A BROMSGROVE woman Alison Hornby and her sister Susan Brookes swam Lake Coniston ‘end-to-end’ to raise cash for Macmillan Cancer Support.
The pair undertook the five-and-a-half mile swim in memory of Julie Read, who Alison had previous swam with Julie lost her battle with larynx cancer last year.
Coniston was Julie’s favourite swim and as her family were going to be there that weekend it seemed only fitting for them to go and swim it in her memory.
Alison and Susan were both worried they might not complete the swim due to injuries and problems with training but, they said, not only would Julie have never given up, she would have told them to ‘man up and get on with it’ so they did.
Alison said: “It was a lovely swim and if it wasn’t for Julie I might never have done it.”
Last year, Alison, along with Paul Husband, one of the directors of Bromsgrove-based Controlaccount PLC where she works, and three of his family members, completed a successful swim of the English Channel to raise funds for Cancer Research and Macmillan Nurses. They managed the feat in 17 hours and 41 minutes.
Paul said: “As a company we feel we should not only support charities, especially those locally, but also encourage members of staff who have a desire to take part in sporting and charitable events.”
Controlaccount PLC also set up a programme to help staff members who were unable to swim at all or who could but were not confident enough to take part in a sponsored swim. That saw some staff members doing a sponsored swim in a local lake.
And the firm will also be sponsoring members of its staff who are taking part in a triathlon next year.
Anyone wishing to boost the coffers further can visit http://www.justgiving.com/Alison-Hornby and pledge cash there.
