5 GREAT SWIMS

FIVE GREAT SWIMS

Ever since I started doing the great swims its been in the back of my head to do all 5, a variety of things have stopped me, mass participation events (not really a fan of the fight at the start), temperature, cost, and even the dreaded blue green algae poked its ugly nose in, you name it i came up with them all, after all doing all 5 is not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things but it was a commitment i was not sure i would be able to keep given the whole of excuses i could dream up not to do them.

My first every ' Great' swim was the Scottish, turning up with pre swim belly....you know what i mean..not relishing the thought of putting on a wetsuit in that weather, getting in the cold dark waters of Strathclyde....couldn't i think of anything better to do with my weekends...well i could but i certainly could not blog about them!!! Turning up for that first race i stopped along the shoreline to watch the other swimmers...and witnessed a woman going hell for leather...and getting nowhere, the wind was shall we say unkind, the current doing its best to throw her out, doing breast stroke she battled onwards but literally judging by the tree i was using as a sighting marker, making absolutley NO progress. What hope was there for me, my insides liquidising as i walked.....i needed the loo and fast! At near sobbing point in the ladies toilets i tried to calm myself down, after all this was far from my first time in open water, i could swim, i am competative, so what was the worry. Well aside from my then irrational fear of fish, swallowing diesal, and numerous others that my dreams had flooded my mind with (including swimming surrounded by dead goats....god knows where that one came from). A decent enough front crawler, would you believe, that by the half way mark i was mixing it up with breaststroke. Still calm but mentally berating myself....dam goggles, need ear plugs, must train harder. All sorts of thoughts flashing through my head, i could feel a right temper fit coming on, try as i might i could not get any speed in the water. Analysing it in calmer moments i realised that instead of just getting in and doing it, going for it and enjoying it, i had already predetermined it would be a bad one after all Scotland is notorious for its cold waters...did i shiver, not once!!!! The head had got the better of me, i was by no means last (40 mins) but i was furious with myself all the way home for the fact that i had let myself down. And so started a new process, get the mental aspect right

Having put in the training and commited financially i was all geared up for the 2010 greats...north, east, london, scotish and salford.Then every openwater swimmers nightmare happened.....the dreaded blue-green algae. The weather had provided the perfect conditions for growth....and grow it did, with not only the ' great swim series' having to cancel events but other race providers too. Disappointment was felt by thousands who had signed up.

Not to be too despondant there were plenty of other places to swim so with that in mind i set about attending those and also organising some myself! In total last year i managed over 160 swims. This years challenge being thorwted by 'germs' i now need to set another...how long could we prolong the season for! October and we were still in the water, the sun still belting down on us to the point that at Ellerton one sunny evening (2011) a group of us simply laid back in the water and relaxed...not really swimming i hear the cries...you should have been there, at one point i think Liz even fell asleep!

2011 popped up on the horizen and so did the 'Great swim series'.....surely they would all go ahead this year...please let them happen i said to myself....the organisers plotted and planned...and got it right, the water temperatures were a joy, and going to the different venues made it even more exciting, with London tempertures making it feel positively tropical. All too soon it was the final one...the Scottish...checking the internet before we set off...yipeeeeee. not a sign of cancellation. The weather was even being kind to us, sun shining all the way. Arriving at the venue my thoughts turned to my race here several years ago, was i as nervous...yes, was i intimidated...not this time. Did the water look inviting...no!

I was fine in the car on the way up to scotland, seeing Strathclyde park brought a wave of emotions, wow, this was the final race in the series, i was going to be able to do them all. Calm down i told myself, just relax and enjoy it. The i saw the ladies from ellerton that were also doing the race some of whom had the medals of competion round their necks...and instantly the tears came. This swim was an acheivement for me (doing all 5 great swims) but it suddenly dawned on me how far they had come as well, gone were the nerves, they stood there grinning in anticpation of the swim or of having done the swim, it really made me feel humble and proud to be apart of their journey with the open water.

