Sirona Says

Mother Nature tooks its toll on the Worthing Birdman!

After all the build up and excitement around the 2008 Worthing Birdman, in the end it was mother nature that had the last laugh!! Saturday was excellent, and I watched the real flyers take off in near perfect conditions for them, and it resulted in a record of 85m being set.
But the early hours of Sunday morning saw the anticipated weather front really take control. With such a high tide and the storm front, it was actually the Beach master that canceled the day on the Sunday by actually closing the Pier because the waves were washing over the end!!

To say I was gutted was a complete understatement. You know what the event meant to me with regards to my brother, so it was a real shame that I couldn't jump. (In all honestly, the conditions were truly atrocious, with mountainous waves, force 7/8 winds and fierce rain - they couldn't even launch the rescue boats!!)

With film crews and the photographic press there, it was decided to try and still get photos and interviews and we assembled (in costume) in The Dome nearby. Then one of the TV guys had a great idea(!!) - why not pictures of all the competitors running into the sea (now with big waves of course) in costume! Suffice to say we did it. So what follows are a number of pics of Crocman in the rough seas, with some of the other Birdmen competitors.

Some

You can watch the official video of the 2008 Birdman, and yes, you might recognised a certain croc in there somewhere

In total we raised £1600+ for Leukaemia Research which was absolutely fantastic, although we all ended up in the sea, we didn't obviously jump. A massive thank you for all your support, it has been brilliant, and I know that somewhere, some leukaemia sufferers will benefit from this money raised.
If there are any people that did sponsor me based on me completing the jump, that would like to get a refund of their donation, then please do contact me, and we can arrange it accordingly.

I have been asked whether I will do it next year, and the answer is easy.......ABSOLUTELY!!!!

The Crocman of Worthing Birdman has captured the media's attention

On Sunday The Crocman of Worthing, as I have now been so eloquently tagged, takes to the skies in the Birdman of Worthing  - well for a brief moment anyway? I am reckoning 3ft horizontal, 36ft down into the sea!! (Follow me & my croc tweets on the day on Twitter )

My Crocodile jump in honour of my brother and Leukaemia Research has attracted some great media attention. Unfortunately the planned slot on GMTV today was pulled by the producers due to 'creative differences' (they wanted to poke fun at it rather than take it seriously!!).
But 10 minutes after hearing that news yesterday, I got a call from SouthernFM (part of the Capital Radio Group). So I am off to their studios today and then off to BBC radio after that. We then saw that the BBC News website had picked up the story as well. This in addition to local radio and local newspapers.

This attention is fantastic and I would welcome more (TV, newspapers & magazines feel free to contact me) , because my primary aim is to raise both money and awareness for Leukaemia Research. David's passing away last year from the disease, leaving his young widow and their soon-to-be one son, is unfortunately not uncommon, as it can strike anyone. There are currently 110,000 children and adults alike that are living with these cancers, and as I know from my brother, many are incurable - only because they still don't know enough about some of the rarer strains, hence the need for more help.

So if you haven't already then please do visit my Just Giving site and make a small donation. As I have said previously, David won't get a chance to see his son grow up, but I want to help other leukaemia sufferers achieve remission so they get the chance.

Worthing Birdman Competition - Why a Crocodile?

There is now less than two weeks to go before I stand on Worthing Pier and launch myself off the 35ft high ramp into the sea, for the Worthing Birdman Competition. Well part of my outfit is now nearly finished, and as it has created much interest I thought I would show you part of it. This is a picture of me (take my word for it, it is!) and the crocodile head that we have made for the Worthing Birdman (the rest of the outfit will be revealed nearer the day itself).

Some of you will have already seen that I am doing this event in aid of Leukaemia Research, in memory of my brother who died last year from leukaemia. Thank you to everyone that has sponsored me so far, but I don't want to stop there, I really do want raise as much as I can to help other leukaemia sufferers, so please visit my online page to make a donation today. 

I have been asked by many people why a giant crocodile? Well the picture here will help to answer that question.
On Christmas 2005 David and Marlynne (his wife to be) were exploring Australia. We sent them out a Christmas package to open on the beach on Christmas Day, which apart from an array of crackers, silly hats etc included an inflatable 6ft crocodile (shown here with David).
With my brothers sense of humour, he readily  adopted 'Snappy' as their 'guest' for the day, and proceeded to have some fun. They even sat him down for their christmas day meal - for some reason he didn't eat much though!!
It obviously created lots of strange looks and much fun for the day for David and Marlynne, and it has become a part of our family's 'folklore'.

So you see my choice of a crocodile was an easy decision really, and now you know why it means so much to me and my family!

Now, please do go to my Just Giving page and sponsor me for The Worthing Birdman on the 6th July. Every donation, every £,$ or euro will help other leukaemia sufferers, and if we can help more of them into remission to enjoy more time with their families then we will have achieved something good.

Worthing Birdman Competition 2008 - I need your help (please!)

This year, yours truly, will be taking part in the Worthing Birdman competition, in Worthing, West Sussex (UK) on the 5th & 6th July. Previously the event has been known as the Bognor Birdman, but due to the storms in January damaging the Bognor Pier it has had to be switched to Worthing. It is a very popular with large crowds drawn to the weekend for the sheer madness and fun of it all!! (see video below for a taster)

So why am I willing to fly / jump / drop like a rock (delete accordingly) off a 35ft high pier into the sea? Very simple really. I want to raise a lot of money for Leukemia Research, to help find cures for some of the rare forms of Leukemia.

In December last year, my brother David (pictured here) died prematurely of a rare leukemia aged just 40. In the course of 8 months, David had his 40th Birthday, was diagnosed with a rare and acute form of the disease, got married, was there for the birth of his first child and then passed away two weeks before Christmas.
He didn't get a chance to see his son grow up. I want to raise the money to help make sure that other leukemia sufferers, get a chance of long term remission from some of the rarer forms of this nasty disease.

So how can you help me? - Please, please, please help me raise some money!! I have four weeks to raise as much money as possible, and every £ | $ | euro will help Leukemia Research tremendously in their search for a cure. All donations large and small will go towards helping Leukemia Research find a cure for this disease. To sponsor me, just go to my JustGiving.Com website to  make a donation. The more I can raise, the better I will feel, when I plunge into cold sea!!