After the swim

Dave, one of our see-in-the-new-year hosts, insists on taking part in the New Year Charity Swim in Bray each year, and today was no exception. Splash-down was at noon, so we were up and about shortly after 11.00 despite only getting to bed at 6.00 am. The great plan was to take the car down to the seafront so Dave wouldn't have to walk back all cold and shivery after his ordeal, but that plan was scuppered when the keys of my car couldn't be found anywhere, which meant that nobody could drive anywhere since my car was blocking Dave's. So we walked. Fortunately it's mostly downhill (though that means it's uphill on the way back, of course). Ozzy the dog came along to keep us company, we survived the walking ordeal, and we dutifully cheered the intrepid mad dippers.

My intentions to take lots and lots of photos of lots and lots of people splashing away in the chilly Irish Sea were hampered by the fact that my battery was running low and I'd yet again stupidly forgotten to bring a backup with me. Adding to my woes was the fact that every photographer within ten miles of Bray seemed to have the same idea, which made it very difficult to snatch any shots of swimmers either getting into or out of the water. Even when I did manage to maneuver myself into a position from where I had a reasonable view, I failed to spot Dave in action and only managed to snatch a quick shot of him afterwards using his own camera. I ended up with increased respect for photo journalists who somehow manage to come away from occasions like this with decent shots in the can.

I was rather distracted during the whole thing anyway because of the missing car keys, finally deciding that I'd have to make my way across the city to pick up the spare set and then back again to rescue the car. We did a further search both in the house and around the garden before Carl finally put his hand in his pocket and found the keys there, where he'd put them when he'd gone out to the car last night to get in the Scalextric-type set. New Year good will allowed him to escape the lynching he so richly deserved, we had a nice civilised breakfast, I dropped Carl home after one quick drink in Killiney, and the rest of the day was thoroughly lazy and unproductive.

I've back-posted for yesterday. Happy New Year everybody!