Episode 7 – making a difference – JH007 - a podcast by Karen Parry outdoor swimming

Has anyone amongst us not done a sponsored event? A sponsored silence in primary school. Something for established national events like Comic Relief or Children in Need. Taking on a significant challenge to mark a big birthday.

It must be quite rare to find someone who has never tried to make a difference, no matter how small, by doing something out of their comfort zone for the reward of their friends’ and families’ charitable donations.

This week I interview Jane. She takes trying to make a difference to a whole new level.

The interview is like an express train. Twenty exhilarating minutes that touch upon rescuing seals caught up in ocean plastic, swelling blood donation numbers and collecting warm clothes for the growing homeless population.

And this barely scratches the surface of the causes Jane is involved with. Think taking goggles that other people have left behind, and would otherwise go to landfill, to a small swim school in South Africa. Jane is really this remarkable.

It’s hard to keep up! (for details of all the charities and initiatives, see the links below).

But the cool thing is, it’s all done through swimming. And it’s all so simple.

Jane only really learned to swim aged 41. Which makes her achievements even more impressive as she has condensed them into the last 10 years.

She’s also swam in some amazing places. Wait until you hear her story about swimming through the Slush Puppy like water in Siberia to learn what ‘the catch’ really means for your stroke!

And in 2020 she plans to swim in Antarctica to draw attention to the ways in which we are harming the planet.

I hope you enjoy this week’s podcast. It’s inspirational.

And yes, seagulls do poo on my car windscreen at the end!!



Things we talk about (links to follow)

Crisis, winter coat amnesty swim, British Divers Marine Life Rescue, Little Shore at Amble, Castle of Good Hope, Low Newton by the Sea, Breadline Africa, Crisis Skylight Newcastle, Active Northumberland, Morpeth Leisure Centre, Great North swim, Vampire Swim, Bloodwise, Open Water coaching course, Mind, Polar Bear Challenge, Antarctica 2020, Siberia, Boulmer, Farne Islands, Bamburgh Castle

Further episodes of Swim Wild Podcast

Further podcasts by Karen Parry outdoor swimming

Website of Karen Parry outdoor swimming