Being me

Before heading off to Suffolk and Norfolk I quickly made it for my (essential) splish ... and a few quick photos! I simply can't resist - Carl commented "well, that's normal, you are a photographer!" I guess that's really it! I so love capturing moments!

Carl getting in - he only swam a mile as he wanted to concentrate more on his stroke

and he's off!

Alex is on his way too

Carl working on his stroke

Mr Bubbles is always a pleasure to catch in motion

Spot the different trunks :)

Different styles

The water is getting warmer and warmer ... swimmers (including me) are getting more and more adventurous! For my part I swam my 10 lengths - I could have done a few more but I wanted to stay in longer to take some photos and some film clips - so, be prepared, it's time to compare styles!

I had a hard time getting underwater footage of Alex though ... he's just too fast and I couldn't keep my breath long enough either!

But first the stills - film clips are at the bottom.

Speedo man - not sure who it is ;) maybe a blog follower who will come forward to identify himself? :)

Vince suspended in water!

and Alex is off!

And now get ready for some moving action! The quality once uploaded is not as good as it really is - Blogger down sizes it quite a lot .. however I hope you'll still enjoy watching the clips!

and just one more thing:

Remember yesterday's shot of Alfonso and Alex swimming and Margy in the backgroung?

well, Alex had a bit of fun in his spare time and as he's a wiz in photoshop, he had a word with Margy and asked her to please get out of the shot :) and she greed!

Thanx Alex the photo looks so much better - no more distriction in the background!

In a bit of a rush

I was in a big rush this morning ... and I found myself running out of time to take more shots .. a shame because the water was (almost) back to it's usual clarity and I would have loved to take more shots - specially as there were subjects galore in the pool - Anyway I first swam my 10 lengths before grabbing my camera - the water felt sensational! I really enjoyed my swim as I'm sure a lot of you did too! one or two Celsius more and we'll be back to "summer temperatures" :) Hey' I'll do my mile then! In fact I set myself the goal to swim 30 lengths - not every day :) but a want to get my stamina up ...

Before having top rush off I took some shots and wanted to experiment a bit more with the kind of shots I started taking yesterday - it does add a certain dynamic .. like Clare said in her comment she posted yesterday! Thanx for that Clare -It's so cool to get comments! Thanx also to Alex who usually leaves me comment too!

Pip trying out yet another wet suit - this time a sleeveless one

Pips has entered a swim where participants have to wear a wetsuit - being a "pure cold water swimmer", however, Pip doesn't own a wetsuit ... she's finding swimming it restricting

Julie on her way

It's lovely how the water undulates during Alison's breaststroke swim

Hilary was such a good sport about having yesterday's (unflattering but "fun"!) picture of her on the blog that I thought I'd better get an action shot of her on today! We did have a laugh about shot this morning at the pool ... Hilary is really a great sport!

I love the lovely reflection of the doors!

I find this shot confusing but interesting at the same time ... can you figure out what's going on in that Busy shot?:) I'll tell you: Alfonso (blue cap) is swimming in one direction while Alex (you can just spot his orange cap) is swimming in the other! The shot would have been more effective without a person waking along in the background - I feel this is what makes the shot so "busy" - But hey, Margy is watching a swimmer from pool side (giving swimming tips)

Ivan looking rather cold after his 12 lengths - "that's the most I've ever done!" hey, well done Ivan a PB (personal best)!

Mandy's medley

The water was still cloudy today ... intrigued about it and because regular blog readers wanted to know .. :) Im thought I'd better ask ... "It's because of the air in the water" ... who better to give me the answer than Brian! "Seriously" he added - the pump broke down , air wasn't circulating well enough and (apparently) that's what happens ...

However cloudy the water was ... it also felt great - Temperature keeper David wasn't on hand to give the exact temperature - he's away on Holiday for a week or so ... he did tell me where he was off to .. but .. hey .. what can I say ... sadly I didn't remember the destination - all I remember is that it's somewhere warm :)

So instead of getting more eerie looking underwater pictures I concentrated on Mandy who is training hard for a competition she's entered ... Mandy is great at all strokes! When I spotted her (I was in the sauna when she got in the pool) she had already done 10 lengths of freestyle!

