15 year old Tom Daley will return to Plymouth on the 31st July on an open top bus paraded along the Royal Parade. Tom has just won a gold medal in Italy for diving; he started his career by tomb stoning on the Hoe.

I have to wonder as fantastic as Tom Daley’s achievements are at such a young age how do the kids of Devonport who are often found jumping into the sea in Mount Wise feel about Tom Daley’s achievements.

On one of my afternoon walks down Mutton Cove harbour I spotted some of these kids jumping into the sea.

Ø  Have they ever heard of Tom Daley?

‘Course’ ring a chorus of young boy’s voices, two of whom only just climbing up the slippery steps after hurling themselves into the choppy waters below.

Ø  Did you know that Tom Daley started diving by tomb stoning on the Hoe?

‘Course’ they all piped up at once, except for one smaller boy pale and shivering in the cold who confessed he had never heard of him. The other boys immediately fell into an elaborate explanation of who he was by showing how Tom Daley used to dive which was of course all wrong.

Ø  Do they find Tom Daley an inspiration?

Here I leave them as the smallest most confident of the boy’s shouts out ‘No, I don’t like him. I can dive much better than him’ and with those words he disappears into the sea head first.

Why do they do it? Certainly it seems that they are risking their lives diving so close to the harbour steps or shallow stones hidden below the murky surface. Even with the opening of the free out door pools in Mount Wise kids still choose to dive into the sea right next to the pools. I think that for these kids especially in Devonport it is a right of passage, to have the courage to plunge into the icy sea is to become a man. But kids like Tom Daley may show that simple passions like this can become more than a passing interest, with hard work and perseverance they can become a career, high esteem and a gold medal!