The sun was shining, the venue great, my friends and fellow swimmers.....what more could you ask for! Having done so much swimming during the year in so many different locations its fantastic, you start to see people you have chatted to and raced with, its like a massive family converging for a get together. The social side of open water swimming means the we probably know more about our fellow swimmers than we do our work colleagues, after all we show our vulnerability, our fears, our laughs and our joy with people that we may only meet for an hour and not see again for months, but the same sense of acheivement and camorardory is strong. I do wonder if that is what is part of the draw of open water swimming. Most of these amazing people go on to be facebook friends and so the open water friendship continues.

Soon enough my swim wave came on, would the girls stay by the finish line and cheer me in as we had done with the others, i hoped so but did not want to ask. The emotions were starting to take hold again, what is it about the scottish swim that does that to me..answers on a post card please. Pretty soon the horn sounded and we were off, breaking away as i normally did i found myself a nice clear space in the water and soon had that lovely feeling of getting into the rythmn of the water as i passed swimmer after swimmer. Then at the second to last bouy a light bulb went off in my head...this is the last one - enjoy it, so i eased off the pace, only to find at the final bouy i was head to head with another swimmer, matched stroke for stroke!!! No way was i going to let this person beat me...i got him by a second! Turned and found out it was once of our ellerton swimmers! Did the girls stay and cheer me in...yes, i was over the moon. All five done just like that!! Even i could tell that my grin was massive!

So now I have done them, how do i feel, great, its an acheivement, and i am proud that i have done it, I enjoyed the Great series and hope that you will feel inspired to given them a go, one or all you will love them.  Whether its for charity or you own personal worth you could not want for a larger mass participation event where the choice of locations is brilliant (the Great East is my personal favourite) post your pictures or even write a blog and send it to me, i will add it for the world of swimmers to read, email me at pauline_squire@sky.com.

SWIMMING FOR THE BBC- COUNTRY FILE

SWIMMING FOR THE BBC COUNTRYFILE

Following an appeal on Facebook for swimmers for the programme Countryfile, (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t0bv), i put my name forward, any opportunity to show the world what we do and how we do it, who knows you might even entice a few more into the water and thats the whole ethos of what i do. So name submitted i sat and waited, soon others added their names and later that day we got contacted by the producer and director, Jack and Mark. Goody we were in.

Rebecca, Martin, Leon, Cath, David, Pauline, Liz

Countryfile are making a piece about water quality in the river Weir and would like to film us swimming as surely if the water quality is bad we would not put ourselves at risk by entering it. Now many years ago the quality of the river was not good, industry and pollution made it a no go area. However things have changed and with this water source on my doorstep it was too good an  opportunity to miss out on. I was tasked with finding a suitable place to swim in,  i picked a hand full and David Donaldson and myself met with the Jack and Mark to show them. Some locations were simply stunning (Dandry Sheilds) where we discovered a pretty place that is clearly the home of otters  the number of fish skins along the bottom of the river bank. Others the river too wide and it would make us look like pea's in a pan swimming along. Then came the perfect venue at Eastgate, a quiet location, 3 waterfalls, stunning scenery. An ideal playground on any day let alone for filming. David and i had to give it a go and duly got in. The water was.....cold, very cold. Its flowing water so that which was coming off the hills around flows directly into the river and at that point was surrounding our bodies and rapidly making us numb. But as we shivered getting dressed we knew it was the place not only to film but also to swim in during the summer. We started planning what we would like to do! Heater on full in the car i headed home.

My next task was to get swimmers, now that is never a problem, there are more than enough like minded people in the world like me who relish every opportunity to get in the water, pretty soon we had sufficient people. Messages sent out and we were good to go.

Tuesday the 13th the BBC team came up to do some filming so Liz Reed, David Donaldson and myself met for coffee prior to the swim, catch up chats and hot fluids inside us and we were ready for the swim, it was a mild day, the sun was even making the odd appearance, the breeze had a warm feel to it. The BBC has devised and adapted a cycle helmet to support a head camera for me to use so they could get the swimmers eye view of being in the open water. Cue David with his camera to record the moment!

