This week...

After having a pretty eventful weekend with friends and family, the beginning of this work week was a bit of an anti-climax and by Tuesday morning I was just totally bummed out! That evening I could have hidden myself away at home eating ice-cream whilst watching a chick-flick, but since I’m trying to regain a little bit of my social life and be more active, plumped for an evening of swimming with a friend instead.

Going swimming is always interesting when you’re a people watcher...

The middle-aged women who turn up in little groups and spend 95% of their time huddled against the wall “ooooing” and “ahhhhing” about the latest scandal amongst friends and discussing the plot of Emmerdale always make me smile. Then there’s the sporadic 2 minute spurts spent actually swimming when the flock simultaneously launch from their wall, conversation still in full flow, parting the paths of other swimmers who’d been quite happily doing lengths uninterrupted.

Then there are the lane swimmers – the beautiful buff people with near perfect swimsuit bods, coveted by mere mortals such as myself, who cruise effortlessly up and down the pool in their designated lanes, blissfully unaware of the middle-aged women posse causing havoc metres away.

The loved-up couple – another breed of wall hugger that spend their time lip-locked in a corner, giggling and cavorting, with a few lengths of flirty swimming thrown in. Other swimmers throw disapproving glances their way but I wonder how many of them secretly wish they were in a similar position.

The familiar face – someone who obviously recognises you, says hi and may even instigate a conversation – all the while you’re thinking “who the hell are you?!?!” whilst keeping up the facade that you know exactly who this person is as they reel off their life’s story and tell you how much little Timmy has grown... Little Timmy?!?!?

Then there was my friend and I... 1 hour of non-stop lengths, merrily splashing around, trying hard not to get in anyone else’s way but inadvertently kicking a few people in the process, my mate checking her hair hadn’t turned green in the chlorinated water, quietly appreciating the token buffed-up lane swimmer as he exited the pool, and weighing up whether or not we’d get away with doing a few handstands in the shallow end (we decided the Tuesday night crowd probably wouldn’t approve of our arses protruding from the water like a couple of demented ducks, so behaved ourselves). I laughed so much I got a stitch and bid adieu to the work-week blues!

Tonight’s activity – week 2 of my climbing class! Today we’ll be practicing falling. I personally am well versed in falling – do it regularly although in fairness never from anything higher than my loft and without ropes to get tangled up in – so tonight should be interesting!