Steven Bean

By Sue Young

When Steven Bean was asked to get into the swimming pool at John Clare Primary School when he was just five years-old, he said: ‘No!’ But all the encouraging, cajoling and perseverance paid off because although Steven (now 36), hated the water at that time, he has recently completed a Channel swim to raise funds for the Scope charity.

Steve Bean

Well-known in Helpston as the son of Pat and Jim Bean of Broadwheel Road, and as a popular teacher of guitar at John Clare School, Steve described his experience as ‘absolutely brilliant!’ He made this comment despite having swum with a shoulder injury, taking painkillers in the final stages, being unable to dress himself for the first few days afterwards, and not being fully recovered for three weeks.
Has Steve got a trophy or a certificate to show for his efforts?
Well, no; but in pride of place on the mantelpiece is a rock from the Point de Riddon beach near Calais where he emerged, shivering from his twelve and a half-hour ordeal.
Steve’s journey from the John Clare pool to Dover and the English Channel is an interesting one. His keenness for swimming developed in his teenage years when he became a member of swimming clubs at Deeping and in Peterborough.
Following his further education at AMVC and Peterborough Regional College, where he studied Music, he spent a year in Huddersfield and in 1995 embarked on a back-packing trip to Australia.
Steve freely admits that after this his level of fitness lapsed and he put on weight and it was not until five years ago that he decided to get fit again.
‘I quit smoking,’ he said ‘and wanted to lose weight, so I started training for the Triathlon.’ This event, known as ‘The Longest Day’ or ‘The Iron Man’ is made up of a two and a half mile swim, followed by a 112 mile cycle ride, then a full marathon run (26 miles). Steve completed all this in 13 hours!
Training for the swim began in earnest after Christmas 2006. Steve has put in a lot of time at the Regional Pool, enjoyed the Lido in the summer and used a lake at Harringworth to acclimatise himself to low temperatures. There was a six-hour qualifying swim in Dover Harbour to ensure those taking part were used to temperatures under 16C and this was followed a month later by an eight-hour harbour swim.
‘My auntie has a cerebral palsy related illness,’ explained Steve, ‘and that’s why I wanted to do the swim for Scope.
‘I looked on the internet and found that it cost £2000 to hire a boat, but a firm called ‘Drain Doctor’, who have their Head Office in Peterborough, gave me half, intending to use me in their publicity as they launch their firm into Europe.’
Steve went on to explain that each swimmer needs his own support boat and that a Channel Swimming Association Observer and his sister, Sharon, were on board on the day of the attempt.
‘I was covered in lanolin grease (fat from sheep’s wool), mixed with Vaseline to protect my skin’ said Steve. Asked what nourishment he could take on the crossing, Steve replied that he took a highly concentrated energy drink called Maxim on the hour and on the half hour an electrolyte drink which replaces lost body salts, potassium in particular. However, Best Drink of the Day was the cup of tea at the end of the ordeal.
Steve has also raised money for the Sue Ryder Hospice through his band, ‘Angry Man’, being motivated to do this following the death from cancer in February of band member, Mark Randall. The band had just completed an album ‘Better Life’ (music in a similar style to that of David Gray) and were looking forward to a bright future together.
‘After six years together Mark’s death just knocked the wind out of our sails,’ he said.
‘Angry Man’ has continued as a two-piece band, but Steve is thinking about increasing the line-up soon. He is also working with a new band to provide music for weddings and parties. He enjoys Classical Guitar and is planning some more ‘Randall Rootz’ charity events in memory of Mark, which may include a series of classical concerts.
Currently making music his full time career, Steve now lives In Arborfield Close.
When we next hear of him, will it be as a sportsman or a musician?
Whichever it is, Steven Bean is a name we shall see again.