Land based cameras set up, swimmers at the ready and in we got. The water temperature was a healthy 9 degrees, and with the little bit of sun on us it was heavenly. The sun filtering through the water meant we could see the occasional fish as well as the bottom in places. The force of the water coming over the waterfall appeared to have diminished in the week in between swims, previously David and i had struggled to get anywhere near the waterfall such was its power, today however we were able to get right up to it, under it and behind it. The force of the water on your head was amazing, like getting hit with a million little hammers, behind the waterfall the noise of the water deafening, but the view looking out, incredible, we could see Jack and Mark watching us. I wonder what went through their minds watching us get in the water and playing like children. Mark had hinted that it might be something that he would want to experience....do we have another convert to the open water, lets hope so.

Adjustments made to the helmet camera, and we were good to go again, swimming behind and around the other swimmers, diving under to see if we could capture some footage of fish, i think i mainly got legs and arms. Heading out, we viewed some of the footage, its very interesting to see what we had shot, experiencing it in the water then being able to see it played back was enlightening. Camera dismounted from the helmet in we got again, this time to get some deeper shots. We had a passer by watching us, he must have thought we were nuts....we probably are but that's what life is about isn't it! Filming done it was time to get dressed. Clearly Jack and Mark are not used to having swimmers strip off and try to dress in front of them. But this we did, the cold sometimes only starts to kick in as you get dressed so the practice of taking an item off and replacing it with another dry one is put into place, layers and lots of them!

Jack and Mark headed off to film the scenery in the area, and the three of us stood around chatting, trying to stop our hands from shaking long enough to get hot fluids in us. Our giggles must have alerted all and sunder that we were there. Its great to be able to share moments like that with friends, and it did keep me chuckling all evening whenever i thought of it.  The rest of the filming was to take place the next day so we would have to get home to get the wetsuits dry (David bravely getting in sans suit as his is in for repair), but the diversion of coffee and cake sent us hunting, the local cafe having closed we headed for a marvellous pub called the Black Bull at Forsterly, we must have looked very sad standing by its doors waiting for it to open, and we would have been in for a long weight, it was not open til Wednesday. So heaters on full blast we got back in the cars and headed home. Tomorrow we would meet Julia Bradbury, would we, could we tempt her into the water. Orca had very kindly donated a wetsuit in her size for her to get in with, lets hope shes game for it!!!

Wednesday dawned a heavily misty day, thankfully this soon lifted as the day wore on and shorty after lunch it started to lift. A phone call from Leon and crew told me they would arrive at the visitor centre in Stanhope at 1.30pm. so i got my stuff together, texted and called the others that were also going to have to arrive. Pretty soon we were all there grouped together outside in the sun drinking tea. Liz Reed soon arrived bearing gifts for me and David, children's drinking cups with anti spill lids give the shakes that we had got on the previous day.....believe me they will get used!

Tea drunk and in convoy we headed off to Eastgate to show the others where we would be swimming. Parking in the sunshine you could almost think it was a summers day such was the warmth of the sun.  As soon as you get out of the car you could hear the water. Less than five minutes later we were there, the waterfall, masses of water crushing down in front of us. The sun glancing across the waters surface literally making it sparkle and dance.

Jack and Mark wanted us ready in our wetsuits or costumes as the case may be for when they got there at 3pm. As we started getting ready the cameras came out.....ours not theirs!! Leon Fryer somehow managed to get his suit on in record time and headed straight for the water, grinning as he eyed up the rocks which he was planning to jump from....this could rapidly turn into an episode of Helicoper heros!!!! The rest of us took our time, enjoying the banter, David Donaldson, like a mountain goat jumping all over the rocks soon found himself a spot to view the arena of water that we would be swimming in. Waiting for the BBC to turn up is no big deal when we have water to play in!

