Not Swimming but Cycling
The "Saddle Sore Seven" - parents of children at Swaffham Prior Primary School - have raised more than £5,000 following a 300-mile cycling challenge.
The avid cyclists, from Swaffham Prior, Reach and Burwell, raised the cash by cycling from the Eden Project in Cornwall to Swaffham Prior in a two-team relay ride, with each group cycling for 30 miles before handing over to the other.
The organizer, Helen Oliver, was joined by Mandy and Phil Kingsmill, Tim Doe, Adam Collier, Andy Tozer and Graham Lingley for the two-day challenge. Despite a lot of training in the flat Suffolk countryside, Mrs Oliver said nothing had quite prepared the teams for riding through the Cornish hills. Nevertheless, they completed the trip on time and were welcomed back to the village by school children waving flags, and church bells ringing.
The school has now raised £15,000 towards repairing the school swimming pool and can begin to apply for grants to subsidise the estimated £25,000 cost. Anyone wishing to donate to the fund should contact the school office on 01638 741529.
Team A having finished their first leg, at ten to five on Saturday, team B were
ready to set off on their first leg. Reports are that going is tough- the hills
around Swaffham Prior they've been training on aren't much in
comparison to Dartmoor!!
At least they secured some nice accommodation to rest tonight!
Go, Swaffham Prior Seven, go! Nearly £5000 for the pool is riding on this!
The White horse at Westbury - and everyone still smiling!
Team B got held up by a herd of cows at some point this afternoon, and
Adam's phone was low on power, so low on news to report today - but the
BEST news is that, after a struggle yesterday over the virtually mountainous
terrain of Dartmoor, and finishing almost twenty miles off target - today, our
intrepid teams have made up the lost miles, and are back on target to see us at
school at 2:30 tomorrow, as planned!
Ask Not for Whom the Bells Peal...
On the approach to Swaffham Prior, the weary cyclists were spurred on by the ever-nearer clamour of St Cyriac's church bells. This was due to John Norris and Andrew Camps in the tower, and part of the welcome laid on by the village. But the cyclists didn't know this. Why were they ringing? When they heard it was for them, there was some emotion!