Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Some of you will know that earlier in the year I raised some cash for Muscular Dystrophy UK because you very generously donated money towards my little sponsored swim. 

I decided afterwards that I would try to swim Lake Coniston (5.25 miles) without a wetsuit and on Facebook the consensus was I should do this for Cancer Research UK.

Not long after this decision was made my dear friend Neil Hartley was diagnosed with Cancer. 

Obviously his adoring wife Jayne was devastated at this terrible news not least because a week ago today she buried her beloved dad Bernie, a victim of the same horrible disease.

Neil will be okay, I'm sure. He's young, fit, and his illness was identified in the early stages. But thousands of people like Bernie won't be so lucky this year.

I had no particular affiliation to Muscular Dystrophy, but I feel very strongly about swimming Coniston. It is rare that you make new great friends later in life and Neil is just that, a gem of a bloke, as all of you who are lucky enough to know him will testify.

So please donate, share and cajole friends into sponsoring me, not just for Neil but for the thousands of people out there, who many of you will know, who are living with and dying of cancer. I'll sign off by sending my love to New Zealand, where the same nonsense in going on with another dear old friend.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.