Yes, I have a flowery hat!

Oh. My. Lordy.....it was cold today. The air was -0.5 degrees, the water temperature was 3.3 !!! I thought I had misheard Dave when he said 3.3 degrees, but my frozen toes, my frozen fingers, my frozen shoulders and my frozen body screamed, ‘yes!!! It is 3.3 degrees in here!!!! Why???’

Why? Because it makes me feel alive. It makes every part of my body seem to separate from the other and then slowly reassemble and recharge.

As I arrived to swim another girl did too. We went into the gorgeously heated tent and she went to one end and me the other. She had on a wetsuit, a cold water neoprene hat, an over jacket of some sort, bootees, gloves, some sort of neck thing and a swim hat. As I unzipped my dryrobe and stood there in my costume she said, “Oh my god, are you only wearing that?” “Ooops, no,” I said, “I’ve got these.” Thank goodness I’d remembered my gloves!

I swam a couple of circuits. The sun was shining, it was great. Getting dressed was a different matter. It’s always difficult as my hands don’t work very well. If they have cameras in the car park then they will have seen me flashing as I just need to get my clothes on and not worry whether I’m revealing all.

I went for a walk with Sue this afternoon and we bumped into Mike doing the same route but in the other direction. The canal and the dam had frozen over.

I went out again for another walk tonight. I took some flowers to Michelle as I’d not had a chance to deliver a sympathy card after she lost her mum. We had a quick chat over the hedge, but it was so bitterly cold I had to walk home. Now to get that electric blanket on......