Monday 31 December 2012

Low Tide06:02 (0.60m)
High Tide12:21 (2.30m)
Low Tide17:54 (0.80m)
Sea temperature: not taken
Sea conditions: Horrid
Weather: leaning into the wind and not falling over
Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation: 
Many and various over the last week or so, including "what are all these people doing in the sea?" on Christmas day, although there were far fewer than last year as the weather has been particularly foul. 
The reason I started to keep this blog was to help me to remember the experience of the changing sea and seasons, the diversity of interests as well as the commonality within our small group and looking back it became apparent to me that we do have a number of themes we always return to: food, family, dogs, music, religion, sleep, films/dance/telly and always nature and the weather. We seem to have life covered...
Taking stock of the year is interesting from The Swimmers perspective and reminded me that the sea has become such an important part of my life over the last 3 years, as have the people I meet each morning. As we all see the new year in this evening we will raise a glass to The Pirate, who will be somewhere in Cambodia and I, for one, will look forward to another 350 (allowing for bad weather and sick days) or so morning swims next year with exceptional company.
Happy New Year.

Thursday 20 December 2012

High Tide02:59 (2.50m)
Low Tide09:38 (0.60m)
High Tide16:33 (2.20m)
Low Tide21:28 (1.10m)
Sea temperature: too rough to know
Sea conditions: see above
Weather: sea above
Joined by: just DK and me at the moment, the others are all away
Topics of conversation: see above and below



Thursday 13 December 2012

Low Tide03:38 (0.70m)
High Tide09:50 (2.60m)
Low Tide16:00 (0.60m)
High Tide22:16 (2.60m)
Sea temperature: not taken
Sea conditions: choppy
Weather: a bitter, bitter wind getting up, blowing in from the sea.
Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation:
Again not much chat today as the wind was bitter - a 'lazy wind' as it's called here, as it's too lazy to go around you and just blows straight through you. There was one topic on everyone's mind though: Privates on Parade. The Swimmers are all going down on Saturday to see the show and The Poet was keen to know how I'd found it, I was able to be honest as DK hadn't arrived get... it's brilliant! I'm not an aficionado of the musical play by any stretch of the imagination but you have to be completely heartless to find it anything but touching. The reviews have been universally glowing, The Guardian had issued theirs online as the cast and crew (and general hangers on like me) had been celebrating the opening night at the National Portrait Gallery and as the word spread everyone desperately grappled with their canapés, glasses of fizz and smart phones to see how it had been written up. The cry went up "5 STARS!" and then the toasting really started. Michael Billington:
"Michael Grandage could hardly have made a better start to his five-show West End season than with this joyous revival of Peter Nichols's 1977 play with music. With songs by Denis King, it is much more than a star vehicle for Simon Russell Beale: it offers a heady mix of personal memoir, musical parody and jaundiced account of postwar colonial politics." (See full review here)

By 1am we were back at the hotel scoffing sushi in the bar, after Legs made her smashing entrance, scouring the online reviews to find The Guardian wasn't a one off - hurrah for DK! Oh and the rest of the rather professional and totally delightful team. They are such a great bunch and DK has really enjoyed working with them, especially the director Michael Grandage. 
The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Times were the three reviews everyone was most concerned about on the night as they are obviously hoping for a commercial success, and by breakfast they were in.
Charles Spencer in The Telegraph was captivated by Simon Russell Beale's performance - even though he was suffering terribly with a heavy cold - "Grandage’s outstanding production is also blessed with an irresistible star performance from Simon Russell Beale. He plays the outrageously camp Captain Terri Dennis, who refers to our Lord as Jessica Christ and during a moment of stress memorably announces: “You dare speak to an officer like that and I’ll scream the place down.” With his bottle-blond hair and fleshy face leering delightedly at every conceivable double entendre, Russell Beale is superbly entertaining, and offers brilliant turns in the show’s delightful pastiche songs (lyrics by Nichols, music by Denis King) with impersonations of Marlene Dietrich, Carmen Miranda, Vera Lynn and Noël Coward, all but the latter performed in extravagant drag. 

