29 Sep 2009 : Cathedral Abseil

This weekend (September 26/27), the team held it’s sponsored abseil from the historic tower of Derby Cathedral. Over the two days, 157 abseilers took the plunge (not literally – they all went down at a safe pace!), raising over £25,000 in pledges which will be shared between the rescue team and Derby Cathedral Chapter.

The weather held out for the event and there was little wind making for ideal conditions for those taking part. On the Saturday, the Mayor of Derby, Councillor Sean Marshall was one of the early descenders followed shortly afterwards by the High Sheriff of Derbyshire, Sir Henry Every and his 3 sons. They were accompanied on the ground by Miss England 2008, Laura Coleman, who came along to support Sir Henry and his family.

Later entrants included Howard Ebison from BBC TV’s The Apprentice and Jean Martin, a disabled grandmother and sufferer of cerebral palsy who, despite requiring the use of two sticks to walk, managed to climb all 212 feet and 190 steps of the tower to make her descent, landing to rapturous applause from the assembled supporters and onlookers.

On the Sunday, one of the first abseilers was Canon Elaine Jones, who made her descent shortly after the morning service, still dressed in her cassock. Despite initial trepidation, she overcame her fears and bravely took the “scenic” route down, accompanied by the cheers of her congregation.

Perhaps the most audible abseiler was lifestyle coach Jody Bunting from Channel 4’s Big Breakfast. Jody could be heard over half of Derby as he descended the tower resplendent in a fluorescent pink skin-tight jump suit and gigantic white furry boots.

Despite the fact that over 150 people made the descent, the vast majority of whom were complete novices, team members were very rarely required to assist with participants getting into difficulty on the way down. When team members did assist, it was more to offer support and advice rather than rescue. All abseilers made it to the bottom under their own control, although a safety rope under the control of the team was attached at all times ensuring their complete safety.

For the team, it was a hectic weekend with abseils scheduled to take place every 4 minutes but thanks to excellent coordination, everything ran smoothly.

We’d like to say a big thank you to all abseilers and their sponsors for making the weekend the huge success that it was.

The team's Facebook page will shortly contain an album of photos from the weekend once all photos have been collated and a suitable selection chosen.