4th November - Just Keep Swimming



The first thing, which may surprise many of you, is that despite my ample abdominal girth, I'm a real big fan of sports/exercise, and recently, have added the likes of Tennis, and Swimming, into my previous routine, which included Football, and Gym work. Weirdly, I've always felt more at home in the water than on land. Whether that's a day trip to a SeaLife aquarium, a boat trip/party, or bobbing along in the pool at Siobhan's 6th Birthday party, a bash where all the school children were asked to get out and play games like 'pin the tail on the donkey', but I refused, preferring to float around in the pool alone, rather than stuff my face with jelly & ice cream. 




I think this love stemmed from my Grandfather, who was (literally) thrown into the deep end, and taught to swim in the local river Thames which ran down the side of his house as a child. His amphibian nature then saw him attend the local leisure centre every morning of his life, swimming length after length right into his mid to late 80s. He was essentially the 'Frog-man' of Abingdon. Now, after spending a few years out of the water accounting to no discernible reason other than laziness, it feels good to be back in my spiritual, and chlorine-filled, home. I'm mainly swimming for fitness, upping my total of laps by 2 with every visit, in the Olympic-sized pool, but it will always, also, be a way more fun way of getting your cardio workout in, than the dreaded hell-hole of running, imo. Urghkkkk. 




Swimming is, in many ways, similar to life. Even when it gets tough, and you might feel the tide is against you, you've got to keep going to keep your head above water and reach your intended finish line. I've always personally been a much stronger swimmer on my back, than on my front, which... I'm not entirely sure the meaning of, in terms of this current analogy, but overall, if there is any wisdom or advice with which I can impart on you during this Wintery Friday morning, it would be that of Dory in 'Finding Nemo'...




... Just keep swimming. 


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