My favourite line from this review, and in fact from all those I have read so far was "It Ain't Half Hot Mum it ain't" which really sums up how the play brings the writer Peter Nichols's experiences in Malaysia to the contemporary audience in a context which is quite changed from the first run in 1977. Time Out also gave it 5 stars and a great quote for the programme: 'Apocalypse Now' given the Kenneth Williams remix or 'Cabaret' retold by Noël Coward

Variety's David Benedict name checked DK in a very favourable light too "Armed with Denis King's top-notch musical parodies and lips ever-ready to purse, Beale's wonderfully timed reveling in the role is seriously infectious. It is, however, considerably deepened by the world-weariness and the sense of bitter experience he brings to it. His hints at the private difficulties of being publicly homosexual in the 1940s, when it was entirely illegal, is all the more powerful for being suggested rather than overplayed"

I'm sure that the village trip down on Saturday will be wonderful and I know the The Poet will love it. He asked if Legs and I had managed to find ourselves glam enough for the West End, being aware of our own little dramas trying to find clothes and I reassured him that we certainly achieved some kind of glamour, although DK's description of us as "high class hookers" wasn't really what we were aiming for... He compounded his felony when we both looked at him askance by adding that he meant the kind that charge £1000 a minute, but hey - it was his night, I'll hit him later, when he's not expecting it.

Links to individual reviews:

Couldn't have offered a more solid piece of theatre
A master class in authenticity, structure and characterisation
Remains as piercingly original as it must have been when the RSC originally premiered it in 1977
Parody, political intrigue and period charm: this was more than just the sum of its Privates
This makes small potatoes of Glastonbury
a wonderfully funny show, it's panto season, and here's Simon Russell Beale in a dress - what more could a red-blooded Englishman want?

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Low Tide02:41 (0.80m)
High Tide08:55 (2.60m)
Low Tide15:09 (0.60m)
High Tide21:30 (2.60m)
Sea temperature: 4.6
Sea conditions: calm
Weather: hard frost and ice
Joined by: Sara
Topics of conversation:
Too cold to talk.
The phone can't cope with the reds - it was deeper than this!


Added

Sunday 9 December 2012

High Tide05:55 (2.40m)
Low Tide12:27 (0.70m)
High Tide19:10 (2.30m)
Sea temperature: not taken
Sea conditions: shallow with a few rolling waves
Weather: Warmer, sun escaping through a gap on the horizon
Joined by: Brother Mike
Topics of conversation:
It was lovely to see Mike again, and he's here for a a couple of days as he'll be Mabel sitting whilst DK and Legs are in London. He's a regular cold water swimmer and the temperature in the ponds, where he takes his daily dip is around 3 degrees at the moment. We discussed which is easier, colder water that is still, or our warmer temperatures with waves. I felt I'd probably chicken out if the water didn't feel as if it was coming to take me but Brother Mike said he found the waves harder as you have no control over how you immerse yourself, which is part of the joy for me.
The Canadian and his wife had been round for and early evening sauna followed by venison stew last night and we were still eating cheese at the dinner table at midnight, so although I'd had too much to eat and too much to drink I had had certainly not had too much sleep and was trying to shake off cheese dreams and fuzzy head, so the cold water was most remedial. They'd told us about a day spent near Whistler, where they used to live, when the skiing wasn't any good so they'd followed some friends off into the hills where they knew of a some hots springs. The whole day was spent bathing and drinking beer by the pools, so beer was allowed in the sauna for the first time. I stuck to spiced apple at this stage but my abstemiousness didn't last long.
Theatre seats - DK was most put out when he discovered that our seats for the Opening Night were in row Q or some such, so he rang the producer to question his judgement only to be told that the reason for this is that the press have booked 150 seats. I can't work out if this is a good thing or a bad thing (story of my life really) because it's great that there are so many of them wanting to come, but having been teaching probability and averages recently I'm aware that the more bums on seat the more possible a bad review is. There again, lots and lots of good reviews has to be a good thing. It's all very exciting and Legs and I had been trying clothes out for the event at their house. I discovered that she has 2 resident Gok Wans. Both DK and No. 1 Son are honest and great at casting a critical eye over an outfit, they took me from thinking that I couldn't possibly wear either outfit I'd dug out of the box marked "posh" under the bed to feeling happy with both. What a relief. I know where to go in times of clothing crisis in the future. 
We also coined a new phrase due to autocorrect on my text message to Legs offering 'girly' input on her outfit in return. The phone turned it into 'Gorky', which now means looking glam on a shoestring by digging out old stuff we've had for years and accessorising with New Look. We've even agreed to swap shoes halfway through the evening as I'm feeling rather guilty that I've ended up with a new pair of hers as part of my outfit - thanks boys!
The Killing - the usual banter about the fact that DK had watched it and I hadn't, he's got me intrigued though with his raised eyebrows. Only an hour to wait now till Mertz gets' back from the pub and I finish catching up on Merlin in front of the fire, perfect winter evening - what will I do next winter, with no Merlin and no Killing?!

