Wednesday 7/2/18: The Blue Menace

It was with some trepidation that 340-odd swimmers (including 10 brave newbies) entered the water this morning.  The water temperature was a pleasant 23 degrees but news of blue bottles at the Point soon filtered through the milling throng.

Above: The view looking north.

Most decided to swim north, although this too resulted in a few encounters with the ‘Blue Menace’…

Above: JK makes an announcement ‘hic sunt Physalia utriculi’ (Here be blue bottles).

To take your mind off our more unpleasant swimming companions, and to get you hot to trot for the 14th of February, a (very) short excerpt from this month’s recommended reading, Ovid’s Ars Amatoria.

In the lead up to the passage below Ovid has been listing all the places you might pick up a partner – try at the races, or perhaps at a Triumph, or why not just take a stroll around the forum?  The last place in his list – perfect for B&Bers – is the beach, but here he advises would-be lovers to tread carefully: the town of Baiae, which Ovid mentions in passing here, was a seaside resort on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples so notorious it became a byword for excessive drinking, gambling, and general licentiousness (Manly, by comparison, should be fairly safe)!

Quid tibi femineos coetus venatibus aptos
enumerem?  numero cedet harena meo.
quid referam Baias praetextaque litora velis,
et quae de calido sulpure fumat aqua?
hinc aliquis vulnus referens in pectore dixit
‘non haec, ut fama est, unda salubris erat.’

    (Ovid, Ars Am. 1.253-258)

Why should I list for you all the female meeting places fit for blokes on the prowl?  The grains of sand yield before the number!  Why speak of Baiae, its shores fringed with sails, and its water steaming from the sulphurous heat?  Here a fellow returning, a wound in his heart, said: ‘That water’s not as wholesome as they claim.’

            [trans. Pinkham]

Above: 7 o’clock silhouettes.

Above: Fearless leader Ian was amongst those who had a run in with a Bluey…

Recommended reading (bottom of the blog): As an unashamed Classics nerd, I live in hope that one day someone will ask me, ‘Alex, I would absolutely love to immerse myself in the world of ancient Greek and Roman literature – where should I start?’  Alas, it hasn’t happened yet, so I’m taking matters into my own hands and adding a ‘recommended reading’ section to the bottom of my monthly blog post.  (N.B. You can find good translations of Classical texts by most of the major publishers (the Oxford World’s Classics editions are generally pretty good, as are most Penguin editions), or online through websites like the Perseus Digital Library, or theoi.com)

This month: Ovid’s Ars Amatoria.  Witty, clever, and ironic, Ovid’s ‘The Art of Loving’ is an instructional elegy in three books, covering every stage of the courting process.  The first two books are aimed at men, providing instruction on getting a girl – and keeping her – while the third book is aimed at women.  Ovid was exiled in 8 AD for, as he put it, ‘carmen et error’ (‘a poem and a mistake’), and the Ars Amatoria is often cited as the poem in question.

Valete omnes (‘toodles everyone’),

Alexandra

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RANDOM MONTHLY SWIMMER PRIZES STARTING IN FEBRUARY !!

Thanks to an amazing new partnership, B&B will be awarding random monthly prizes just for swimming !!!!

What’s the catch… you MUST LOG YOUR SWIMS TO BE IN THE DRAW !!!  To learn more about how to log your swims if you aren’t already, please check details in the recent newsletter or send an email to ugoboyo@gmail.com

As of 1st February, every time you swim with B&B and log your swim as such, on our daily attendance software, you will automatically be entered into the monthly lucky swim prize !!!

Yep, each time you swim with B&B and log your swim that equals an entry into the random prize draw !!!

Prize draw will be completed at the end of each calendar month and completed by the computer software.

And there’s more… THERE WILL BE AN EVEN BIGGER PRIZE FOR RANDOM SWIMMER OF THE YEAR !

And there’s still more…. there will be a surprise event with maybe even more prizes… launching this relationship and the details of the prizes one weekend in February.  I guess you’ll have to swim to be lucky enough to be there 🙂

*Conditions apply:

You must swim with B&B in the mornings to be eligible to log your swim.

Completing your own swims later in the day, whilst that is awesome, it isn’t eligible for logging.

You must complete your log for the morning swim on the morning of your swim.

All swims, as always, are completed at your own risk, as per general B&B disclaimer.

Monthly Dinner – 13^th February 2018 – Guest Speakers

The first B&B monthly dinner for the year will be held on Tuesday 13th February at 6.30 pm at Bluewater Restaurant. The guest speakers on the night will be Dr Ezequiel “Ziggy” Marzinelli and Dr Adriana Verges from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science(SIMS). SIMS, in partnership with Dorset Sutton and Jenny Lim Sutton and the Manly community, propose to undertake Operation Crayweed Manly, a project to restore lost underwater forests in Manly, in particular a type of seaweed called Crayweed, which provides critical habitat for crayfish (Eastern Rock Lobster) and abalone. Ideally the restoration would take place in Cabbage Tree Bay, as an iconic and beloved place under the watchful gaze of a community of custodians who care and love this exceptional marine environment. However this will depend on gaining community support and approval from NSW Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries) due to Cabbage Tree Bay’s status as an Aquatic Reserve. The project team are keen to talk with the B&B community, as people who love and use Cabbage Tree Bay, to hear your thoughts and seek your support for this project.

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 HERE.

Bob Hayter’s Funeral is in the Magnolia Chapel, Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium at 11am on Wednesday, 7th February.