Glance back, look forward…..

It’s a humid, moody start to the last day of the year ! Simon and Anne are Management Delegates and the cry is ‘Where’s Shaun?’ we stand and natter as the ‘Dead mans crew’ muster. Drinkie arrives with a smile on his dial and we are still saying ‘Where’s Shaun?’ The morning walk to the shoreline begins

The 6.30am Drinks Express are up next…..

What a year !….Is it me or does every year feel more action packed, and faster than the last ? 2016 didn’t disappoint, the losses and the gains, the triumphs and the shocks.

This year the weather brought blackouts in the South and our very local east coast low had the ocean showing us at close range who’s in charge. In politics we had Brexit and Trump( Will he really be in charge?) and wobbly coalitions in Australia(We are not sure who is in charge?). We said goodbye to many including, sportsmen Muhammad Ali, actors Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynold, Alan Rickman not to mention the pop icons Bowie, Prince, George Michael and authors Harper Lee and Anne Devason – all these people have narrated our years. The Rio Olympics came and went with spirit, success and heartbreak. We are reminded each night on the news to be grateful to be here in Australia, not in Syria or other places at war and in distress. In our own community friendships were forged, babies born, we lost dearly loved Ed, but we gained hundreds of beautiful newbies swimming with the B&B in Cabbage Tree Bay.

Swimming, with the Cammeray crew and the wider Bold and the Beautiful community, helps to weather life’s highs and lows, both in our own lives and in the stories from places far and near, stories that both challenge and energise our faith in humans and nature.

In many ways our swim is a metaphor for life, we swim in calm waters and choppy seas, some days we swim to finish, other days we swim to appreciate. We swim with different strokes and different styles, we dive in at dawn, at sunrise, in gray skies and blue. In the cool, the freezing and the surprisingly warm. Sometimes we swim together, sometimes alone, often with ease but occasionally with strain. Never a day the like the one before. The clarity and visibility can amaze on one day and the lack of it can frustrate the next. The stings of the jimbles, the blueys give us grief but not to be deterred we return again, the lure of the millpond calls us or perhaps the whitecaps of a roiling sea. We exclaim at the sight of the stingrays, the fish, the duskies to be surprised the next day with nothing to see.

Whatever the conditions, swimming in the ocean is akin to a faith, it brings me together with people I love and people I love to be with, when I dive in a know I am alive,  present and appreciating. It is the people that count. The smiles are like no other.

It is the cherished part of the day, any day of the week. If many hands make light work, many swimmers smiling,make us light of heart ! ( the was a collaboration with Richard Lingard)

6.30am Drinks Express                                                                            A rainbow heralding the 7.00am swim

PLEASE HELP
Jane Watson Emailjanedostine@gmail.com

Comment
Unfortunately lost my engagement ring of immense emotional value this morning 29/12/2016 while swimming. I think it fell out of my bag near the pine tree. It was a sapphire with diamonds on a gold band. If anyone hands it in I would be forever grateful. Can you please mention my loss on the blog just in case someone hands it in. My tel: 0404068022 Jane Watson

Stats

Water temp : 19.8
New swimmers : 19
Total swimmers : I say heaps  – Management quoting Anne: 243 and  ‘Where’s Shaun?’427 

Warm wishes to you all for a safe, reflective and positive New Year’s Eve, wherever you may be !

Bring on 2017 …it will be the same but different… !

Thanks to Dee who inspired me to swim nearly 7 years ago and as serendipity would have it, I ran into today,  the peeps of MExpress and Hakan for our post swim coffee ritual.

And a final MASSIVE THANKS specifically to Ian and John, your constant dedication to the B&B community is a commitment that does not go unnoticed, you are amazing!!

B2