Fortunately, Mandy was game to swim some more purely for the camera! I was also keen to take a short video clip with the little Ixus ...

After having swam 10 lengths and before getting out I wanted to try another type of action shot

Chris back with some more "serious action" swimming next to Sue

Mandy on her medley : Breaststroke

Butterfly

I do like the (butterfly) splash ... but I only got it because the time lapse from the time I release the shutter and the camera actually taking the shot is quite long when I have the Ixus in the waterproof casing! I did end up taking it out of the housing-now that I was taking shots from outside the water!

and more Butterfly :)

Backstroke

Jenny already all smiles before her swim .. just imagine how happy she'll be feeling after a few lengths :)

Happy Vince after his swim

Hilary wondering why the water was still cloudy and felt that it irritated her nose :)

Mandy's medley

Cloudy water

For some reason ( I didn't check with the guards) the water was very cloudy this morning ... warm enough (well 12 Celsius that is) but rather murky. For another strange reason I felt really great swimming today - It's true one couldn't see much but my stroke felt good - my stroke felt rhythmical and this rolling and stretching sensation I try to create has come back ... in contrast to last last week when my stroke felt uneven and anything but smooth ... I'm sure that the "warmer" water does help the muscles to relax a bit more! So it can only get better, right?!

The water temperature must be rising ... I caught Egg doing a bit more than (only) jumping in!

For some reason, the water was very cloudy today which made for interesting images! Here an eerie looking creature is powering towards me.

Can anyone recognise who it is yet ... the style (nice study of the arm movement pushing down and past) can only point towards ...

... Mr (Alex) bubbles :)

Chris on his solo swim ... Sue and Margy swam much earlier today - Funnily enough Chris didn't stay in pool for long at all ..."It's only half as much fun alone ... I don't have the same motivation." (was his "excuse!)

However, chatting to fellow thespian Alistair Petrie was much more fun!

A special visitor

Today, we got a special (sauna) visitor: Doreen! came looking for Sue Rentoul (who was obviously hiding from her :)) Anyway, it was all very important : "we need another poster!" and who better to be put on the case than Sue - She does all the graphic stuff you see around the Lido ... and much more!

Actually, it turned out to be quite a big sauna day - Chris, Sue, and Pip, rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into an intensive session of sauna spring cleaning! Thank you guys!

The water felt amazing, by the way ... just thought that deserves a mention too!

Is Sue Rentoul here?

yeahhhh - of course she is - and in good company too! Besides, where else could she possibly be when not in the water?!

Ahhhh there she is

Mandy after her swim

Margy and Egg's grand daughter Elsie-Pepper

"The reluctant scrubber" No not really! Chris in his "3rd element" (acting, swimming and yes scrubbing is at no. 3!) forget tennis, eating out, traveling, going to the cinema, making lists for things to put into room 101 ... and all the other things he enjoys :)

That's better! look at that, Chris has a great reach after all!

Well, we all knew that Sue has a great reach!

Pip also lending a hand ...

... at applying a layer of wood preserving paint

Ex head teacher, come tutor Mick after his swim - He tutors quite a few kids from the Lido.

Sun, sun, sun

Another exceptionally beautiful morning at the Lido! Long may it last! Would be great if the sun could actually drive the thermometer up just in time for the end of the sauna season!

Sue and Chris swam a mile

Jonathan is still wearing his "balaclava" and socks

which enables him to enjoy a prolonged swim ...

... and play to the camera!

Nicky warming up in the sauna after having swam a mile too

Chris made Nicky, Sue and myself pose!

Peter having a cool splish before setting off

Margaret Howard in a funcky" kiefer swim suit

Final adjustments before ...

... taking to the fresh Lido water

Christine Bickerstaff, campaigning (for labour) and collecting rubbish for the Lido float!

Joe has been missing out on his Lido splash for a good few weeks as he had to have some warts removed - thankfully they are harmless and Joe will be back for a swim very soon...

... he is looking into applying a waterproof dressing to his wounds so that he can get in the water sooner.