18 Jul 2020

Twelfth of 40 donations

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The twelfth of my 40 donations goes to The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.

The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust was named after Stephen Lawrence, a black teenager who was murdered in 1993 at the age of 18 in an unprovoked racist attack in southeast London.

The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust was founded on the premise that inequality must be tackled in all its forms. This includes inequality of access, and of opportunity, wherever it occurs. It is committed to “transforming the life chances of young people and improving the world in which they live​”.

You can read more about Stephen’s story on this link:

https://www.stephenlawrence.org.uk/stephen-lawrence-day/stephens-story/

In 2018, BBC One broadcast a three-part documentary series titled Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation, exploring the story of the Stephen Lawrence case and the impact it has had on British society in the 25 years since Stephen was murdered. The series won two Grierson Awards (Best Documentary Series and Best Historical Documentary) for its opening episode, ‘The Loss of Joy’.

A range of short clips from the series are available to watch on the below link:

https://www.stephenlawrence.org.uk/resources/stephen-the-murder-that-changed-a-nation-documentary/

This has been going on too long; stay safe, be kind, one love.

18 Jul 2020

I can’t breathe… for 4 minutes 40 seconds?

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In advance of any 40s 4 40 related content, it’s important to recognise the origin of this phrase and why it has become a slogan associated with the Black Lives Matter movement.

I’m using it here to maintain awareness of the worldwide protest against police brutality in the United States and against the lack of police accountability due to qualified immunity.

The phrase originates from the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was killed in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by New York City Police. A number of other African-Americans, such as Javier Ambler, Manuel Ellis, Elijah McClain, and George Floyd have said the same phrase prior to dying during law-enforcement encounters.

I make a choice to hold my breath – it shouldn’t be a privilege, it’s a fundamental human right. I hope these terrible events bring about the social change we need. My next charity donation will reflect that.

Breath holding or static apnea was not one of the original 40s 4 40 challenges but I was prepared to be doing a lot of it in preparation for free diving 40 metres both deep (in the Constant Weight category) and 40 metres length (in the Dynamic No Fins category).

Breath-hold training is definitely best done on dry land unless you are with a trusted and experienced buddie or buddies.

The down side of dry training is that the mammalian dive reflex does not occur but hopefully this means that when I do finally get in the water that my performance will be even better.

When I got my AIDA 2 qualification I managed a breath hold of 3 minutes 20 seconds so naturally, I challenged myself to 3 minutes and 40 seconds.

Well, I achieved 3:40 and then, probably in some part thanks to lock down, I managed a full 4 minutes, twice.

Screenshot from the stopwatch on my mobile

I actually thought 4 minutes might not ever be possible, certainly as a dry static apnea so I’m pleased with the result; this just goes to show what can be achieved if you commit and put your mind to it.

I train either lying on the sofa or first thing in the morning when I wake up. It is essential to have a low heart rate and relax into it to achieve good results.

I made a choice to do this, I can’t imagine the terror of being forced to do so against my will – “no justice, no peace”.