All of a sudden a bellowing voice came out of no where, Angry Bob, as he is now known came thundering down through the well trodden path, shouting who's your health and safety officer.....no introduction i might add. We grouped round the red faced angry person in front of us. What are you doing here he said (had he not been so irate he might have taken in the numerous wetsuits and cossies). Did we know there where cray fish in the water, no but they would not disturb yes as we would not disturb them. The water is clean he screamed.......it was getting boring now listening to this man rant on without stating the purpose of his rant. Leon engaged him in conversation, trying to lighten the mood but Angry Bob was in full swing and would not be stopped, his piece de resistance was 'did you know there were 5 ducks here last night.....and now they are gone' How we held it together at that point i do not know. He was led away by Geoff and never seen again. The purpose of his rant not known, the reason for his impromtu visit unclear but amongst the group it was discussed that maybe we should round up every duck we could and ask him back for a identity line up.....was the man right in the head....ducks do fly!! Thankfully he never returned but it did amuse us for  a moment or two..there are some odd people in the country!

Wandering up to where we had parked our cars in search of a mobile phone signal i must have looked a bit of a sight, wetsuit on, arm in the air chuntering, no bloody signal, and then suddeny two bars appreared, quickly calling Jack, we found they were two minutes away, in no time at all they were with us and parking up. Julia Bradbury alighted the car and i can confirm she is every bit as stunning in real life as you see on the television. She was full of questions about what we did and why we did it. I told her about the joy of open water swimming and that we hoped she would get in with us. Oh she stated i don't have a suit.......problem solved, we do i said, a fantastic Orca 3.8. I will have to see she said but i am filming in Minasota for a month and flying tomorrow but it sounds like fun.

Walking down to the waterfall, she loved the area and the scenery, I had prewarned her that the group were eager to meet her and that Leon on particular was a huge fan. She took it all in her stride and from the second she joined them it was as if she had been a life long friend. Once the introductions were made she joined in the banter, most of which was directed in Leon's way.....this man, a true gentleman was reduced to a 10 year old boy under her direction such were the looks he was giving her.! Leon had brought cakes......none of us had been offered or even allowed any until Julia arrived....but all of a sudden they were out and Julia was munching away, Leon, beaming in the back ground! Then again the camera's came out as did the banter!

As the crew set up, I was told what the requirements of the shoot would be, basically we could be ourselves and do what we would normally do in the water and then they would call several of us for an interview (myself and david donaldson), we lined up for a pre swim film shot of our faces......no sound so it was a great opportunity for some whispered comments to make people giggle, i cant tell you what i whispered to David but if you watch the footage you see that he corpses infront of the camera. Rebecca Jarre's pose was so great the camera man was struggling to hold the camera he was laughing so much.

And then it was into the water.....did it feel colder than the day before...yes, the air temperature was colder and we had been stood around for a bit, but it was still lovely to get in. Like children at a fair wanting a go on the best ride, we all rushed for the waterfall. Swimming around, diving under you name it we did it, all of which we would have done if the camera's were not there. Julia did her piece to camera, she is animated, smiling and articulate, a complete natural, no notes. I did even notice that she took a sneaky photo of us all ....or was that just of Leon! All too quickly i got called for interview, the noise of the waterfall behind me made it for me to hear how loud i was speaking but it felt loud to me, she asked the questions, i attempted to answer. Now for anyone that has swam in COLD water you will know that when you put your face in the feeling is that of when you go to the dentist....numbness....when you try to speak you feel as if your mouth is not forming the words that you would like to say....highly aware of this, i tried to do my best. Next up was David, and i got back in to swim, we could not hear what was being said but David was grinning as he came back to us.

More filming of us swimming, then the crew checked their footage, i got called back for more questions, by this point hanging around in the water was making me shiver...i hope it did not come across on film. Then more filming, the crew also gave us their underwater camera, like seals we were all soon diving under and playing...we could have stayed like that for ages but the toys needed to be returned. After 45 minutes we were done, the crew started packing up and Julia chatted at ease with us, i am sure she called us a bunch of nutters at one point....but you could tell that she wanted to get in.....insurence and the bosses said no! She told me though that although she was not allowed to get in she was thrilled with the wetsuit and insisted on her pics being taken with it. How on earth am i going to get in that she stated...!

