Getting Over It

No post yesterday .. but therefore one today! the strangest thing happened yesterday ... Already fully dressed, I put hands and camera in the water to take underwater photos - and I took (great) shots of Mrs Ape ... however when I got home and put the card into the card reader, NOTHING .. shock, horror! where are the shots?? Nowhere, was the answer! and I still can't figure out what happened? I did have a card in the camera ... but for some reason the photos didn't get transferred onto the card ... strange, annoying, puzzling ... lost forever! Only one way of getting over it! To take more pictures today!

So, here they are. And I'm glad to report : nice ones of Mrs Ape (again!)

Ally, Batch and Martin debating how many lengths they will swim .. After having spent the last 4 weeks in South Africa, Ally made the wise choice and stuck to swimming widths today, and 4 at that, her first day back at the lido!

Batch swam 2 lengths and Martin decided to do 1 KM!

The water felt warmer than yesterday -

I stuck at 2 lengths and then stayed in the pool for what seems (too) long ...

to the take under water shots

Martin's daughter, Natalia waited for the races before getting in

Will - not sure how many lengths he swam .. surely lots!

Mrs. Ape .. otherwise also known as Mrs Cake ... I mean Kate ...

She gracefully and politely refused Martin's suggestions of swimming 1 KM with him ..

yet, Kate still swam an impressive 6 lengths - besides she already did her Kilometer in January

so nothing more "to prove"!

heading for the wall, clocking up her lengths on her "poolboy" watch

.... and pushing off again for lap no. 5 ..

by which time I had enough of being in the water ..

... oh no, wait there comes Martin ... quick let me grab another shot ..

I had already taken off my goggles and couldn't submerge -

later a very cold Martin joined us in the sauna ... shivering!

Deserted Lido

There was a bit of a deserted feeling about the Lido this morning .... most of the familiar 8-9am swimmers were missing ... representing "us" at the Cold Water Championships in Latvia - exciting as they have their first day's competition today .. I wonder how many medals they will already have secured ?! :) No pressure guys ... just do your best and have fun!

I shared the pool with Simon this morning - a colder morning than yesterday - the air temperature has dropped again and the water also felt colder than yesterday ... On my way out fully dressed and ready for my breakfast, I actually made a point of having a look at the thermometer that's in the deep end of the pool - it showed 4C exactly. I was with my 2 lengths and 2 widths - Simon swam 4 lengths so did Vince ...

Sue being in Latvia, Batch had to go on his pre swim run around Tooting Bec Common

all alone this morning - by the time he was ready for his swim he also had the pool to himself

2 lengths for Batch ...

... followed by a quick sprint to the sauna

Jonathan and Nick enjoying their favourite game - eyes on the ball -

what concentration Nick!

and a stretch .. that must be good for keeping fit and agile!

Jonathan is ready in anticipation of his turn

Thankless Job ?!

Not the most welcoming morning this morning ... dark and very very wet! The water was even warmer than yesterday, mind you! Must have reached 4 C again .. no one here to check with ... David is on holiday somewhere "hot" - he did tell me .. but ... ohhh my memory is definitely not what it used to be ..! and Stephanie (with a fully functioning thermometer again) wasn't here either ... Anyway, I hope that our Latvia swimmers will encounter better, albeit much much colder, weather for the Cold Water Championships!

By the way, where is Mr Bubbles ??! Anybody know? No new posts on his blog since friday 13th ... hope that date wasn't a bad omen for him ..! Come back, Alex ... the temperature is moving up again!

Sue and lifeguard Sarah having a lifeguard to lifeguard chat -

For those who don't know, Sue has successfully passed her lifeguard exam!

We are now in even safer hands!

Sarah holding and using(!) a tool of the trade!

yes it's long ... this is the other end of it!

a seemingly thankless job ... specially in the poring rain ...

I did, however, thank our "new" lifeguard who normally works down at the Balham Leisure Centre and is with us for a 6 months period - I really must ask her for her name (and remember it!)

... offering a smile!

Ladies, have you noticed how much cleaner out changing/shower areas has become?!

specially around the wash basins ... positively sparkling!

For Club And Country

Last day of training for Latvia bound SLSC members - the frost kept away ... so did the sun unfortunately ... In fact it was rather miserable this morning ... Never mind ... it is what happens in our hearts (and possibly to our hearts) when braving the elements that matters! Where am I going with that? Well, the heart stays warm although feet, hands and for some other parts of the body don't!

