I’ve just finished reading Tom Gregory’s “A Boy in the Water”, his fascinating account of how he became (and remains) the youngest person to swim across the English Channel, aged 11. It was an extraordinary swim, but what struck me most was the remarkable set of circumstances that led up to it. These centred around Eltham swimming club led by John Bullet, founder and head coach. Club activities included character building camping and cold water swimming trips to Dover and Windermere and taking over part of an East London dock for open water training. It was sometimes brutal, and Tom admits he was often out of his comfort zone and in tears, but it earned him a world record, fantastic memories and a brilliant story to tell.