Thursday 6 December 2012

High Tide02:50 (2.40m)
Low Tide09:10 (0.80m)
High Tide15:36 (2.20m)
Low Tide21:08 (1.10m)
Sea temperature: 6.6
Sea conditions: calm and slightly higher
Weather: frozen solid and a scattering of snow still on the ground - 1.3





Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation:
Turning 90 - as Sara's father does today. The Poet rang him from the beach to wish him a happy birthday and we all shouted our good wishes down the phone. He seems to be enjoying life, having recently started a new relationship and living life fully. Last night I'd seen a TED talk by Charles Eugster, a 93 year old who says that a beach body at 90 is no longer a dream and advocates "work, diet and exercise" as the way to remain fit and well into old age. He sees retirement as the slippery slope and keeps himself active as a motivational speaker and competitive rower and weightlifter. Whilst I found his talk inspirational, I struggled with his SHOUTY delivery, but here's a link anyway: TED - Charles Eugster
Another inspirational man who turns 70 next year is in the news today and DK had heard him on the radio talking about the kind of temperatures and conditions we can only imagine. Ranulph Fiennes sets of this afternoon in a ship from London on the last great polar challenge "The Coldest Journey". He is attempting to cross the Antarctic in winter, which has never been done before and he will be out of reach of all rescue services. The expedition also aims to raise £10 million for Seeing is Believing who aim to tackle avoidable blindness. 
Ranulph Fiennes
 The temperatures could get down to -90 and whilst I've some cold weather experience, this really is unimaginable. He talked about the possibility of lung damage, not just cold injuries which are well known. He puts us to shame. My weirdest cold experience was on my first Arctic trek, when the temperatures dropped suddenly and we were completing a dusk drive, the liquid in my eyes began to freeze and whilst there was little light left my only real option was to put goggles on, close my eyes and trust my dogs as they pulled the sled through a miniature forest of stunted trees bent over with snow. It's no wonder I loved them so much that I requested the same dogs on the next trip. It fell to -40 that day, but the wind chill was what made it hard, we had cold injuries in the team, but thankfully only minor ones. Today it was freezing on the beach, the shingle was solid, but there was no wind, so I went for a quick run up and down the sand to warm up before I got dressed and was joined by the dogs, who love the frost and snow.
Poorly student again - I had a call, whist I was changing, from my Thursday student's mum to say she's still not fully recovered after her hospital visit last week and wouldn't be with me this morning - now I wish I'd lit the sauna before leaving!
DK had brought an article on The swimmers with ice in their veins from the Torygraph in which the journalist asks if we are mad and claims
Winter swimming was once the preserve of an eccentric bunch of middle-aged men, but now it has caught the imagination of a whole generation of men and women, young and old, determined to prove that they have not been corrupted by central heating.
The most interesting part of the article for me is the Dr who claims that cold water swimming may help to prevent type 2 diabetes! 
Telegraph article.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