With us shivering as we got dressed the BBC packed up and left us to our dignity, most of us have swam together often before so as it seems to be the way with open water swimmers, the requirement for speeding dressing means that we are all adept at averting our eyes whilst in various states of undress. Soon fully clothed, Rebecca and Cath, bless them produced hot drinks for us....highly welcome, and it was chat time...naturally we were all on a high, we had swam, but also been filmed what a treat....when was it doing to be shown to the public.....April the 1st!!!!!

Going our seperate ways i was over the moon at how the day had gone, i think we showed the BBC how open water swimmers are, and what we do in a positive manner.....a two week wait for the screening seemed like an age away!

April the first came round....most of us were sat with lap tops on facebook open ready and waiting. We were the last item to be shown, gulp.......here goes, the banter on facebook showed that we were all nervous and excited.....! And there it was...me, the first bit....me being asked if we peed in our wetsuits....oh i got the spade out and started digging, sat in my living room red faced and waited for the comments...and yes they came. Now anyone knows that swims with me i always give everyone stick......now it was their turn....and boy did i get it!!! But there we were in glorious colour, a wonderful mixture of male and female, wetsuit and non wetsuit. Did we do the world of open water proud, i hope so. I was pleased with it and so were the others!

Haven't you seen it, well fingers crossed this link will work, if not i will try to upload from the disc they sent me. It seems Countryfile has a host of new fans and all being good the world of open water has a few new ones too! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01fnj9h

ON THE BOX AGAIN - COUNTRYFILE FILM

A few weeks ago we were asked to do some filming for the BBC's countryfile programme, here is the footage, blog and pics to follow, hope you enjoy it and if you fancy giving it a go give me a shout via email, pauline_squire@sky.com, facebook, or 07946498923. Hope you enjoy it http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01fnj9h/Countryfile_01_04_2012/

WILD ABOUT SWIMMING

Well all of you know that it i has been my aim to start my own business, and many have told me that doing what you love to do means that mentally the work load is halved straight way. So to this end i am now officially open for business, WILD ABOUT SWIMMING will only be small initially so i can test the market and see the directions i will need to go in.
What will i be doing 121's and group sessions to get people new to open water swimming into the water safely and with confidence. Coaching and assessment of said people so they can reach their goals be it race ready, distance or fitness ready. I aim to organise events and swims in the Northeast of England and cover as wide a geographical area as i can.
As open water swimming becomes more popular and people reclaim our rivers and lakes more are entering the water with little or no knowledge of what to expect, social swimmers are arranging themselves in groups with no first aid or rescue cover, to that aim i will be looking for persons to receive this training to reduce the risk management of said swims. For those looking to expand their swim portfolio i will be encouraging accredited and non accredited qualifications. And for those looking to set up their own groups looking to advice and consult with them. During the winter months for those not wishing to continue in the open water i will provide pool based training in preparation for the following season. I am as always open to suggestions so if there is an area you would like to see Incorporated then please do not hesitate to let me know. Soon i will be organising my first entry to open water event, entitled 'Dip a toe' so if you are new to open water swimming come and have a go. Thank you all for your support historically and in the future and i look forward to getting as  many people in the water as we can get!
So should you be interested or require any information from me you can contact me using the following methods:
TELEPHONE - 07946498923
EMAIL - pauline_squire@sky.com

