Sheffield medical centre team are braving an icy outdoor swim for charity

When they heard that the hospice’s Night Strider event would not be taking place this year because of the pandemic, they agreed to take the lead from GP Laura Cawley, a keen outdoor swimmer, and take the plunge into some wintry waters!

Natalie Dodge and Sue Tormey have already braved the chilly North Sea at Flamborough and Scarborough.

Laura will soon be joined by Hannah Mitchell, Bev Hegde, Kay Owen, Mel Moreton and Bridget Manning for a bracing dip in the waters at Hatfield Outdoor Activity Centre in Doncaster.

The only Night Strider not facing the cold will be Helen Jarvis who is instead giving up cake, alcohol and gaming to raise money for the challenge.

“We’d wondered about doing things like cold showers or icy baths before we decided on swimming,” said Laura.

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“It was such a shame that we couldn’t take part in Night Strider because it was so nice to do and we enjoyed both being part of it and raising money for St Luke’s.

“I’m a cold water swimmer myself and I swim with a club called Swim Your Swim at Hatfield and I was really pleased when the others said they’d join me.

“We’ve done some training and everybody understands the dangers of swimming in extremely cold water - we won’t be swimming alone and we’ll all have hot water bottles and lots of layers of clothes for as soon as we’re finished.

“Obviously everything has been delayed by the latest lockdown but we’re still hoping to get in the water in December.”

To support the Gleadless Medical Centre team visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gleadlessmedicalcentre

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