White Christmas Dip

Here in Bournemouth, we like to start our Christmas days a little differently. Rather than turning up the heating or lighting the fire and sitting down to open presents in our PJ’s, we prefer a mad dash into the sea! What Is The White Christmas Dip? This year will mark the 7th annual White Christmas dip, a charity swim that raises funds for Macmillan Caring Locally. Each Christmas morning people don their fancy dress costumes and gather in their hundreds to support this fantastic cause. Each year has brought more and more people to the shores at Boscombe pier to take part and this year will be no different. The idea for this event was inspired by the Spartans of Bournemouth who take to the sea each Sunday morning between October and April. Their Christmas swim had become something of a tradition so on the cold Christmas morning of 2008 John White, along with his son and nephews dug out some fancy dress and headed down to Boscombe pier. To their disappointment they found it empty and after a 30 minute wait decided that they would bite the bullet and run in by themselves, joined by passing cyclist Andy Corbett. Seeing how much everyone enjoyed their mad endeavour, John’s nephew Tommy Baker decided that is would be the perfect way to get everyone together on Christmas day. The following year they took to the sea once again for their Christmas dip, but this time with even more of their friends and family members. It was at that point that an opportunity to raise money was recognised. They could all get together as a family and at the same time help a charity with donations and with that, the White Christmas Dip was born! Continue reading →