70 = 2022
I promised I would communicate my 2022 fundraising journey with supporters so here goes…..

Firstly ….. nothing worked out as planned!
I think I must have been very lucky in the past as I’ve usually set sail and the wind has blown me roughly in the direction I wanted to go.
I’m quite glad I didn’t know what was on the horizon because I definitely wouldn’t have set some of the targets, ….in fact…… now …....I think …..about it, …..I actually cheated and extended some of them!

A year ago I didn’t know how much my hip joint would deteriorate, to such an extent, that I am now recovering from a total replacement operation. This happens to be my second operation of the year, I had a wart removed in May which turned out to be a skin carcinoma. These along with chest infections and Covid have kept me out of the pool for an exceptional number of weeks

Enough!
Here’s a review of the challenges. I did………

Complete a million steps in 97 days
This was originally set at 70 days, which certainly wasn’t unrealistic, but affected by arthritic issues from mid January. It’s significant that I passed the one million mark on 1st April, before noon!. Not sure about achieving this on a date reserved for playing pranks on people!
Swim 100 miles in 7 months
Again a completely realistic target which was missed. I’ve been swimming regularly three times a week for 25 years, rarely being out of the water through illness for more than a couple of weeks a year. So 2022 proved the exception, with disruption in February, 1 week, March, 2 weeks, April, 1 week, and May, 3 weeks. From then on it was plain sailing and I completed the distance challenge on 15th August 2022.
Set/break all 22 Staffs County Masters records in the 70-74 yr age group
The Staffordshire records administrator has agreed I’ve done it, although the website hasn’t been fully updated (last time I looked). The records are contained on two pages:
https://www.staffsasa.co.uk/uploads/1/1/3/1/113155371/records_masters_ladies.pdf
https://www.staffsasa.co.uk/uploads/1/1/3/1/113155371/records_masters_distance.pdf
Break 7 Midland District or British Masters records 70-74 yr age group
The Midlands Record administrator has agreed I’ve broken 9 records. The records don’t include the most recent, the 100 IM
https://westmidlandswimming.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/west-midland-region-masters-records-sept-2022.pdf
Now for ‘the highlight’ of my year in the pool. A British Record on the 1st September, in Rome, at The European Masters Championships, in the 200m Backstroke, with a time of 3:26.46. I won the Championship in both the 50m and 200m Backstroke events, gaining a silver in the 50m Freestyle
Completed 7000 mins of volunteering I went past this mark on 20th September. It involved litter picking, hospital volunteering, the Commonwealth Games and the one I’m most proud of, delivering Dementia Friends sessions. To explain, this is something I’ve done for eight years and was heavily influence by my mother. This year I delivered sessions to other volunteer helpers at Russell’s Hall hospital and health and social care students at Dudley college. I trained my 1000th student earlier this year and have now created 1085 Dementia Friends. There is a very real chance this work directly leads to improved outcomes for those affected by dementia.
Raise £777 for The David Nott Foundation. As one of the 32 people who have supported me in achieving these challenges I have to thank you for helping me surpass this target and reach £1308, to date. I’m sure this will exceed £1500 by the end of the year.
Promote The David Nott Foundation
I know of several of you who have listened to ‘David Nott’s, Desert Island Discs’
Here’s the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07djzyq
The work is also well described in his book ‘War Doctor” A signed copy of which will be winging it’s way to the lucky raffle winner All those who contribute will be allocated a raffle ticket for each £10 donated, to be drawn early in 2023.
By raising £1500 we will have fully paid for a doctor from a war torn part of the world, (inc. Ukraine) to be trained in vital surgical skills which will save the lives of the children and innocent bystanders caught up in conflict zones. This short video explains the work beautifully, please watch and listen:
https://davidnottfoundation.com/video/2022-a-year-at-the-david-nott-foundation/
Finally I was surprised to be invited to a reception for The David Nott Foundation in London. I met an array of extraordinary people: David, his wife Ellie, doctors and trainee staff from across the globe, including the remarkable Dr Edna Adan Ismail from Somaliland, members of the very small DN foundation workforce and a number of other contributors. I asked Ellie how much it cost each year to run the foundation. The answer: approx £700,000. In my opinion this is not a great deal of money, I believe the foundation punches well above it’s weight in returning amazing benefits for those innocently caught up in conflict zones.
Thank you once again for supporting me, believing in me, and most especially helping to save lives!