High Tide01:22 (2.50m)
Low Tide07:34 (0.80m)
High Tide13:57 (2.20m)
Low Tide19:29 (1.00m)
Sea temperature: 6.1
Sea conditions: calm and low, reflecting my mood, as is the custom
Weather: Sun rising, frost fading
Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation:
DK put in a plea for a a later swim time, having muttered about it since he returned. He's right that it's dark when we get up now, but I argued against the case as I'd be watching the sun rise over the water whilst waiting for the others and don't want to miss it, so we compromised - 15 minutes later as of tomorrow. THIS IS A REMINDER.


It's cold in the water - no shit sherlock - but at least we don't have to break the ice to get in as they did in Frensham Ponds.



Friday 30 November 2012

Low Tide05:05 (0.70m)
High Tide11:26 (2.40m)
Low Tide17:05 (0.80m)
High Tide23:31 (2.60m)
Sea temperature: 8.5
Sea conditions: calm
Weather: crisp and frosty
Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation:
The geese are still flying over as we arrive in the mornings, yesterday they almost skimmed our heads as we were swimming and whilst they are regular and familiar to us, it is very hard to identify them from below (especially when you don't wear your glasses to the beach). I had assumed that they were Brant geese, and The Poet thought perhaps Canada, but this afternoon I went down to the feeding grounds to get a better look and it seems that they may be Barnacle geese, from the Arctic. Most of the information has them wintering in the west but one group stays in The Netherlands. It's only about 85 km to The Hague from here, as the goose flies, so I guess it's possible that they make a regular detour but I will check with the local bird expert, who lives up the road. There were hundreds of them feeding in the flooded fields, which I walk through on my way down to the beach and I have just heard them returning to wherever it is that they go at dusk, to the south. We've also noticed how other birds occasionally join their ranks, ducks, seagulls and so on and I speculated about these strays using the uplift of the geese as I used to use the drag-stream of lorries in my 2CV. It transpires that The Poet also owned a 2CV when their kids were little and they imagined that the large knob, used for adjusting the headlight beam was actually for controlling the wings, I wish I'd known that.

Feeding in the flooded fields
The Alfas - as previously blogged (verb?) I have been lucky enough to have landed the new car, which I have become very accustomed to, regardless of the fact that it is way over-spec for my lifestyle. In the last 24 hours I have been even luckier not to be driving the old one as the injectors blew when Mertz was driving it to work in Hertfordshire. Having spent a great deal of money on a new alternator and battery recently I am inclined toward the option of having them replaced, regardless that a) it's an Alfa and b) it's got 185,000 on the clock and this will not be cheap. The mechanic who looks after it in Hertford has indicated that it may not be worth it, so decisions need to be made. As he's in office party mode this won't be easy and next week it seems he'll have both car there and I'll have neither here, hey-ho, back to the old days.
Dr. Sea was much needed for The Pirate this morning, who is having a tough time, he and I sat discussing the heart wrenching decision making process involved in ensuring the best care for elderly relatives, as well as the costs involved. It's never going to be easy and it is hard not to feel tremendous guilt for not devoting your life to your parents in old age as they did to you in childhood. It's even hard when they are not your parents, but parents-in-law. The Pirate needed his dose of the sea to lift his spirits and face a difficult day and the water did not disappoint. As we waded out mulling over how to live in the moment and not allow daily difficulties to take hold the sun was rising and the moon was setting, we were able to stand in the calm water with arms outstretched as if touching night and day, and time stood still. As The Pirate said: "It's cosmic!" This afternoon I followed his tracks on the beach, but it was hard to tell how fresh they were, I hope that he had this view at the end of the day too - I know it made me walk with a lighter step.
3.45pm