Catherine heading off determinedly - 2 lengths - well done. you just "need to" remove these gloves now! :)

I did "A Steph" on Pip this morning encouraging her to swim 2 lengths by saying "you can do it!" I didn't feel too bad saying it as Pip swam 4 widths yesterday and hey, the water was "up" today - 3.5C according to Stephanie ... then again (male) Pip claims to have seen the mercury stopping at 2.5 C on the thermometer at the deep end of the pool ?! ...

I think it's safe to just agree that it's still b..... cold!

Beaming Pip!

After suggesting she should swim 2 lengths, I felt responsible for Pip's wellbeing and

made sure she was feeling OK (or even GREAT!) after (or because of) her heroic 2 lengths!

I did swim 2 lengths too which I'm sure must have played a part in Pip's decision to do it too!

Peter taking a deep breath on his way up the length of pool ...

2 lengths for Peter too - Well done!

Lucy on her final few strokes

Ian in full Latvia training ... diving in after his (baking) time in the sauna

Ian normally prefers using his wetsuit and "threatened" that this was the last time we would catch him during the winter months without his wetsuit !

Sue (Brearley) presented Sue (Rentoul) with a lovely hand made "Good Luck for Latvia" card which will, I'm sure, spur on the entire SLSC contingency to have fun and give their very best for Club and Country!

can't wait to hear all the stories and welcome swimmers back with medals round their necks!

After my swim I was off to Wendy's for another Marmalade making lesson!

I definitely needed a refresher after last year's production.

This year I prepared the fruit at home (in my pressure cooker) and brought the cooked fruit and the water they pressure cooked in over to Wendy's for all other stages.

Cutting up the rind is easy ...

pushing the meat of then fruit (pulp) through the sieve needs a bit of elbow grease!

adding water to make up for the desired water amount while sieving helps!

once that is done, sugar gets added and off we go : time to turn up the heat!

all the sugar is dissolved, scum is building up, the water evaporates slowly and the entire mixture reduces down

using a thermometer helps keep an eye on the proceedings ...

it will reach over 100C

Over the year I collected loads of empty jars ...

.... which came in very handy - Voila!

Madness & Sheer Delight

Another frosty night and yes, you have guessed right, the water temperature dropped another notch! Stephanie told me that when she arrived well before 8am (!) there was ice in the sallow end of the pool :" We had to break the ice .. and when I put my thermometer in, it broke! I think the water temperature must be 2.8C!" Upps and I had in mind to stick to my 2 lengths of the previous days ... "Yes Elizabeth you can do it!" according to Steph(!) Well OK then ... I'll think of you while in there .. specially on my length back from the deep end and sauna bound!" which is exactly what I did ... as I saw Steph from the corner of my eye (fully dressed by now!) cheering me on ... Thanx Steph, it was worth the pain (which was only in my hands, thanx God!) Nothing that the sauna can't remedy after a few minutes, though ...

I think that this must have been my PB! I can't remember swimming 2 lengths in under 3C last year ... 3 cheers for my body and all the other bodies who have endured (possibly) more pain (as well as exhilaration) than mine! Vince swam 3 lengths, Pip 6, Nando 2 and a width sprint as part of his Latvia training! Sue 2 lengths and 2 widths and so the tale of our SLSC heros goes on ...

Nando and Tricky revving up for their cooling jump

upps where has Nando gone?

ahh, there he is!

he has resurfaced, beaming with sheer delight and ready to go again!

Sue after her "solo" plunge & game for a group plunge

here we go - all together now : Sue, Nando and Tricky

Nigel setting off on a total of 8 lengths - madness?!

one could say so ... but then again, Nigel is in training!

Just a quick reminder that it is cold -

air as well as water temperature !

Nando trying to show how cold the air temperature really is -

sadly the camera didn't pick up the steam coming off his body nor the steam from his breath...

.... which Sue finds just tooooo amusing!

Nigel after his 8th and last length - quite an achievement -

the water was below 3C

quick step in direction of the sauna was in order!

Clare and Mandy jumping for joy after their stint in the sauna

And racing off ...

Mandy taking the lead ...

Clare finishing her width in style

while Mandy tumble turned and pushed off for a width of backstroke