Huge congratulations to Mike Cullen who successfully swam solo from England to France on Saturday 6 September in a time of 15 hours and 54 minutes.
In perfect conditions, Mike started well and survived injury towards the end to make it to France. Or if you followed Twitter accounts of Mike 'Fishlips' Cullen, he started how he finished. He jokingly played the one-armed bandits at a service station on the way to Dover, and following a shoulder injury, he swam one-arm for the final part of his swim. A very successful English Channel swimming one-armed bandit indeed.
More seriously, Mike was raising money for a cancer hospice and any donation would be welcome at this link:
The weblink for making donations is here
When you swim through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Swim on through the wind
Swim on through the rain
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown
Swim on, swim on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never swim alone
You'll never swim alone
(Apologies for poetic swimming plagiarism [JT])
Good luck to Liverpudlian Serpentine SC member, Mike 'Fishlips' Cullen who will swim the English Channel on Saturday 6 September. Mike has consistently trained all winter at Serps, he’s also done his share of carbohydrate loading at the cafe as well.
You can keep up with Mike via his Twitter moniker “Fishlips64” and he’s keen to get some new friends. Tim Denyer also added tweets
Mike’s support crew include the current Mrs Cullen, an endurance swimming-suffering partner, and Mike’s salty dog cousin Peter. Mike will also have his swim coach along for the ride.
You can track Mike's swim via the 'Pathfinder' boat option on the live tracker here
The personal aspect is that Mike is raising funds for a cancer hospice called the Woodlands Hospice Charitable Trust. This cause has been brought closer to Mike as his cousin Peter lost his wife to cancer less than a year ago.
The weblink for making donations is here
As Mike says on a serious note “thank you once again for your encouragement it is much appreciated.”
A brief summary regarding the successes of the 23 year old hospice are listed here. The Woodlands Hospice Charitable Trust is an independent registered charity which was set up in 1991 in order to raise the funds necessary to build and run Woodlands Hospice. The experiences of General Practitioners, Macmillan nurses and hospital staff identified the need for a facility for the care and support of those with life-threatening illnesses, and the Trust was set up as a direct response to the needs of local people living with cancer.
In 1996, the Hospice opened and initially provided Day Therapy Services. A Community Therapy Outreach Service was established in 2001 and consists of an Occupational Therapist, Physiotherapist and three Complementary Therapists who provide services in the patient’s own home. In 2005, an Outpatient Annex was opened, allowing the Hospice to offer Outpatient Services. In 2009, the 15-bedded Woodlands' Inpatient unit was opened. And in 2012, they launched a small Hospice at Home service.
More information about The Woodlands Hospice Charitable Trust is available here