GB OLYMPIC TRIALS 2012

THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON


Further from my last posting.....where i still say THANK YOU, you will remember that i told you about things happening for a reason, the course that i got booked on got cancelled so i immediately signed up for the next one. Stomping round the house solved nothing so i did my normal and headed off to the water, 5K of swimming later and i felt calmer, not exactly one of those 'oh well' moments but calmer, i had be soooo looking forward to it and the course was pretty much imminent, for the sake of 2 people it got cancelled, not impressed but literally nothing i could do about it, next one is booked!
But as i have said things happen for a reason, i got an email, inviting me to attend the GB National Championship trials, now knowing that everyone that knew me, knew of my wish list which included this event, but also them knowing that i did not manage to get tickets, my first thought was this is a wind up. But a part of me deep inside was doing cartwheels.....could it be real, the logos looked right, the name at the bottom of the email was right. Time to double check, so i sent another email else where.....nothing!!!!! Now do i open my mouth let the whole world know or keep it quiet.
Getting up the next day, the first thing i did even before putting the kettle on was check the emails....nothing. But then later that day confirmation, oh i was going to see the GB swim stars, how exciting. Andrew Reid, MD of Verve would be meeting us at the venue and act as our guide and host, we had a brilliant time with him.


Now they say that everything happens for a reason, had my course not been cancelled i would not have been able to attend the trials, so there was a good reason for the cancellation, someone somewhere was looking after me.


Wednesday soon arrived and the weather was fine, travelling down did not seem to take that long at all, getting into London, with the instructions as given by Linn meant it was uneventful too. Parking too was easily found, in the local shopping centre which due to a recent referb looked splendid. Having arranged prior to travelling to meet up with fellow swimmer and freediver Dan Graham, who is a first response first aider to the Olympics, a quick phone call and he was there. Coffee and cake and a great chat about freediving and i am hooked, i have to give this a go. Dan was great company explaining his role in the Olympics and that the trials were not just a trial for the swimmers, it was a chance for everyone to perfect their performance, it was great to see his enthusiasm for his work and that all the hard work was paying off with the smooth and uneventful running of the games thus far.

Time flew by and soon enough it was time to meet Andrew, finding the venue was not a problem, straight out the shopping centres doors and there it was right in front of us. Wow, it looked impressive. The site area big enough to accommodate the thousands that would be flooding through its doors later in the year! Staff positioned all along the route were friendly, full of smiles and the occasional joke or two. Joining the queue, i telephoned Andrew, he had the tickets, whilst waiting for him who should walk by but Sharon Davis, looking remote but splendid. Next walking along, deep in concentration was Tom Litten, the very special reason we were glad to get tickets, those of you that have read previous blogs will know that Tom is very special to us having swam with him and had the pleasure of introducing him to open water swimming. Tonight Tom was competing, a hug huge from him and off he vanished to finish his preparations.


Before you could blink Andrew arrived, big grin on his face, he was as excited as we were by this event. You could tell instantly that we were going to get on. A gentle giant of a man with a fab sense of humour is how i would instantly describe him, he was as excited as we were to be there.  Going through security was similar to that of an airport with scanners and wands being waved. An elderly couple going through before us seemed a tad confused that they had not been recognised as they had attended the mornings swim viewing!

Entering the venue is breath taking, and Dan was right in that its a 'wow' moment, he had described to us the groups of school children who had flooded through the doors each day, each group giving a collective wow as they took in the sights, for us adults it was no different. It simply is a sunning venue, attention to detail is second to none. We stood in awe before the camera's quickly came out. Staff were great telling us where our seats were, and all the facilities. They genuinely seemed to be enjoying their work, a massive bonus, it must be great to see the reactions of peoples faces as they come through the doors.

Tom Litten after his warm up

Already in the pool, like a mass pod of dolphins were swimmers turning their arms over and getting warmed up, some using training equipment, some under their own steam, the different techniques on display for me was amazing, the drills they were doing food for thought! Like a child in a sweet shop i decided that i had to have the clackers, flags and anything else that would make this event more memorable, so diving outside  (no pun intended), i set off in search of such goodies only to be enveloped in a bear like hug from Bryn Dymott, he had said that he would be there. It really is great to meet up with fellow swimmers and put a face to the name and all the chats that happen on facebook. He's a very personable man, obviously inspired by what he had seen so far and getting tempted to return to masters swimming....we will be following your adventures should you choose to do so Bryn!