3.55pm



Wednesday 28 November 2012

Low Tide03:54 (0.80m)
High Tide10:11 (2.40m)
Low Tide16:05 (0.80m)
High Tide22:30 (2.50m)
Sea temperature: not taken
Sea condition: "a full moon sea" The Pirate
Weather: damp but sunny
Joined by: Sara
Topics of conversation:
The moon is full today and last night there was an amazing orange halo around it, which none of us could explain and this morning it was still up at 6.30, hanging low and west over the river. The closer it got to the horizon the bigger it looked. The Poet is taking a full moon walk this evening as part of his work, which I'm looking forward to reading - he's promised a draft preview. The water was full of the moon too and the swell was powerful, making the water challenging. 
Korma Royal - DK had a disaster. He had planned on cooking my new favourite recipe for the family last night but had somehow managed to set fire to the spices and garlic. The smell had alerted Legs, who was the other side of the house, but sadly it was too late. He graciously admitted that she and No. 1 Son had saved it by pretty much starting again but that it was the end to his cheffing career!

Sara and The Poet had also been to the Hofesh Shechter dance performance at the weekend and we'd agreed that the music was wonderful and thought it was also very original but The Pirate's wife pointed has out that it reminded her of the themes from The Killing... listening to the two back to back proves she not wrong. The album has just been released by Frans Bak and is available to buy and on Spotify. The main theme from The Bridge - Hollow Talk by The Choir of Young Believers has become a regular on my playlists too. 

One final scandi drama item of note is that Wallander's dog is enjoying the current run of The Killing and has some interesting theories.

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Low Tide03:16 (0.90m)
High Tide09:29 (2.40m)
Low Tide15:31 (0.80m)
High Tide22:01 (2.50m)
Sea temperature: 9.5 and stable
Sea conditions: Gentle waves at last
Weather: Biblical sunrise but dark clouds gathering
Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation:
The geese - as The Pirate and I met by the huts we'd already witnessed in excess of 400 geese fly over, skein after skein. One of my student groups is working on a bridging lesson this week, taking them from biology to geography by means of the study of migratory birds so I took a few shots of these transient visitors for them.



The Pirate and I discussed the freedom with which Steiner teachers are able to plan lessons, I find it a wonderful challenge to plan the flow of one main lesson subject to the next and now that I don't teach in a school I work with each group to plan classes to suit. This group have only known me since I first travelled to take part in dog trekking, so they think of me as Very Cold Claire and are keen to supplement their regular geography with a study of the far north, hence the project on migration. They will travel north in their lessons to follow the Greylag's journey and I will have a wonderful time planning their lessons.
Homeland/The Killing - The Poet was desperate to discuss Homeland, but as DK and I have not yet caught up he was banned. Gagging The Poet is not an easy task and he toyed with us as we went into the water. The Pirate confessed to falling asleep during The Killing and waking up to find that he didn't recognise characters, here's a catch up for you Pirate: The Killing ep 3/4 blog 
Sara and I were rather preoccupied having worked out that it was just over the allotted 14 days since it was assumed that there was a body in the river. Locals say this is how long a corpse takes to surface but during our conversation the boys broke into song, distracting us long enough to move on. We had to ask what they were singing, mainly because they all seemed to be holding a different tune, but perhaps it was just that we'd tuned out.
Technological upgrades and their pitfalls - Sara has been through the mill over the last week or so in her attempt to switch providers for her phone etc. as they clearly didn't want to let her go easily, but she seems finally to have received texts and calls on her new phone, now she needs to activate her iPad mini so we are crossing fingers that it will be smoother. Mertz has just been given one by his company and regardless of his resistance to anything Apple he's looking forward to using it as a Kindle. I'm looking forward to seeing if it suits me before splashing out.
Gloves - Sara's new Sealskins are way cool and regardless of the fact that she has lobster claws at the ends of her arms she is able to use the hand warmers inside. My new heated ones are not doing the job however. We decided that the best thing to do was to contact the company who make them, as they seem to be constantly developing new ones. As I don't have a microwave I need to boil them after each use but they take forever to dry as I can't wring them out and they look a bit freaky waving at me from the pan as the air moves from finger to thumb. Perhaps I just got the wrong ones for the job, and there's an alternative, watch this space.

