A Leap of Faith - Sponsored skydive - Saturday 29th July

Salutations!

Things went slightly quiet on the Postcards from God fundraising front over the summer - but then came one of our events that was certainly the most celestial and dramatic so far.

Taking a tip from Sister Bertrille and - to quote Westlife – I went “flying without wings” on Saturday July 29^th as I performed a sponsored skydive to raise funds for our upcoming production of:

Postcards from God ~ The Sister Wendy Musical

My friend Rachel and I went all the way to leafy Norfolk (the home of the one and only Sister Wendy herself) for the jump and I must say the area is most picturesque and pleasant, though there weren’t any petrol stations anywhere – rather perilous when you run out of the stuff!

On the Friday we went on a little pilgrimage to the monastery at Quidenham, where Sister Wendy lives. We had a look at their card shop (one of their sources of income) and bought enough cards to send to half of London, along with a lovely Russian-looking icon for Rachel’s loo. Thus inspired, we found the chapel open and sat for a while. I found it really very moving to be in the place I had read so much about in Sister Wendy’s books and articles and tried to imagine her sitting in the belfry away from the other nuns during mass as she describes. We left, rather overwhelmed, and went down the pub.

First thing in the morning I sat on the village green in my pyjamas and did an interview for BBC Radio Norfolk, where I talked about the show and my jump and also spent about ten minutes explaining what Myspace was!

We rang ahead to check we could go to the airfield at Old Buckenham and unfortunately there was a delay as the planes had no petrol (a common theme was developing!). We went over anyway and watched the other jumpers go up (and come down again). The delay was actually really useful as it meant that I saw about four flights before mine and by the time I went up, I wasn’t nervous at all.

That was until we actually jumped out of the plane – the ground looked so far away that it was as if I would never land, that I could fall and fall forever and never stop. Strapped to a burly ex-squaddie, I hurtled toward the earth and really did think I was going to die, or rather the thought that sped through my mind was “MAKE THIS STOP BEFORE I DIE!!!”

But then the parachute opened and the next few minutes were truly beautiful. The sensation of floating above the earth and seeing the countryside from the sky really is like none other and a moment I will keep in my mind for a long time. I saw Quidenham in the distance and even gave Wendy a wave on the way down.

I would recommend skydiving to anyone and would love to do it again, but first I’d like to try something the landlady of the pub where we stayed recommended – WING WALKING!

Blessings,

Marcus