Dear Friends

Thank you so much for all your encouragement with the Football Fans in Training course I have been participating in at Swindon Town run by our Football in the Community team over the last 3 months; quite simply one of the best things I have been involved with in my life! It has felt like a 12 week retreat in so many ways.
Tonight was a wonderful celebration. The group of 30 of us have lost together 43.8 stones! Each of us were set a target to lose between 5-10% of our body weight.
​I was very honoured to win the prize for the highest percentage of body weight lost, 18.4% ​and for the most centimetres lost around the chest 18.5 cms. Overall I have lost over 21/2 stone and now weigh 11 stone 9 lbs! The challenge obviously is maintaining this weight. Many moving conversations and I was thrilled to hear virtually the whole group will be coming with their families to the Swindon Town Carol service next Thursday 6.30pm to celebrate! There will be a lot of publicity locally.

We will be playing the Manchester City football fans in training at the Etihad in February/March. Also we have been invited to help mentor the next course which begins at the end of January

Very specially I travelled tonight to the gym with Gary and Jo, I married them at Christ Church in August 2001, they are having a marriage thanksgiving at the same time in 2017.

As I said in my speech tonight I couldn’t have done this without the support of the 30 guys and the excellent leadership of Shane, Jon and Louise who have taught us all a great deal. Thank you each of you for all of your support to Nicola and I . Nicola jokes that I am now less weight than before I first knew her 33 years ago!!! Anyone like to join me for a run tomorrow and my first Pilates class at our Christ church Community centre?

Simon