At 16:45 BST on the 18th of October 2022, 23-year-old Jasmine Harrison became the first woman to swim the length of the UK. 900 miles and 110 days later, Jasmine arrived at John O’Groats from Land’s End, wetsuit chafing, saltmouth, jellyfish-stinging, and all. Only two other people have achieved this feat, Ross Edgley (2018) and Sean Conway (2013), but thanks to their efforts and Jasmine’s, we too can feel inspired by our own experiences of going the distance.
At an unspecified time on a forgotten date a decade and a half or so ago, in an equally exact and memorable moment in Provence, three fearless children took the plunge. The rightmost in the photo has a birthday today – so a huge happy birthday to my daughter! Thank you for the splash of joy and the energy that radiated from the pool to everywhere you go.
Happy birthday to all born this October weekend. May the days going forward amidst political and economic storms be one for celebrating all plunges and distances swum, chafing, thirst, stings and all.
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