It is now only a few days before our swim down the Thames on Sunday for This Girl Can. At the moment I feel more like This Girl Can’t Really But She’s Going To Do It Anyway, as I ponder on how I am going to do a mile with one arm and hope that my other arm holds out alright.

I recently saw a really inspirational clip of a man sea swimming with no legs and just one arm, so it feels as though I have little to complain about. And this is the thing with swimmers, river and sea swimmers anyway, is that there is a glorious acceptance of all shapes, sizes and abilities. There is a mini debacle about Dry Robes but not about the bodies that go inside them. I have put on a lot of weight, whilst being unwell over the past 18 months, and it hasn’t felt massively comfortable. However, I can genuinely say that I have felt no judgement from anyone in the swimming community. It is interesting that there is less judgement about body shape and size when you are wearing less clothes than when fully clothed! In fact, it is quite the opposite, there is a celebration of bodies, in whatever form they come and this is incredibly refreshing and soul restoring. If there are people who feel at liberty to make remarks I have seen an outpouring of support towards others in the swimming community and, on a personal note, this has been a huge help. I have been known, on occasion, to go skinny dipping in the river, and the sea when I can get there. In celebration of my new body, a little bit broken and a little bit enlarged but much loved, I am no longer going to call it skinny dipping but chunky dunking!

In terms of training for this Sunday, I haven’t really been able to do any. I am trying not to panic about it and actually, the old saying ‘it’s the taking part that matters’ has always felt a bit patronising but now I get it, it’s true. I’m not ready. My body is exhausted and functioning at half mast but I have had the privilege of being part of a brilliant group of women and we will celebrate our big day on Sunday, whatever happens. I have had the privilege of becoming part of a swimming community that I will be able to take into my future. I feel as though it is a community that I can tap into wherever I go and a whole new world has opened up to me. Before all of this there is absolutely no way that I would have put a photo of myself in a swimming cossie on a blog post, on social media or anywhere but now I see the glory in celebrating our bodies in every wonderful size and shape that they come in and the summer evenings that lie ahead hold the pleasure of many a chunky dunk!