Submitted by Tarkan
A bit of team news to start off with; we have had a recent change to the SRLV Channel Swim Team starting line up. We bid farewell to Jagdeep Kooner who unfortunately had to drop out due to other commitments and we wish him well. However we are happy to welcome on board Yvette “Ariel” Du Preez who recently joint us as a reserve and planned to sunbathe on the boat all the way to France with a bottle of Champagne without dipping her feet in. Unfortunately for Yvette she will have to hold off on the champagne until she helps us cross the cold and murky waters of the English Channel. Yvette just a little reminder no wetsuits for this swim, sorry L
After my recent interview with the press for the local Enfield Independent , it appeared my story had blown up from Enfield to the Turkish community in London (http://www.londragazete.com/haber_detay.asp?haberID=8083) and then to global heights with an article in an actual Cypriot paper (http://www.kibrisgazetesi.com/print.php?news=114614) however I was brought back crashing down to earth with the less glamourous side of Channel swimming with a training session with the rest of the team at the Oasis Sports Centre. I say the rest of the team however both Taras and Danny flopped the training session with better offers well actually Danny had a better offer which I am sure involved lots of alcohol and pretty women but poor old Taras was working at a clients and was unable to attend.
Finally the Jubilee line was working and Rosie made it to our group training session with an injured finger from a game of basketball but soldiered on to put myself, Adam and James through the paces. We also had drill sergeant Yvette standing on the sidelines barking orders at us of “Less chat and more swim”. Yvette decided not to participate as she had a major training session planned for early Saturday morning but came to bond with the team (basically she fancied a drink at the pub). Due to the recent change in the clocks, we were now officially in British Summer Time and for once the British weather didn’t disappoint; we were bathed in glorious sunshine which meant the pubs after swimming were rammed to breaking point, however thanks to Rosie we managed to find a hidden little gem of a pub just off Leicester square. We discussed team tactics for raising sponsorship and Rosie gave us the gruesome details of what was planned for us at the upcoming Brighton Trip (I am sure I speak for everyone when I say we cant wait to jump into the freezing sea). And I actually managed to only stay for one like I planned (I guess the sun must have got to my head).
Other team News:-
Yvette had a monster session in the pool on Saturday morning whilst James turned up late for his 5km run. He had set himself an ambitious target of 19 minutes and 30 seconds to beat one of his work colleagues, however he just fell short with a time of approximately 21 mins. I am sure he will do it next time which he plans to do in a couple of weeks, good luck mate and make sure you get there on time this time.
I entered the swimathon 5km individual challenge (200 lengths) and set myself a time of 1 hour and 30 mins which I managed to just beat with an exact time of 1 hour and 29 minutes and 24 seconds.
Rosie’s finger is on the mend and she is now back in full training
Adam is racking up the sponsorship monies through his personal and work contacts. A big thanks to him and everyone who has recently sponsored us, we are close approaching the £3000 mark.
Taras is still overworked and underpaid
Danny is still suffering from a hangover.
The next entry will be after our first cold water swim, when we tackle the Brockwell Park Lido on 20th April.
