MATT’S EPIC JOURNEY ACROSS THE CHANNEL
Due to favourable weather conditions Matt ended up setting off for France
at 5.30am on Tuesday morning.
The first 12 hours of the swim went to plan as we passed through both
shipping lanes and passed a number of passenger ferries. The only major
incident during this time was Matt getting a jelly fish full in the face -
something of a rite of passage for channel swimmers.
As we entered French waters and drew to within 3 miles of the French coast
the tide has changed which meant we were dragged sideways and back out
to sea which meant that Matt has to swum to stand still for an hour and a
half.
Despite this he battled on to beat the tide to get himself within 1 mile of
the beach.
Unfortunately this epic battle then took it’s toll. With Matt now barely
able to string a sentence together and floundering through exhaustion, the
crew took the difficult decision to take him out of the water with a mile
to go (he still wanted to carry on). By this stage Matt had been swimming
non-stop for 15 hours 47 mins.
While he didn’t touch French sand, due to the tide Matt actually swum
further than 21 miles during this period. This way an epic day and a truely
great achievement.
What’s more we have managed to raise over £2,000 for the Fred Foundation so
thank you to all of you who contributed.
Black Washing Machine!
Great excitement today, a black washing machine was spotted in the latest Tesco catalogue…”Buy black washing machine “- good language methinks…then later… ”take black washing machine in a white van to house” Even better.
Sad and Happy News
Very sad news in the papers this week to hear about yet another desperate mum killing her autistic child…
Happy news that our friends have been successsful with their Special Educational Needs tribunal. Both of their children have been awarded full funding at the specialist schools of their parents’ choice and the local authority ordered to pay for them. The Education Authority were NOT able to prove that the schools they were recommending could meet the children’s needs. A victory indeed – but so much stress and money involved to get to this point.
Guardian Autism Update
The Guardian has an interesting article today on Autism. The supplement explores the difficulties and challenges facing children on the autistic spectrum moving schools and within schools. Find it on line on www.guardian.co.uk
Felicity
Swimming….?!
Driving to school this morning he asked ”Where’s my swimming stuff?” What a breakthrough – i nearly crashed the car - “In the back of the car!” I replied trying not to whoop with excitement . Whatever next we might even get a “Why” ,”Who” or “What” question one day. A day full of hope today.
Watch where you’re going!
He keeps asking me to drive faster especially when we go down hills! I notice he turns round and looks through the back window when I do drive faster. To see, i imagine, how fast we are actually going or maybe he loves the blurred images. That must explain why he looks behind him when he is running along!
Katie dog..
My granny who is 98 has a dog called Katie. Katie died last week and my son doesn’t know what death is and i can’t explain it to him.
He keeps asking every time we visit “Where’s Katie” “Where’s Katie?”
It’s hard because Granny is devastated so i quickly say “She’s gone to heaven” He replies “Go to Heaven soon?” I hope not i say.
The Marathon..done
We are pleased to report that Duff conquered the 26 miles in style and came in yesterday at a perfectly respectable 4hrs 35 min’ ish (we have shaved off 10 minutes queuing for the loo!) Not bad for a Fat Dad – his words not ours. So far he has raised a huge £5,950 !! Definitely not bad for a ‘ Not So Fat Dad Now’ don’t you think? Thank you so, so much to all of you who sponsored him. We are over the moon.
Duff runing for Fred – on his way!
As I write, our hero Duff is pounding the streets of London for 26 miles! Thank goodness the weather has turned a little cooler for him. He was very nervous – understandably. I will report on his finish time soon I hope!
Remember you can still sponsor him at
http://www.justgiving.com/Duff-Borer
Felicity
What is real and what isn’t?
He loves the Alfie books by Shirley Hughes – how do i explain that Alfie in the illustration isn’t real – that he can’t meet the boy in the book and Alfie cant come round to ‘go in paddling pool in garden ? It is especially hard when you get asked about it every day.
…..It can’t be explained away…yet.
We live in hope..
