It’s good to be back! I haven’t been around much in the last few weeks, what with holidays in Greece with some fellow B&Bers, jet lag, work and dental treatment. It felt good to get back down to the beach, especially to see flat conditions and a decent temperature:
Ian presented me with my winter badges:
Shelley nabbed my WWW badge straightaway:
I grabbed it back, but then Shelley put her bag suspiciously close to mine (I didn’t like to say anything):
Welcome to newbie Deborah (one of ten new swimmers today):
Shelley, Anne and Peter discussed important stuff:
I managed to take a photo of Belinda, Sooze and Robyn when Shelley wasn’t looking:
That didn’t last:
At the water’s edge I bumped into Lisa with son Daniel, and Anne:
Lisa was a fellow member of the Greece holiday posse as was Nicky, pictured below with the erudite Mr John Bond:
Shelley took full advantage today of the absence of regular camera hoggers Shaun and Rainer. She really has missed my blog camera:
I had a nice chat with David (we didn’t talk about Shelley). David swims with the B&B every few weeks and is a regular swimmer at North Sydney pool:
It took me ages to get to Shelly (the beach, not the swimmer). I blame my leaking goggles. Thankfully I got there just in time for Chris’ birthday celebrations:
Happy Birthday, Chris!! (A great “let’s go”, by the way 🙂 )
Robyn, David, Lisa, Lauren and Belinda enjoying their Sunday.
But wait! When you hang around Shelly as long as I do, other things happen. Yes, it was also Mel’s birthday:
Mel did the second “let’s go” for those of us still there (quite a lot of us, actually!):
Mel’s gang stayed to celebrate her birthday:
Happy Birthday, Mel!!
Lisa, Lucy, Robyn and Elizabeth hung out:
Then the action moved underwater:
Lisa had honed her blog-tarting underwater skills in Greece and used them to full effect on Lucy, who had no idea what had hit her:
The lovely Elizabeth sensibly stayed out of it:
Visibility wasn’t so great today, and there were quite a few jelly bubbles about, but the visibility did improve as we neared the Point. Lucy and Lisa took full advantage:
Belinda accidentally bumped into the blog camera at the Point (such a happy photo!):
Then Robyn turned up and we reminisced about the fantastic photo Lainey recently took of Robyn + Turtle. There were no turtle sightings today so the ever-resourceful Belinda did a turtle impression instead:
Real fish:
Jo and Sheena talked about what day the Friday organic markets are on, and how to look after dental implants (swimming with the B&B really is an informative activity!):
And I got to see the beautiful Colby again!!
Maisy and Colby (and guess whose foot 🙂 ).
The gorgeous Ned.
The delightful Maisy again. I’ll leave her mum Lucy to explain this one :).
**STOP PRESS NEWS: Lyndall found a ring in the changing rooms (presumably the ladies’!) in the surf club. If you think it might be yours, please comment below as I’m sure Lyndall checks the blog every 20 minutes or so.
Stats:
310 swimmers
10 newbies
Temp 17.4 degrees
The Monthly Dinner – 8th October 2019 – Guest Speaker
The Next B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 8th October at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. Our guest on the night will be Local Manly physiotherapist, Jim Burke. Jim will speak about shoulder injuries in swimmers. He will cover a brief outline of the mechanics of the shoulder as well as common causes of injury and a few stretches and exercises that are great in helping prevent ‘swimmer’s shoulder’.
Please book early for this event as it is sure to be popular. The cost of the dinner is great value at only $25 a head, which includes shared entrees, and a selection of mains to choose from (including a vegetarian option). Glasses of beer or wine and desserts are also available at the special price of only $5 each. Numbers are limited, so bookings are essential. To avoid disappointment and secure your spot please book at www.boldandbeautifulmanly.com.au/bb-bluewater-monthly-dinner.html
15 comments
Anne
September 29, 2019 at 11:27 am
The under water photos are just lovely
Shelley K
September 29, 2019 at 12:23 pm
What a truly superb and inspirational blog Gemma. Your selection and use of the excellent material presented to you marks you out amongst your fellow Sunday scribes as the benchmark by which other bloggers must surely measure themselves (even if you don’t know how to do the Vlogging thing). So glad I may have had a tiny role to play in your success. PS when ARE the Friday organic markets on?
Lainey
September 29, 2019 at 12:38 pm
You’re a match for Rainer formerly known as Lips in the hilarious/witty blog writing Gemma. Loved it! Nice to have all you Astapaleans back!
Robyn
September 29, 2019 at 12:58 pm
Another fantastic blog Gemma. It’s great to have you back again on Manly Terra Firma, well maybe not that much today! Wonderful photos. Thank you.
Inge
September 29, 2019 at 1:07 pm
I think this is a faux blog Gemma. People are pretending to have fun and hamming it up. Shelley is taking it to extremes and even Maisy is in on the act. It is The Truman Show on steroids. Either that or it is a cult. You can do the documentary when we all leave the cult and speak the truth about the what was really happening.👀
Lucy C
September 29, 2019 at 2:51 pm
Great blog Gemma and welcome back to the real world!! So much for Lisa’s eye gauge being an ‘accident’!! Its right there on camera!! She obviously grew up watching rugby league!!! As for Maisy – well there’s no nice way to put it – she likes humping my leg!
Gemma
September 29, 2019 at 3:02 pm
Thanks Anne!
Gemma
September 29, 2019 at 3:05 pm
Thanks Shelley, but please don’t underestimate your key contribution – you know we bloggers would be nothing without willing blog tarts. The whole Friday organic market thing was a bit confusing, to be honest. It feels like there’s an obvious answer, and yet …
Gemma
September 29, 2019 at 3:06 pm
Thanks Lainey! It was great to be in Astypalaia, but it’s great to be back too!
Gemma
September 29, 2019 at 3:06 pm
Thanks Robyn! It was a fun morning.
Gemma
September 29, 2019 at 3:09 pm
Inge I think you might be right – Roger bought a cup of ham for Colby but that was far from the only ham knocking around this morning!
Gemma
September 29, 2019 at 3:10 pm
You said it, Luce! I think I quite like the real world :).
Lyndall
September 29, 2019 at 4:51 pm
Great blog Gemma. Great to be back home with all my fellow Astypaleans.
I do check comments constantly, just in case someone wants to get in touch.
Nothing today. Nothing ever. One day…..
Gemma
September 29, 2019 at 5:26 pm
Today’s the day, my Astypalaian buddy!
Michael S
September 30, 2019 at 9:26 am
I loved the replies as much as the blog. Great to have you back.