Richard Heller

[p]Hi, thanks for visiting my page.[/p][p]But why have I invited you here?[/p][p]Two years ago, my mother, Elizabeth 'Betty' Heller, was diagnosed with leukaemia.   Very sadly, she died last October.   She was brave and stoic to the very end, but leukaemia is a terrible disease which no one should have to suffer.  In a small way, I intend trying to help with that.[/p][p]In her memory, I would like to raise some money for Bloodwise, an excellent charity which is devoted not just to finding a cure for blood cancer, but to making better the lives of those who are affected by it.  Please visit their website to learn some more about them:[/p][p][url=https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/7GzJBFK6vhW?domain=bloodwise.org.uk][sup]https://bloodwise.org.uk/charity/about[/sup][/url][/p][p]Reluctantly accepting what someone told me earlier this year that "you can't get sponsored to go for a nice lunch", I have decided to take the plunge, quite literally, into something a little more demanding - the world of open-water swimming.   [/p][p]I will be opening my account with a sea swim in the Polkerris Swim Festival on the 26th of August and then in September I intend completing a swimmer's classic - one lap of the Serpentine in Hyde Park as part of the annual Swim Serpentine event - in return for a little bit of your hard-earned cash. [/p][p]Having always had a total aversion to endurance events, I do not expect this to be easy.  It turns out that one mile is many many lengths of Tooting paddling pool.[/p][p]If I could tell my mother I was doing this, she would laugh.[/p][p]I really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations, however small.[/p]