I had told Tom that we were coming down, and that the mankini that i encouraged/forced him to wear during his time with us in the water would be making a reappearance. Thankfully Andrew took this in his stride as i donned it in the seats.

Watching the swimmers compete is inspiring, the speed but the ease with which they swim makes us mere mortals look like we are floundering at best in the water, each movement they make is graceful and precise, the exact product of hours of training coming to fruition.

Being mainly a open water swimmer i found it quite fascinating the array of costumes, jammers, goggles that the swimmers were wearing, Andrew was also interested in the differences in the equipment requirements of pool swimmers verus open water swimmers. It struck me how little the swimmers used in comparison, and also that with small tweaks of equipment that the open water market could be easily catered for. It seems that the market as a whole caters for the top down swimmers (and quite rightly so), us normal swimmers have diluted versions of what they wear, many due to the cost involved and also the issues surrounding catering for a diverse, large and competitive market. It was good to be able to discuss 'our' requirements and explain the reasons why for example pool goggles although wonderful are not great in the open water due to their limited peripheral vision, size, and ability to stay suctioned to our faces in the types of weather we face. I could see Andrews brain recording all the information and storing it away, i am sure had we not been there for the purposes of watching the swimming we could have spent the night in a pub with scraps of paper having an in-depth conversation about products and their usage and the transferability of some of those products.

Racing took on a pace which is amazing to see as did the conversations around us, what is nice for the spectator is that the coaches and event staff are also in with the crowd, despite most not knowing who they were talking about the frantic pace of hushed conversations had me intrigued. Is it as nerve racking for them as it is for the swimmers i wonder, they seemed harsh at times in their verdicts after swims, did they realise the impact of participating in such a life changing event and the effects it can have mentally and physically on the swimmer, i am sure they did.

Tom Litten

Seeing Tom swim was an amazing experience, he literally flew through the water and i hope he could hear me screaming as he glided through the water. As soon as his race finished he had promised to come and say hi, and this he did, he was disappointed with his swim but for us it was just brilliant to watch and it was a proud moment to be able to say, i know him!. Pictures had to be taken...with the mankini. A few hugs later and it was tome for Tom to go off for a well earned drink, i shall remain his second best fan (his family are his first) and truly look forward to seeing his career progress.

 Returning to Andrew, conversation again turned to products, Andrew seemed truly interested in the differences and the requirement, some of the women had amazing costumes on, bright and really jazzy looking, but these for all that they looked wonderful would be impractical for us wetsuit wearers, the straps too thin, and the sides to high which would lead to chaffing, which as us suit wearers know is a nightmare and can cause scarring if the chaffing is severe enough. We don't just need to keep warm in the water we need to be safe too, the cold in the water is excellent as disguising injury as many a swimmer will testify to when then have exited the water to find necks rubbed raw, feet bruised from treading on the hidden sharp rocks underfoot. That said to have a jazzy practical costume.....wow that would be fab.

Lyndon Longhorne, getting ready to swim

Soon it was the turn of the paralympians, remarkably and as is normally the case those that struggle on land are amazing in the water. Any other sport may have denied them the chance to compete but the water welcomes one and all, embraces them and supports them. This is evident in the speed and grace displayed. Many a child who feel being deprived of an electronic gadget and 'forced' to enter the great outdoors  moaning the whole time should attend these games, and thank themselves lucky, it may be a big wake up call that sitting on the sofa while the sun is blazing outside is not an option, the swimmers were inspirational, determined and eloquent in their address of the water.

All in all we had an amazing day, the journey home was uneventful but seemed long but we grinned and chatted swim talk the whole way, still grinning now. Thank you so much to Linn and Andrew of

http://www.theaqualife.com and Verve, you have been wonderful. For all of you unfamiliar with the aqualife team, please use the link and register with them, they are truely interested in what us the normal lay swimmer needs and take on board what we say. I had an incredible preview of what the Olympics are going to be like, got to watch Tom Litten race, brilliant night!! Memories made and stored, fab!