Meeting Mat The Mummy

The wind almost blew me off my bike this morning when cycling to the lido. It's been three days and three nights now that the wind has been blowing with such force that one feels quite vulnerable on the bike - Driving to Brockwell Park yesterday, to explore the coffee shop there - the pool is shut over the winter months - there was a huge de-rooted tree lying across Rouple Road denying cars access - It always looks dramatic and very sad to see de-rooted tress, specially big old magestic trees ... I can't stop but feel that they could certainly tell a few stories...

Fortunately, I arrived safely at the Tooting Lido, ready and for ever hopeful for a possible increase of the water temperature ... well it's 5 celsius, David measured it and told me that (apparently) the forecast says that it's getting colder this eve ... we shall see.

Anyway, two lengths it was for me.

When I came out of the sauna, Mr. Bubbles was getting ready to grab a shot of my plunge back in ... well, he missed the first one .. the camera's delay between releasing the shutter and the shutter actually going off can be just that bit too long on these small digital cameras ... so I did another plunge .. but he missed that one too... it's tricky.

"So what you do, I advised Alex , is you prefocus on the subject, look trough the lens, follow the movement and release the shutter all the way at the moment you want the action captured and you'll get me"

Bingo, 3rd time lucky!

"I'll put that one up on my blog later this evening."

" Great, I can go and take my shower now!"

As I was getting changed "The Mummy" was swimming up and down the pool - I quickly grabbed my camera, took a few shots and managed to get a few words out of this living mummy:)

a full lengths of the pool still ahead

full attire - wetsuit, gloves, socks, neoprene cap and goggles

face and a bit of neck exposed to 5 celsius ... Mat swam 12 lengths today.

he loves the exercise but his job takes him away weeks at a time so his body can never really acclimatise to the winter temperatures of the pool.

Mat (Whitecross) is an award winning film director - you may have seen his 2006 part drama part documentary film "The Road to Guantanamo" for which he won numerous awards together with Michael Winterbottom

or you may have seen his 2010 film "Sex Drugs and Rock and Roll"?

This week he's off again to film Take That.