Sunday 25 November 2012

Low Tide01:44 (1.10m)
High Tide07:50 (2.40m)
Low Tide14:10 (0.80m)
High Tide20:54 (2.40m)
Sea temperature: not taken - too rough
Sea conditions: see above
Weather: see below

Joined by: no one
Topics of conversation:
You are not really going in are you DK? It was so windy that you could lie down on the wind coming up the beach from the south and yet he did. As he was late I had wandered down the beach as Mertz and the dogs had come down to see the sea raging but when DK arrived I ran back to make sure he was safe. There was no way I was going in and he lasted for about 25 seconds as the current was so strong. Sara and The Poet had seen the sea from their house and realised it wasn't a swimming day, for normal human beings that is.
Mertz took this at the other end of the beach
Waiting for god
I was still on high as I'd been to the most incredible performance at Snape the night before -  Choreographer Hofesh Shechter's Uprising and In Your Rooms and the music had blown me away. The Yogi and Wolfie took me as a treat and we had front row seats, which I was delighted about, having forgotten my glasses, but the usher approached us as we took our seats with little presents: ear plugs. He whispered "it's very loud!". It was and we loved it. There's a taster of it here on his site: Hofesh Shechter

Friday 23 November 2012

High Tide05:48 (2.40m)
Low Tide12:25 (0.70m)
High Tide19:20 (2.30m)

Sea temperature: not taken
Sea conditions: EVEN WILDER
Weather: windy but dropped from the 40 mph of last night.
Joined by: The Poet
Topics of conversation:
The water - it was really rough this morning and as I got to the beach there was a full wooden pallet in the shallows, which I dragged out of the water. When the boys arrived I explained that I didn't want it going back into the water as it could do us a fair bit of damage, floating about. The Poet responded that yes, that would be unpalatable...there was an attempt to claim that he was standing in for DK in his absence - DK, the King of Puns that is

Pallets make great kindling though so I carried it home, which was my only exercise as The Pirate and I didn't go in this morning, having watched The Poet being bowled over. The rest of the country has been much worse with floods as well as gales and by this afternoon there was little sign of any wind here at all. I've just been for a really long walk and the water was so inviting, calm once more so there's hope for a real swim for the first time this week - just in time for DK's return. I'm assuming he won't have had the same problem with his morning dip as the ponds don't get rough, but maybe health and Safety have a hold there and they ban swimming if the trees are blowing about.  
On my walk I took the tow path along the river, which was like a mill pond, except for a constant ripple, moving more or less parallel with me all the way along as a seal kept pace with me. I've heard that they are curious about dogs and I've had them follow them on the beach before but this one just seemed to be using me as a pacer, keeping just a couple of meters behind all the way up river towards the bridge, where we met Legs, No I Son and Mabel.


Legs and No.1 Son were both exhausted and on a high following the massive success of their Thanksgiving bash, which they'd hosted at the local pub last night. Both The Pirate and The Poet had enjoyed the evening and said the food was amazing, as well as the atmosphere. The Pirate's No. 2 Son had spent the evening sampling American cocktails and this led to a discussion and about hangovers and alcohol induced sickness, which I am sure wasn't the reason for Sara's no show this morning... 
The Pirate is one of those lucky people who is seldom sick in the stomach, unlike me. The concept of gut feelings is something I understand only too well and I told the others about a friend who is sick when she is deeply upset. When she was at school she fell in love with a much, much older man; the father of her best friend's boyfriend. It was not a physical relationship, simply an overpowering adoration of a cultured, creative soul. They would go for drives around the Gloucestershire countryside and he played the guitar to her whilst her friend and his son cuddled on the sofa. Her best friend's mother was the only person who understood how she felt and after returning from a visit to Gloucestershire the friend's mother rang to give the sad news that he had died suddenly and unexpectedly. Of course her family had no idea how she had felt, but when she was sick for the whole day it was her father, who suffered from the 'gut feeling sickness' who realised there was something more to it. Regardless of his cast-iron stomach The Pirate said that the kind of love that is  not physical can be powerfully intense, and we all stared out to sea for a moment, before considering The Poet's comments about how the older man might have felt. 

