Reporter Kerry Swain blogs

The sky dive was incredible, wonderful and terrifying at the same time. The worst moment was actually falling out of the plane. I was strapped to a lovely sergeant in the Parachute Regiment, Tom Blakey, sitting almost on his lap and we shuffled to the door of the plane on our bottoms.

We were above the clouds, twelve thousand feet above the ground. I leaned my head back into Tom as instructed and then he pushed forward and we both rolled out. Falling into nothing felt as dreadful as it sounds and we did a somersault. But then Tom stabilised our fall and I actually enjoyed plunging to the ground at 120 miles an hour.

A camera man was falling next to me and the pictures he took show I’m actually smiling! There was a huge wrench when the parachute opened. I was told that it is like braking from 120 to 40 miles an hour. The landing was much gentler than I’d been expecting and I felt so relieved to be down safely.

Unfortunately I suffer very badly from motion sickness and felt dreadfully dizzy and nauseous for quite a while afterwards. But I wouldn’t have missed my sky dive for the world.

Money is still coming in for the charity I am supporting, The Rose Road Association in Southampton which helps severely disabled children and young people, and I am proud to have played a small part in their fund raising appeal Change My Life. But would I do it again. Probably not!  

Visit Kerry’s sponsorship page to donate to the Rose Road Association. Plus, you can watch Kerry’s news report here on ITV Local.  

Another day another Post Office closure.

Today, as the public consultation process ends, the Royal Mail has announced that a total of 33 post offices across Wiltshire and West Berkshire will now close.

It’s part of the Post Office shake up to cut costs and follows further closures in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire. Two and a half thousand branches will be closed nationally by the end of the year.

Many local residents say loosing their post office will be devastating for elderly people who depend on the amenities such as pension payments their branch provides. But Royal Mail insists that although it is a difficult decision it’s crucial for the business as more and more people are using the internet instead of posting letters.

You can see the full list of Post Office branches to shut here on ITV Local.

Plus – are you affected by the Post Office shake-up and want to share your views? Email us and we will add the best responses to our online page.