Brighton; 6th - 8th May

First and foremost, prior to departure on the Friday afternoon, the team said a fond farewell to Danny who can no longer continue with his duties and thanked him for all his hard work and contributions; he will be missed.

Friday 6^th May

The weekend began in true style at 5.31 as the “Top Gear”-esque race began. In typical fashion, upon arrival at Victoria Station whilst waiting for their next leg of public transport [train], 3 of the 6 team members (myself, Tarkan & Yvette) found the closest watering hole available and began as they intended to go on, with a beer. In the mean time, Taras [Taz] and James were travelling by “The Clarkson” [car]. The first to arrive at our final destination would earn bragging rights for the weekend.

However, with a drink already down, it appeared that the affects of alcohol were already evident with the first of two, later to be deemed lightweights, Yvette.

Yvette managed to activate her on-board ‘saffie’ sat-nav and locate a store stocking only what she classified as South African treats. But if you ask me, Biltong, Flings and Beacon easter egg bars can hardly be classified as such! Nevertheless, Yvette knows how to get more for your money. An ‘under the influence’ lean over the counter knocked over a box of chocolate eggs and dropping to the floor, the attendant offered them to her for free!  What a discount.

The train departed at 19:04 and after 10-15 minutes, Tarkan made the first drinking error and ‘broke the seal’. However, it was a more than eventful trip down the carriages, and alcohol had taken its second prisoner as it was revealed upon Tarkan’s return that he had taken a fall in the cubicle. Let’s hope he fell backwards, or maybe forwards would be better; who knows!? A school-boy error nevertheless.

With Taz’s GPS indicating an estimated arrival time of 8.25pm, and our arrival at Brighton train station around 8pm, it left us just enough time (thanks to Google maps) to walk to our B&B in the estimated 20mins. However, we thought we’d play our hail mary and secured the win thanks to our public transport trump card, the taxi! Victory was ours.

With a huge smile towards Taz and James upon their arrival at the B&B, they disposed of their bags, and we awaited the final member of our team to arrive, Rosie. Our wait was short, and we immediately head to the pub.

Beer, Cider, Sambuca, Jaeger bombs, and a barrel of laughs later, it was soon mentioned by Taz that we should take a dip in the sea before the others. This would “not only introduce us to the cold open water before everyone else, but being it 3am, it would also give us a taste of what it will be like to swim in the dark!”; So a drunken stagger to the sea for some early acclimatisation soon became a reality as we ventured to the shore.

Only the photos can really justify the events thereafter, the rest of the night/morning is pretty much a blur!

I woke up with cut-up knees and shins, which I can only assume was from the ‘sandy beach’.

We do however remember the following sentences:

“I need a PUK code!!!” (Thank you Rosie) & “My knees are locked!!” (Thank you Tarkan)

Saturday 7^th May
My alarm went off at 07.30 and we all stumbled down to breakfast hoping to put some grub down us as we missed dinner the night before (explaining quite a bit).

We exercised a walk similar of snail’s pace down the coastline for our 10.30 meet with Aspire and the other teams to discuss the day’s agenda.

After waiting 3hrs in a gym reception area with temperatures similar to that of a sauna, the other teams had finally finished their pool based training and it was our turn. This training focused on techniques required for successful open water swimming. After a swift 16-length warm-up, Taz could take part no more as the night before caught up on him and he excused himself from the pool for a visit to his porcelain throne.

After the pool work, there was an hour to kill before we were on the beach and preparing for our initial acclimatisation to 10°C waters. This first swim really was just to become accustomed to the temperatures.

We stepped in and walked deeper and deeper with what can only be explained as stabbing pains to our feet and legs being the parts submerged. Obviously, submerging the groin area was an achievement in itself!! However, we battled on against the cold and slowly started acclimatising. After 20minutes, I could begin to feel my fingers ceasing and thankfully we got the sign to get back to shore.

Getting out and recovering from the cold is almost as important as the cold water swimming. We were advised that there is a three minute grace period between exiting the water, and the signs and effects of hyperthermia becoming major concerns. 

In these three minutes, whilst we are mentally battling to keep control of our bodies, stumbling over the pebbles and back to our gear, we needed to get dry and keep our core temperatures as warm as possible as quick as possible.

Everyone reacts differently, and I seem to be the lucky one as the cold does not seem to affect me anyway near as much as the others. I recommend asking one of them how they felt when they got out of the water, but it didn’t look comfortable.

After the group had warmed up, we were free to do as we pleased for the rest of the evening and I, Taz & James decided to take a long mile walk to re-ignite our childhood memories of the Brighton Pier and a game of crazy golf (which Taras won).

After a short trip to the end of the pier we headed back and picked up some of the local cuisine (Fish & Chips) and eventually got to our beds for some much needed shut-eye.

Sunday 8^th May
Another bright and early start as we all met down at breakfast, feeling a lot fresher than the day before. Weather forecasted as thundery showers, we were not looking forward to our plans.

A 9.30 meet on the shore for our first of two swims and the skies seemed to be holding out.
After the previous days shock introduction to 10°C seas, we were all a little more hesitant to get back in. Not only this, but we’d be in the water for 35mins rather than 20 this time around. Nevertheless, we battled on and through the cold and swam and swam and swam.

There were a couple of nervy moments when feeling something stick to an arm, leg or shoulder, which certainly got the heart racing. I was about to shout “JELLYFISH!!!!”  before I noticed that it was just seaweed. <huge sigh of relief>

I can only explain the feeling of swimming in these waters as being blind, and a mouth full of salt! You can’t see the end of your outstretched arm whilst swimming, with the swell obscuring your view of your swimming direction, ‘spotting’ became difficult. On top of this, a quick breath over the shoulder often became a mouth full of sea water as the waves tried breaking on us.

