John plans sky dive charity challenge at the age of 77

* The illustration on John's fundraising page. But he'll be jumping over Shropshire rather than Castell Dinas Bran.

An intrepid local man has high hopes for his fundraiser on behalf of The Friends of Llangollen Health Centre.

At the age of 77 John Palmer is planning to do a sky dive from a plane over a Shropshire airfield in August to support the work of the group which helps patients and staff of the centre and its GP practice by providing facilities, services and equipment not normally covered by statutory funding.

John’s charity challenge will be a tandem affair in which he will be linked to a professional parachutist.

John said: “I am doing the sky dive next month at a time when the weather is suitable. At 77 years old I’m cracking a bit but I reckon I’m still able to jump out of a plane. 

“I haven’t done this before but I am doing all the necessary training required by the company organising the jump. 

“I ran the Bryntysilio outdoor education centre in Llangollen for 20 years and have done a lot of climbing, caving and canoeing but that was 15 years ago. 

He added: “Over the years The Friends of Llangollen Health Centre, which also covers the practices at Glyn Ceiriog and Plas Madoc, has funded, amongst other projects, additional specialist equipment for the medical staff, contributed to a number of defibrillators, helped to fund the set-up cost of the Parkrun, funded the venue for armchair exercises and staff training for the Foodshare. 

“The trust is always interested to hear from any organisation whose request meets our remit for funding.” 

Actually, John is no stranger to going the extra mile for charity. Last August, he and son Nic jointly raised £1,000 for Alzheimer's Research by each completing in a triathlon event.

 * John, left, and son Nic with their triathlon medals last year.

* The initial target for John’s sky dive fundraiser is £500. For more details, go to his gofund.me page at: https://gofund.me/7935d2aa