Morning delight

According to the weather report we've had minus 6 Celsius this past night ... arriving at the Lido this morning was fabulous! ice, ice, ice... huge perfectly formed crystals on every surface - two thirds of the pool was covered with a layer of ice. Some of the ice was floating around trying to make it to the deep end...

The best guard you could have wished for was keeping a eye though and morning swimmers had nothing to fear!

Crystals on the table

The water in the deep end was just starting to creep below zero too!

Bob heating up the water by emptying the guards kettle with boiling water in the deep end!

Jonathan after his swim!

Gail and Wendy had another swim after their sauna

pure elation!

stranded in France by Eurostar, David decided to fly back - he wasn't miss his sub zero swim for anything!

Ivan arriving in shorts ... he's got three layers of cashmere jumpers on though!

The sun made all the difference and pieces of ice started to float around quite a bit - chasing bits of floating ice away

Looking out the window now it's hard to believe what a magical morning it had been at the Lido ... all the ice on the cars has melted and the air temperature is well above zero again ... swimming first thing in the morning always pays off ... it just would't be the same without the ice!

There is however one advantage for the milder temperature, the runways at most airports should be clear of ice and snow .. so with a bit of luck lots of travellers will be able to travel ... including myself ! I'm off to Vienna later today ... on the one hand I'm very sad to be missing Xmas day at the Lido and on the other hand it's always lovely to be spending time with the family!

So I wish you all a very Merry Xmas - enjoy Xmas ... and keep swimming!

See you all in the New Year!