See you soon Sarah

Lifeguard Sarah was serving her last day at the Lido today. DC Leisure have decided to move her back to the Balham Leisure Centre. What a shame ... she's bravely endured all the cold weather ( there was a lot of standing around on those cold and windy days !) and now that spring is (almost) here and summer near (so we hope), she will be stuck back indoors down in Balham ... no wonder she went for her (last) dip this morning! She even had a go at sitting in the sauna ... for a short while only! "Real swimmers, says Bob (who was on duty with Sarah today) don't need the sauna!" But, hang on a minute Bob ... we swim longer distances than you do (well, some of us do anyway!) so we are allowed to beg to differ!

Actually, I found it quite miserable out there this morning. It took dedication to get undressed! However, once the decision to strip down to my swimming attire was made and I got in, the water felt lovely .. do I sound surprised? Yes and no! Yes, because it just doesn't make sense ... but no, I'm truly not surprised because the magic element water is, swimming in it no matter how cold just always feels amazing!

I once heard some one say: "no matter how good one feels before swimming, one always feels much better afterwards!" and this is absolutely true!

Gertie and Bertie trying to get away from the oncoming "monster" as fast as they can :)

Lifeguard Sarah celebrating her last swim for a while ... when I asked her ...

...to jump in again!

and wave us a proper good bye ... it's only for now though ... because she'll be back for her swim at the Lido that's for sure : "proper swimming can only be done here", she said

Margy peeping out of her cubical to find out what all the fuss was about!

Doreen demonstrating by the choice of her clothes that winter temperatures were back today ... not that this put Betty and Marianne off from swimming up and down!

Marianne swimming next to Betty to help her see better (Bettie has had an operation on her eye, hence the goggles - she usually swims without them)

and finally: Guess who I met when cycling home from the Lido? Billie and Millie, strolling along Tooting Bec Road

"Is this the way to the Lido? I heard there is quite a nice waterhole there"?

Second thoughts

Fazlar usually jogs around the pool before getting in - today he decided to walk!

Choosing the right slot to go for a swim can be quite tricky this time of year... this morning it chucked it down and now as I'm posting the blog the sun is out in its full glory ... I guess come April (in 2 days time!) we will be seeing a lot more of this typically temperamental weather pattern. Having said that, there is something wonderfully soothing about swimming in the pouring rain :) and now that the water is back to 9 Celsius it was even relaxing! Ok ok, for 4 lengths it was relaxing ... (not only) God knows what it felt like for more? no. Sue, Chris, Batch, Vince, Mark to name just a few .. also know! But according to Jonathan theory (see yesterday's blog) we know why they can swim so many more ... Anyway, I did do another two lengths after the sauna and those felt positively amazing!

Michael finishing off his swim with breaststroke

Betty bearing unfamiliar attire ... swimming with goggles as she's had an eye operation - she never asked the doctor whether she was allowed to swim so soon after the op ... well, lets face it, not even the doctor's advise would keep Betty from coming for her daily dip!

John trying to get Stephen's attention ...

... while Sue and Lucy are having a bit of a laugh ...

... and John is still putting his point across

This mug can only belong to ....

Brian! "Cost me six quid that mug!"

Margaret enjoying a relaxing backstroke

no more chatting - time for a relaxing ...

... cool down - which Stephen agrees "it was"

Peter on his way in while Jonathan and Nick are on the move ...

... but not before sharing a joke ...

... which by the looks of it, may or may not have been all that funny ... what do you say Nick?!

brave Gertie took one look and got in while Bertie is having second thoughts :)

Perfect sense

I was in a bit of a rush this morning ... only swam 4 lengths - is it only me or was the water colder again today? according to David it is still around 48 Fahrenheit which is 8.8 Celsius .. well, that makes complete sense now! it's down by 0.2 celsius !! Chris and Sue still swam 10 lengths and so did Batch I believe .. Jonathan and I stayed at 4 lengths and Jonathan had the perfect explanation for it!

Batch taking a plunge after his sauna - now, according to Jonathan, Batch could stay in the pool longer and swim many more lengths than him because he is more like a ball :) does that mean Batch is rounder or does it Jonathan is just like a bean stalks?

which ever it is ... Batch must have given it a lot of thought while having his shower - but is still looking rather undedided

Sue merging with the water and

.... blowing bubbles all the way!

Chris and Batch having a good old natter over a cup of coffee!

check out the colours, this can only be Inez's cubicle :) but where is she?

ah that's where ... talking to her banana of course :)

Having fun

Today, I had in mind that I wanted to stay in longer so I packed my wetsuit just in case Bertie and Gertie were up for a swimming - and yes, I had a lot of fun in the pool - not only were the ducks up for it

.. lots of swimmers were too!

This is Sue jumping in after the Sauna!

Bertie and Gertie on their way to greet Michael

Hilary blowing bubbles

Ann coming towards me

I just jumped in as Ann was swimming by ... which created the extra bubbles

Batch in waving mood

Spider woman Nicola!

Egg in bombing mood!

The "Milers"! Margy and a male swimmers I haven't met before ... sorry forgot to ask his name are swimming in one direction - Sue must have started at a different time - stop press I know his name ( asked Margy 2 days later ...) it's Alex! well done Alex!

The two Carls ... ( well I usually call on of them Mark!! (only so that he can call me Florence!)

Mandy's daughter hesitating before braving the cold water -

and now for some art! ...

I had to play all by myself while no none was in the water!

Here I'm swimming on my back while tacking a shot

Swimming with visitors

Spring at the Lido has become synonymous with welcoming our yearly visitors Gertie and Bertie! As I arrived at the pool this morning the lovely couple were parading at the top end of the pool - For a minute I thought they were making a bee line for the thermometer to check the temperature ... however when they saw me getting in position to take a photo, they changed direction and got out of the pool for a short while ... must have been getting a touch cold for them :)!

So, off I went the get changed. I was swimming up and down, and saw that they came back in! Could I get a bit closer to them while in the water with them? Why not, I was game to give it go!

I got out to grab my camera and swam towards them. They seemed much happier to have me get closer once I was sharing the same element with them! It was a lot of fun albeit brrrrrr cold! It was well worth it though and I love the under water shot I managed to get! It was a matter of hit and miss because my goggles had steamed up so much I couldn't really see whether I had in frame what I set out to get ... luckily I did!

Bertie and Gertie

Gertie and Bertie enjoying paddling about while Sue and Chris (you can just about see them in the background) are motoring up and down the pool

swimming with Gertie and Bertie and exposing that it's all happening under water :)

Being in the pool with our visitors is a real privilege

After all that hard swimming, Gertie is taking a well deserved nap

Top half vs Bottom half

This is what happens when the water temperatures rises to an all time high (for this season) : the pool gets crowded!

Half of Tom trying to catch up with another swimmers bottom half ... in this case John's ;)

Now Tom had to watch out for oncoming traffic .. :)

and finally free, Tom is totally immersed during his breaststroke

Gertie and Bertie watching Vince float by

Doc Andy on his tour around the pool .. first on his front ... and ...

... then on his back! What an exceptional inspiration for all of us!

John was waiting for the sun to lure him in ... and once he was in - there was no stopping him, with or without the sun (which kept peeping through the clouds on and off,!

And finally, another shot of our "mystery man" here performing a tumble turn ... in fact I can reveal his name ... if not his face.. yet ! It's Mat! he's just back from swimming in Mexico and not quite up for the cold water ... yet! He does motor up and down the pool quite a lot which I guess would be a tall order just in goggles, cap and trunks !

Having said that, Margy being Margy, went from walking across the width of the pool for weeks to swimming 12 lengths in 9 celsius today!