We did it! Our Skydive for Saint Francis Hospice is complete

Christine and Tracey with fellow Saint Francis Hospice skydivers

Well, after what feels like a long month waiting for our new jump date to come around – we are proud to announce that our skydive for Saint Francis Hospice was successfully achieved yesterday – 11 June 2023. Christine and I have approached this day with nothing but excitement and relish at the thought of doing something amazing for an incredible charity and we were not disappointed.
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Following a very early rise we made it to the jump centre for 7am which meant that we were scheduled, upward bound, for the second plane of the morning. It was lovely to mingle with other Saint Francis jumpers including, Andy Furneux, fundraiser for Saint Francis. The jovial atmosphere was tinged with some nerves as the morning progressed and what we were about to endure became more apparent. 

The registration and training process was well organised and slick at the North London Skydiving Centre (just north of Cambridge!), which helped reinforce the feeling of being in safe hands. My nerves slightly kicked in as I approached the light aircraft, the noisy engine roared; hair and dust flying. I gripped the hand of my instructor, Tim, who did a great job of putting me at ease. One the plane there was no time for nerves as he ran me through what to do again and I was ready, first to jump, out into the open…
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What a rush! For me it was an exhilarating, wind blowing, mind boggling, could barely breath when I first jumped out of the plane, experience. I also managed to turn a slight shade of green after landing as I spun the parachute around a few too many times! And yes, they do allow you to hold and handle the parachute yourself! If this is something on your bucket list – stop thinking about it and book yourself in as soon as you can, you won’t regret it!

Christine’s summary of her experience...
“What an amazing experience. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat, as there’s so much to take in, in just a few minutes. I think my stand-out memory is falling from the plane and then turning upside down so that I could see the belly of the plane. I flew like a bird! Thankfully, it was a soft landing, with no broken bones, just huge smiles and exhilaration.”
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We’re so very proud of the 91 supporters who have donated a whopping £2,560 to our campaign. We also learned today that this skydiving event has currently raised, for Saint Francis, more than £27,000! AMAZING… and it’s not too late! We’ll be keeping our JustGiving page open until 23 June, so feel free to add, what you can, to this much needed pot of money.