- Grandmother celebrates her 80th birthday by doing a skydive
- Annette Le Riche jumped from 10,000 feet and raised £3,000 for charity
- Whats the craziest thing youve done to celebrate a birthday? Tell us about it below
MOST Islanders who reach their 80th birthday mark the day with a special occasion, maybe a party, a meal with family and friends, or possibly a holiday.
Annette Le Riche, however, has taken her celebrations to new heights – 10,000 feet to be precise – by completing a skydive to raise £3,000 for charity.
Mrs Le Riche, who held the record for the oldest person to skydive in Jersey following a previous jump four years ago, was met by friends and family when she landed in St Aubin’s Bay.
This time though, the event was special because Mrs Le Riche was joined by her 24-year-old granddaughter Rachel.
And the intrepid high flier – grandmother of EastEnders actor Jonny Labey – said that she didn’t feel nervous at all.
‘I really enjoyed the experience and it was lovely to share it with Rachel,’ she said.
‘I didn’t really feel nervous at all, but maybe that’s because I’ve done it before.
‘Rachel jumped first and I followed.
‘When the parachute opened I had control of it this time and that was really good fun.
‘Last time the instructor was pulling it quite hard and sent us spinning around, but I decided to go a little gentler this time.
‘I didn’t have as graceful a landing as last time, but it was brilliant overall.’
Mrs Le Riche raised money for the RNLI and Diabetes Jersey, both of which are close to her heart.
‘Her son, Paul, died at sea and grandson Jonny has Type 1 diabetes and recently became an ambassador for the local charity.
Following the completion of her sky dive on Thursday evening – which was cancelled several times due to poor weather – Ms Le Riche is now turning her attention to another of the family’s greatest passions – the Grouville Battle of Flowers float.
‘My daughter Collette has been involved for years, and she was once Miss Battle of Flowers,’ she explained.
‘Although I won’t be making the costumes, like I have in the past, I will be helping out on the float, and that’s going to be very exciting.’
