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Saturday, April 07, 2012

Blow, blow thou sunny wind!


The bedroom windows facing north always give a moment’s pause on waking as to whether the sun is actually shining.  It is only when I go into the bathroom and look at adjacent trees through the little window that I can tell whether or not it is a fine sunny day.

It was a fine sunny day.  Though, as it turned out, it was quite a windy one.  But to a man hardened on the cold sun beds of Gran Canaria it was as if it was summer!

Toni was indisposed and kept to his bed but I had a holiday to fill and so was not prepared to while away my precious holiday hours by doing nothing.  It was time, I decided, to try out the new music system for swimming.

It is now so long since I immersed myself in water for the purpose of arm and leg propulsion I did have a few doubts about my actual ability to move through that medium at all!

At least the swimming pool was open today and I found myself a bench on which to sit when once inside to prepare myself for the watery fray.  As I was just in shirt and shorts undressing was relatively uneventful but dressing in my full swimming gear was a much more complex operation.

Attaching the Device to the swimming goggles took minutes and then was finding of the bloody swim hat which is rotting away week by week.  Remembering to wear swim slippers was the next irritation followed by searching out the lock and key for the locker.  When everything was ready I marched into the pre-swim shower and worried about fitting the augmented goggles.

This was not easy.  The thing was too tight and it was difficult fitting it over the ears and making sure it actually fitted round the back of the head.  Eventually, clumsily and with growing panic about the length of time that I was standing by the side of the pool without entering the water, I eventually made an undignified splash and I was in.

I have to admit that my swimming to the sound of music was not an unqualified success.  It does work, and it works best with a sedate breaststroke; crawl tends to take the earpieces out of my ears.  It works more than it doesn’t, but it is very much a work in progress.

I also have to admit that I am a little self conscious about swimming while having a pink mp3 player with a flashing blue light attached to the back of my head.  But is worth it to listen to the selection of 80s classics that Toni has put on the machine!  There were even two Mecano tracks to help me on my way.

My first note left for Toni about my going swimming was unread when I cam back and so I decided to go and check out the new swimming pool that was supposed to have been established near the British School of Barcelona.  It exists, but it has not yet been given all its certificates by the authorities so it cannot be used.  I was show it via another building through two sets of windows.  I joined the sports centre and was given the first moth as a gift as the swimming pool was not ready.  I have no intention of using the Torquemada like machines in the gym, but I am tempted by the Padel courts.  An explanation of this game will have to wait for another day.  I now have two cards for competing swimming pools.  I have been told that the new swimming pool may become available over the next two weeks.

The new swimming pool is, I think, an excellent investment for me as it is on the way home from school and is within minutes of the house.  I could even think about going there on my bike – though that may be a ride too far!

My second note to Toni was also unread on my return and I discovered him languishing in bed, thoroughly unwell and refusing food and drink.

This lasted throughout the day but he was able to eat something I brought back from our favourite fast food place after an evening chat with Irene where we talked of great plans for the future.  As we always do.

Tomorrow, Easter Sunday – which means that there will only be a few days of the holiday left.  I really should do some school work, but the work I want to do is so time heavy that I cannot bring myself even to start doing it.  Such is life.

But there is an absolute minimum that I need to do.  Probably.  We shall see.


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