Two years of delay finally came to an end when W.Bro David Armstrong took the chance to jump out of a perfectly serviceable aircraft at 15000 feet, in aid of Teddies For Loving Care, raising in excess of £1000 for the charity.
Taking place at Sky High Skydiving based in Shotton Colliery, near Peterlee, Durham, David reached speeds of 120 mph and a wind chill factor of -47 degrees, whilst freefalling for 9000 feet prior to the parachute being deployed.
David, a Freemason of 26 years and the current Master of Seaton Delaval Lodge No.4617, which meets at Seaton Delaval Masonic Hall, currently works as an Associate Lecturer in Nursing at Northumbria University. Prior to his retirement in July 2014, for many years, he was a Senior Lecturer in nursing, as well as a member of the Army Reserve for 27 years, with his penultimate role being that of Commanding Officer, of 335 Medical Evacuation Regiment.
Teddies For Loving Care provides unique cuddly bears to calm children down, reward them for being brave or to demonstrate procedures. Often the bears distract children so nurses and doctors can get their jobs done quickly and efficiently. The work of TLC is funded through the generous donations of Freemasons, their families and supporters of the programme, which you can find out more about at https://teddiesforlovingcare.org.uk/
David explained “I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, an amazing feeling free falling for 9,000ft but with no sensation of travelling vertically towards the earth at 120mph apart from the noise of the wind and feeling cold..
It was an amazing way to mark my 65th birthday although it was 2 years after the event. So kind of my sons and their families to fund the jump and my wife to fund the photo/video package presented at my Lodge and making the effort to be at the venue and support me. My wife is still getting over it!
Best of all however, their generosity, along with the generosity of all of my sponsors has raised over £1,000 for Teddies for Loving Care.
On the down side I had to substitute the actual TLC bear who accompanied me, for another bear. This bear was more experienced and a little smaller so easier to carry, as he went into the suit of my tandem parachutist as my pockets had to be cleared. Even a Teddy hitting you at 120mph will make your eyes smart so fair point from them.”
You can still show your support for David by making a donation at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/david-armstrong31
Many thanks to W.Bro David Armstrong for the submission of this article.
Congratulations to David, from everyone at Northumberland Freemasons.
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