I have swam the channel now and I am still raising money for a great cause, this is the story of how I began my journey and completed it .

I started swimming as part of triathlon training a few years ago, the idea of swimming the channel began to creep into my head but I didn't say it out loud for a while, after all, what kind of idiot thinks that swimming to France is a good idea! I told my brother I was thinking about it, he told me that he thought it would be quicker to get the Eurostar! It turns out he was right, quicker, warmer and a lot cheaper, but it still hasn't put me off.

I have booked my crossing for August 2014 which will hopefully give me enough time to train and put on enough weight to turn me into a blubbery whale so that I can get across without getting hypothermia.

Recently I went on another channel swimmer's boat as support crew and I have to admit, it was a bit of a reality check! I have never seen such a gruelling feat of endurance. The man was in the sea for 17 hours and was sick for 13 of them. Watching him struggle was both scary and inspiring and at least I have some idea now of what lies ahead.

I am swimming for the Woodland’s Hospice because recently a friend lost her Dad, and this is the place where he was looked after at the end of his life. A lot of the sponsorship money I received when fundraising for a homelessness charity came from Liverpool, so now we thought we would bring it a bit closer to home. But really it doesn’t matter where it comes from, or to which Borough it goes, cancer doesn’t discriminate and it doesn’t care where you come from or how much you have. The aim of raising the money here is to try and contribute to some care and support for people with life limiting illnesses and their families. So when I have to get up at 6 o'clock to go to the park and get in a freezing pond, this is who it's for.

At the moment my training mostly involves getting in very cold water, swimming in the pool for hours and eating vast amounts of food, but it is an exciting journey and one that I am enjoying (except in Hyde Park Serpentine at 6 in the morning). Everytime I see that someone has sponsored my efforts it gives me that extra push that I need with my training. And you can rest assured that 100% of donations is going straight to the charity, the costs of the swim are being met privately and not from donations or charity money.

Please support me if you can and send me your messages. The charity I have chosen is grateful for every pound of donations they receive and every little helps.

Many, many thanks.

Michael

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