Eyes Everywhere

heavy rainfall of last night and this morning leaving its mark

happy bike waiting patiently for its owner

while this bike is put away in the "dog box" :)

after my 6 lengths, the clouds started to lift ... the light was improving and ...

... it was time for some underwater shots ... of Pip and Batch were the first ones heading back to the shallow end

deciding whether to swim some more

Batch promised to keep his belly muscles tight ... :)

Pip is still swimming without goggles

Sue and Nick charging towards me .. I only just managed to keep my breath until they swam past ...

and turning around, I even got another shot of Sue

Nick races past me ... on a mission .. the catch up with Alex ... and he almost caught him ... Nick told me later that Alex got the shock of his life when he spotted Nick nipping at his heals during his tumble turn!

Chris joining the (swimming) party - as always easing himself in slowly by walking the first few yards.

Sue's arm (fully stretched out) seems to go on for ever ... the leaf at the end of her hand acts as a natural extension of her arm which makes it look even longer!

up .. over.. and ...

... away!

while Margy is contemplating her next move ... she did go in .. eventually ... and swam 6 lengths "feeling very strong", she said ... although her poor knees are still painful ...

Sue taking on the challenge of producing her version of a tumble turn for me ... you didn't have to wave at the camera at the same time, though, Sue :)

a smooth push off ... without a wave

this tree (railway side ) is already barren ... the sky looks very dramatic .. but shortly after that shot the sun did push through

Nick, after his explosive 2 lengths swim waiting patiently for Alex to finish (his 22 lengths) so that he could tease him about almost having caught him.

Ruby's extra set of eyes ... pointing backwards :)

You've always got to be on guard!

Keep Swimming

The water temperature being at 12 degrees is helping SLSC members efforts and encourages quite a few swimmers to keep swimming ... to Latvia. One minute we are asked not to stay in the water too long and the next we're off swimming to Latvia .. confusing, I know ... just remember to be sensible and not to over do it!

circle of leaves in the shallow end

More drama in the (morning) sky

the clouds soon parted more and more to let the sun peep through

Michael was the only one in the pool when I arrived .. and he kept going and going ...

I forgot to check how many laps/miles he managed to get us closer to Latvia?!

red cap skimming the surface of the water

Alfonso closest to camera and Vince in the distance doing their bit to get us to Latvia

See, Peter does also swim and not only walk ...

in fact he seems to be staying in the water for a very long time ...

Hilary about to push off through a sea of leaves

she managed 12 lengths - "two too many" she said ... she felt the cold after her shower

Alfonso pushing off in good style - one hand above the other to create minor resistance

just had to get the hanging leaves -

the wind blew many more leaves into the water

Bernie coming down the stairs

she kept walking into deeper and deeper water until she had to swim!

Vince relaxing before getting out

Pip arrived with a bit of a dodgy shoulder ... well, he used another term to describe the state of his shoulder .. which I can't possible repeat :)

Sue (not Rentoul!) performing a salutation (in)to the sun and out of her cubicle!

adjusting her goggles she seems ready to brave the (next) element

into the sun - leaving a circle of leaves behind her

A leg, bubbles and a hint of an orange cap

Ian in the wetsuit gave Pip a bit of a head start -

he soon caught up with him though

Once the sun had fully surfaced the evidence of massive water activity also encreased

neat, tidy and clean!

Let's All Swim to Latvia

Coming off the main road when cycling to the Lido ... I am being greeted by the somewhat battered Lido sign and the lovely trees which always makes my heart jump for joy!

the green leaves are really turning to yellow ... still plenty on the trees though

signing in this morning, members got the perfect reminder to clock up their distance in the pool for, or should I say to reach Latvia in January (which is where and when the Cold Water Champs will be held - Jan. 20-22 2012) Swimmers can register widths or lengths - so go for it but remember to swim within reason!

as I walked down the line of cubicles there was a brief break in the clouds ...

Jonathan happened to be the only one in the pool at the time .. and he swam straight through the bean of light!

After my forth length a saw Peter walking (backwards) - I interrupted my swim to quickly take this shot .. he told me that walking widths as well as swimming some, allows him to stay in the water longer .. ahhh... I knew there was a very plausible reason for it!

at the end of my swim, Alex was just performing .. yes, yet another tumble turn at the shallow end ... my zoom was set too close which is why I only got a fraction of the action!

waiting for another swimmer - they were all down the deep end - there were plenty of leaves to play with and capture

but here came Vince, fully stretched out

and taking a breath - always a good idea!

back onto length no 3 from a total of 4

Alex was back in no time at all - Sue and Pip in the background -

as well as plenty of leaves at the bottom of the pool

got Alex again as he passed by

and in full stretch just having pushed off the wall

bubbles galore - I bet this is what keeps Alex warm in the pool - he does however claim it's all down to his new neoprene cap!

time to log my feeble 6 lengths - Stephanie clocked up 28! She also put the water temperature down : 12.8 Celsius - how mad that the temperature is going up these days! Didn't feel much warmer than 12 to me :)

lovely contrast of green ivy and golden leaves -

taken above the roof on the railway side of the Lido

some leaves are truly dead ...

Ian and Pip getting ready for their stint in the pool

Yes, chatting with Margy can be pretty scary - even for Alex!

Here Margy was encouraging Alex to swim to Latvia .. no, not all by himself ...

He was chuffed to report his 22 lengths of today.

not sure how many Sue had clocked up ... two wet caps and goggles were proof enough that she's been swimming!