Thursday 22 November 2012

My usual tide timetable is offline this morning so here's the app reading instead.

Sea Temperature: not taken
Sea conditions: marginal
Weather: stunning sunrise, very windy, getting stronger.
Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation:
Was it 'doable'? Only just. The Pirate and I got in and got out again very swiftly as we were knocked back by the waves. Sara and The Poet are more comfortable with the risks than I am. I always err on the side of caution, which can be frustrating for The Pirate, who looked longingly out at them once we were back on the shingle, saying "They look like they are having fun..." but as he pointed out, it can get very hairy if he gets dragged down and out. Every now and then he reminds me of 'the time I nearly drowned' and even if I feel like throwing caution to the wind that brings me back to earth. The other two were not really able to swim but did seem to be having fun, although poor Jess was clearly very worried about them and actually started wading out at one point. She wouldn't leave the shoreline till they were safe.
Jess
My surf dude friend had been out yesterday and told me the waves were some of the biggest he'd seen in our area
Intouchables - I was totally smitten with this film last night, to such a extent that my FilmFriend commented that she's never heard me laugh out loud and uncontrollably in the cinema before, it just touched my funny bone. Sara and The Poet had seen it when it first come out and we all encouraged The Pirate to watch it, regardless of the beautiful co-star. 

Tuesday 20 November 2012

High Tide02:32 (2.50m)
Low Tide09:06 (0.60m)
High Tide15:55 (2.30m)
Low Tide21:07 (1.10m)
Sea temperature: not taken 
Sea conditions: WILD
Weather: WILD
Joined by: Sara and The Poet
Topics of conversation: 
Spacial awareness - it was so wild this morning that we opened up the beach hut to change in. The wind was strong and it was 'lashing' so the shelter was welcome, but it's a squeeze to all change in there at once so we bustled about trying not to get in each other's way and avoiding various dogs who were keen a little respite from the wind too. I realised that I should have removed the ketchup bottle at the end of the summer as there was some evidence of small rodents things, and one of the reasons for our using the hut is to keep it free of mice. I had a clear up after the others left and also found some HP, so both were removed to the Village Hall bins. The forecast for tomorrow is rain all day so I'll get down early and move the furniture about and light the gas burner.
The swim itself was invigorating and the sea had a shallow trough, just deep enough to swim in, followed by a very shallow and rough area. The Pirate and I stayed in the shallows and managed to swim, but the other 2 took on the waves.

Forgive the bits and bobs that will start to appear at the bottom of the page. I've decided that all too often I loose things that I want to refer back to and as I'm not keen in Pinterest etc. I'm going to make use of this little bit of the ether.

"I think we are well advised to keep on nodding terms with the people we used to be, whether we find them attractive company or not. Otherwise they turn up unannounced and surprise us, come hammering on the mind’s door at 4 a.m. of a bad night and demand to know who deserted them, who betrayed them, who is going to make amends. We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget. We forget the loves and the betrayals alike, forget what we whispered and what we screamed, forget who we were. 
[…]
It is a good idea, then, to keep in touch, and I suppose that keeping in touch is what notebooks are all about. And we are all on our own when it comes to keeping those lines open to ourselves: your notebook will never help me, nor mine you." Joan Didion