With a group of friends we are swimming the distance from  Bergen to Lerwick,  approx 370km, in both sea and swimming pools.

In the summer of 2019 we planned a family adventure, sailing on a tall ship from Bergen in Norway to Lerwick in Shetland. Sadly, Michael was unable to make the trip, which we now recognise was due to a developing mental health condition. In the end, Mike couldn’t stay with us and took his own life in October 2021.

Every day we miss him. Michael loved adventure and the outdoors, cycling and walking in the hills around Edinburgh, so this seems a fitting way to celebrate and remember the beautiful young man that he was.

“Death is at once an ending and a continuation. A breath is given back to the wind, just as ice returns to the sea. It finds new shape. But a life, too, lives on through stories and through memories, joyful in their retelling and their fleeting recollection. Loss shapes us like a sculptor, carving out our form, and we feel each nick of its blade. But without it we cannot be…”

Malachy Tallack, 60 Degrees North: Around the World in Search of Home (Birlinn: 2015).

Thanks for taking the time to visit  our JustGiving page.

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.