Twickenham Stadium Abseil 2009
Listen to our Strokecast from the 2009 abseil down Twickenham Stadium. Hear from some of our superstar abseilers before and after they go over the edge.
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001: Twickenham Stadium Abseil 2009
Meet a few of our superstar abseilers before and after they go over the edge of Twickenham Stadium
Text version of the podcast:
This episode features Rich and Paul Lawless from The Stroke Association, as well as our superstar fundraisers: Caroline, Amy and John.
Rich: Welcome to the first ever Strokecast, recorded out on location at Twickenham rugby stadium - the home of English rugby. But we’re not here today to play or watch rugby. We’re here along with 700 superstar fundraisers to abseil 100 feet from the top of Twickenham stadium. Sound daunting? Let’s speak to some of those heroes.
Paul: Ok, I’m Paul Lawless I’m the head of regional fundraising at The Stroke Association. Today we’ve got a huge abseil at Twickenham stadium where we’ve recruited over 700 people who are going to abseil down the side of Twickenham. We’re hoping to raise about £100,000 for The [Stroke] Association.
Caroline: My name is Caroline, I went on The Stroke Association website because my grandma had a stroke about a year ago and I wanted to do something for you guys; abseil sounded the most fun. I’m really excited actually; I’m a bit nervous but can’t wait to just do it now.
Amy: My name’s Amy Brody. The reason I’ve come here today is actually because it’s my Nan’s birthday and she passed away 2 years ago from a stroke so it I thought it was quite fitting to do it on the day. We’ve managed to raise £800.
John: I’m not quite as relaxed as I was at the bottom. I’m looking across London, across the rooftops of London and I’m seeing people standing with their back to the drop. I’m starting to think, “eyes closed or not?” Looking that way and looking at Twickenham rugby ground, all my sporting heroes have been there over the years. I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it, I am going to do it - but I’m scared. It’s a really good cause, I’m really glad I’m here. I’ll be even gladder when I’m at the bottom.
Rich: How’d it go John?
John: It was good, I want to go again, it was brilliant! I felt really confident; the guys up there know what they’re doing. They took you through it, by the time I was stepping up I was ready to go – it was great, brilliant.
Rich: So you’d recommend anyone to come and do this kind of thing then?
John: Oh yeah! Come and do it, what’s life for? Come and live!
Caroline: It’s just not like anything I’ve ever done before, that was probably…standing on the top of that building…I’ve jumped out of a plane before and this was scarier.
Rich: Is this the kind of thing you’d encourage other people to do?
Caroline: Absolutely, definitely! I don’t know what I’ll be scared of now; having done that is a brilliant feeling.
Amy: I would say fun, exciting, nerve-wracking, worthwhile, really enjoyable, yeah, very good.
Rich: If you would like more information about all the fantastic fundraising events that are taking place over the next few months then you can contact the national events team on 0207 566 0311 or you can e-mail nationalevents@stroke.org.uk
Music: Kevin MacLeod
