Early Rising

As I prise myself out of my cosy bed in the darkness at 6.30am to get ready to go out into a freezing morning for a walk and a bus trip to the beach, I do have a moment when I think I must be on some spectrum to put myself through the performance.  Once outside into a feeling temperature of -6° I find many people out and about wrapped up like Egyptian Mummys and I start feeling less odd and just like one of the world’s many early risers.

The beach on my eventual arrival was devoid at 8am of other swimmers apart from my 2 co conspirators. The wind was brisk and fiercely cutting, so in a way being in the water was a warmer option than not being in. Getting redressed in the cold was not for wimps and taking an hour and a half and two buses to get home to my hot shower was an ordeal…. But… I wouldn’t have missed the chance to cold water dip for anything.

The sun shone again, I warmed up  and after lunch  I met with the other Maggie’s Kitchen Table friends to hand over the money for our Christmas Dinner to the Edinburgh Art College Café. The meal is the best value for money that I know of and the surroundings are always festively decorated by the art students.