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!

Spot on the blog

The air temperature remains fairly mild - according to David, the water temperature remained unchanged too. The only thing that does seem to change these days is the number of people turning up for a plunge! and how long they manage to stay in the water! members seem to also stay around for longer after their swim which is great! Today I met Jenny (for example) who I have not met before and who I am happy to report also enjoys reading the blog!keep scrolling down because she too got her spot on the blog today !

Angie striding along searching for the best spot to get in the pool

This can only be "art" :)

Hilary swimming to her heart's content

Pip's well earned plunge after swimming six lengths and getting cooked in the sauna ...

.. the feast of pleasures seems to be never ending for Pip .. now she's (also) enjoying a cup of coffee :)

While Jenny was motoring up and down the pool for a total of 8 lengths!

... and looking greatly refreshed before heading on to the sauna!

meanwhile, the mystery of the mummified swimmer goes on ... but wait, there is another clue: he wears GAP flip flops - does anybody know who it is?

Eddy enjoying a hot drink and a natter after his swim

Penny taking it easy before he swim - did you know that Penny used to run marathons?

Morning dew

It had been a chillier night than the night before and although I had the intention to up my game today and swim six lengths, I didn't! I stuck by four lengths ... my "excuse", I don't have one :) four lengths felt enough .. yes that's what it was! Instead, I saw lots of subjects to photograph starting with this lovely Daffodil bearing beautiful droplets of morning dew!

Lovely morning dew on the daffs around the tree outside the Lido entrance

(unknown) Swimmer, covered from head to toes - hard to tell who it is ... maybe a blog follower?!

Fiona enjoying her morning swim

Chris sitting on the winners podium, looking rather sheepishly wondering whether he was going to be told off by Brian for doing so ?!

Then I saw Ivan and jokingly pointed out that he was swimming in the wrong direction cause everybody is swimming lengths while he was on widths :) "I'm just looking forward to getting in the sauna asap", was his reply ;)

Clare starting off in her lovely Esther Williams cosy and flippers

Pip making her way in (the water temperature remained at 8 Celsius)

Inez (with a Z!) as she pointed out this morning in the sauna ... that reminded me of the song Liza Minnelli sang ... it's Liza with Z not Lisa with an S cause Lisa with an S goes "S" not "Z" ... etc... do you know that song?!