Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Many people will know I’ve struggled with a back problem for the last 5 years – it took over my life and it’s all I spoke about – I realise how tedious that must have been for everyone! Well, thankfully, after a couple of recent procedures and a concoction of medication it is now significantly better – so much so that I even managed a round of golf the other day (sadly the golf hasn’t improved).

What less people will know is around the same time my back flared up I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. So shortly before lockdown I went through 6 months of medication (hormone treatment) and a course of radiotherapy – both of which have some unfortunate long-lasting side effects but, hey, so much better than cancer itself.

Now, in a lot of cases, cancer today is not the same ‘c’ word as it was, say, 30 years ago and I always believed it would be ‘fixed’. So, 5 years later it is still with some relief that I am delighted to say my PSA levels (currently the best non-intrusive indicator) are and have remained significantly below the target I was set – to all intents and purposes I am currently clear of prostate cancer.

We still need better research to find a more reliable test so I decided I should do something to help, something that is so far outside my comfort zone that people might be prepared to donate a few quid to, if only for the hilarious thought of me doing it. So on 29 September at 6.00am sun rise I am going to take part, with 1,500+ other mad individuals (and some friends) in the 12th annual North East Skinny Dip at Druridge Bay in Northumberland. I trust it needs no further description......

Hopefully that is worth a small donation for the amusement factor alone, but, either way, if you are male and over 50 and you've read this far, please get a test, if caught early this is very curable.