The call eventually came through and we headed back to the shore to get our gear on and head inside for a 90 minute recovery so to warm our core temperatures back up before heading back out into the cold waters.

At this point, I don’t think Taz, Tarkan, James & Yvette could think of nothing worse than getting back in as they tried dealing with the cold as best they could. I’m not afraid to say, but there were definite man love moments where I hugged Taz using my body heat to warm him up! (I don’t think he got the wrong idea?)

The 90minute break came around quick, and we were soon heading back out to the cold weather where the storm seemed to be holding off.  The objective of the second swim was to force ourselves to accept that we had to get back in.

When actually attempting the Channel in September, we will all most likely swim twice, possibly three times for some of us, so this mental barrier of re-submerging ourselves had to be accomplished. So again, we ventured in to the murky waters for another 25 minutes.

Finally, we got ushered out of the sea, and headed to the showers. After peeling the murky conditions off us, we got changed, and all headed home, with the taste of salt water to remain in our mouths for hours yet.

Cold Water Training - Brockwell Lido; 20/04/2011

Submitted by Danny

After walking through the mean streets of Brixton, armed with only swimming hats and goggles for protection, we arrived at the lido in Brockwell Park. Taras arrived fashionably late after an arduous day of auditing in what he described as a “greenhousey” environment.

Changing into our swimming attire in preparation for 15/16 degree water temperatures for some odd reason was a very slow process; however not as slow as the descent into the pool!

Adam was protected by a thick layer of man hair and so entered the water with ease. Tarkan ‘The Machine’ being made of metal doesn’t feel the cold and merely dived in the deep end and started swimming, although he was a little rusty! Rosie was all ready and waiting in the pool leaving just Yvette, Taras and I to battle the elements. Yvette probably coped most admirably having head under water in 2 stages: up to waist, above waist within 3 minutes (rounding down.) Taras and I struggled slightly more between us going through roughly 20 stages and 20 minutes. I have to at this point sincerely thank the 9 year old boy who mockingly advised me “it gets better when you’re head is underwater,” as without those wise words and subsequent spontaneous loss of all ego I’m not sure if I would have made it in.

Once we were all under, the actually swimming became a luxury as we were relieved to get our muscles moving, however we all had to stop briefly every few lengths to catch our breath as we experienced the cold for the first time. At the end of a 45minute session (20 minutes of that adjusting) our bodies all reacted slightly differently to the cold. Some couldn’t feel their toes, some had back aches but we all felt dizzy as we came out the pool which can only be likened to being drunk. Once we had stumbled to the changing rooms we swapped the bitter cold for the bitter beer as is usual procedure!

Easter Egg'stravaganza! ; 18th - 21st April 2011

Submitted by Tarkan

Back in February after all the tax returns had been submitted (well, almost all of them) a member of the tax team, although I still had work to do (contrary to popular belief that the tax team sit with there feet up for 11 months of the year and only work in January) I managed to squeeze some time in and come up with a simple yet brilliant fundraising ideas, which was to feel a jar full of mini Easter eggs and charge people a pound to guess with the closest winning all the Easter eggs.

I thought if we contacted chocolate companies they would be generous and donate a free pack here and there, which would lead us to filling a giant jar and help us with raising extra funds for the charity. However it appears that the chocolate companies are too driven by profits and making the next generation of British children clinically obese to help with our worthy cause.  One company (I wont mention any names but I am sure you will be able to guess with a little thought) wrote back saying they only work with charities that help seahorses were therefore unable to help people in the UK with spinal injuries. Anyway now that I have ranted and let my frustration out, back to the task in hand. The weekend before Easter Deniz and I went shopping for mini chocolate eggs and a jar big enough to hold them. We purchased approximately 2.4kg worth of chocolate eggs (minus a few handfuls that Deniz and I ate :-D). We then decorated the jar to look like the Easter bunny (check out the picture on the right).

After Deniz and I had counted the eggs in a top secret location in London we began selling the idea to friends and family and by Sunday night had managed to raise enough money to recover our initial costs and actually started raising money for charity.

On Monday Adam started flogging the idea at work, then it was my turn on Tuesday and Danny’s on Wednesday. On Thursday, Danny & I decided to try and double team everyone with the hard sale. As the only team member that knew the actual amount in the jar the person with the closest guess at the end of each day changed more often than the British weather. On deadline day, 5mins before the results were to be announced, Deniz had one final sweep of the office as nobody still had the correct answer. Up steps Mr Andrew Wheeler with a last gasp entry just as the results were to be announced with a guess of 453 making him one out from the total of 454, stealing the eggs from under the nose of Muiz with now the second closest guess of 456.

Congratulations to Andrew. See picture on the right of Andrew holding the eggs like he just won the Copa del Rey (thank god Sergio Ramos didn’t win otherwise we would have been picking up the eggs off the floor). See next picture on the right where Andrew seems to be slightly over excited at the prospect of winning the eggs (get a room). 

There were side bets going on to see how many eggs Andrew would be able to eat in one sitting before he was sick , however rumour has it he wasn’t sick as he warmed up with 4 KING size Easter eggs and washed the mini eggs down with a glass of pure melted chocolate!

Thanks to everyone who got involved and helped us raise £136 for charity. Our total so far is over £4000, we have almost guaranteed 3 team members seats on the boat.

Look out for future fundraising events coming to an office near you!!!