I went swimming today. I am not naturally a creature of water but I asked No1 son what he wanted to do and he suggested going to the baths.
I am at an age where shorts rather than trunks are the kindest thing to wear. I used to have a stripey pair of my dad's old trunks - God, how long did I have those for? I learned to swim at Seedley Baths in Salford - here's a photo. All tiled and copper - cold and unfriendly as I remember. Strange to think it was closed almost exactly 33 years ago. I remember Chris Jehan giving me repeated dunkings there to the point where my eyes stung with the chlorine.
I managed to get a 3rd class swimming certificate and I think I got a 2nd class one too, but it's possible I'm just bigging up my part a bit there. What's the one where you have to get a heavy block off the bottom of the pool? Well, that one - I did that one. I didn't do anything involving pyjamas so i am not qualified to sleep while I swim.
Other swimming related memories: swimming lessons at secondary school were at the pool attached to Pendleton College. As a result, as we queued there at break time we weren't far from Irlams o'th' Height and the shops there. Consequently, once a month, I would use this opportunity to visit the newsagent and buy Doctor Who Magazine. I still remember the excitement in seeing Peter Davison in costume as the Fifth Doctor for the first time on the cover of an issue. Even the foul swimming teacher who delighted in making us bend our arms back as far as they would go (to build up flexibility. Really?) couldn't ruin my mood that day.
Blimey, just seen that Pendleton College merged with my alma mater Eccles College a couple of years ago. Pity they didn't do that while I was there - that would've saved a long walk.
I can only manage breast stroke, my strange monkey arms don't seem properly put together for the crawl, and I did once take part in the house swimming meet at secondary school. Out of the four 'houses' (I was Lancaster) I managed to come second. But i touched the side at the end with one hand, not two as per the rules and was bumped down to third. Nobody had told me! I had never been in a swimming race before - i wish someone had taken the time to mention that.
Today i contented myself with swimming a few widths and taking turns to swim underwater in-between each other's legs. I felt a few cricks and cracks in joints that had been abused but afterward I had that relaxed, post swim feeling that comes with the 'heaviness' of muscles that have had a bit of a workout. I'd been looking forward to the most important part of the experience - a cup-a-soup from the vending machine - but was disappointed to discover it didn't take £2 coins when that was all I had left in change. On the way back, No1 son and I walked through Peasholm Glen in the drizzle and got wetter than when we were in the baths. In the gloom we discovered this mysterious idol that had been left there.
Nobody knows by whom but a translation of the symbols on its head reveals that it says 'Check, Please!' Very odd.
Battery low - shutdown.
More soonliest.
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