thank you in advance for your donations and spare a thought for me and, more importantly, our heroes on the afternoon of Wednesday 18 January.