Category: Bobbing

#670 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, Serendipity, Words2 Comments

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Bobbing and the bobbers are a rich source of advice. So much so that isolating the best piece of advice would be foolhardy. But the wittiest piece of advice I gained from the big bobbing trunk of advice is really rather useful and it also makes me laugh out loud whenever I hear the first sentence in real life or on the radio or TV.

” Well, the ball is in their/his/her court” says the protagonist, following a disagreement or differing opinion on any number of subjects. This suggests to anyone who is listening that a point of understanding or neutrality has been reached after a period of tentative discussions or slightly uncomfortable negotiations.

The protagonist is suggesting that the next move is entirely up to the person or organisation that they have had a disagreement with.

A Bobbers additional sentence takes all illusion of control away.

” But the bat is up my arse”

Removing any scintilla of doubt as to where the real power lies.

#674 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, Serendipity1 Comment

How do you relax?

It is no surprise to any regular @theoldmortuary blog reader that over the last 3 years my relaxation comes from swimming in the sea with ‘The Bobbers’. No one is more surprised than me to say this. If I were writing this blog in 2020 my answer would almost certainly have been reading or listening to music. In Ocrober 2020 four and then five of us started swimming regularly in the sea at Firestone Bay. That number has swelled to 21 as of yesterday.

What started as an immune system boosting, cold dip, for one bobber has become a fellowship of swimmers and Coach. There is nothing official about us, just a Whatsapp group where times of ‘Bobs’ are called. The Whatsapp group messages rarely stick at just a tide time and weather prediction. Our Bobbing friendships have similarly become intertwined, interesting and most importantly supportive.

Sometimes in the past, pre 2020, I knew that if life was tripping me up, with too much to do or think about then a couple of hours in a good book would set me right. Not so much now. Even in the depth of winter I know that a dip in Firestone Bay or another cold alternative is exactly what I need. Developing an eclectic and supportive group of ‘bobbing’ friends has also been life changing and life affirming. People who I would never have met in any other way have been brought together by a shared interest in getting chilly on the coastal edge of Plymouth Sound.

In fairness to ‘ Bobbing’ it does do a lot more than relax. This blog could equally have asked all of the following questions and I would have written something similar.

Where do you laugh the most ?

Where can you always get advice?

Where do your maddest conversations happen?

Where can you always get a hug?

Where do you enjoy biscuits the most?

7 Bobbers Bobbing

#671 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, SerendipityLeave a comment

It was the sort of day to be beside the sea yesterday. Lovely hot weather with a bit of a breeze. Saharan dust in the atmosphere made for a pink sunset, coupled with a favourable tide in the evening I chose to swim in the dark sea of dusk.

Although this looks blissfully peaceful there was an annoying drone flying overhead. The drone operator may have felt irritated by me bobbing about when all they wanted was an empty bay. The sea had been full all day of people making use of our hot September weather and my isolated dip was just good timing. There were plenty of people still in the water 15 minutes before when I walked the dogs. There was also some live music coming from the Tennis Club that overlooks the bay. It is just too bad that we didn’t have good weather when the evenings were longer and we had friends and family to fill them with. Regardless, an evening swim was very relaxing. The water was crystal clear and beautifully black, mind clearing in the best possible way.

#676 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, SerendipityLeave a comment

How are you feeling right now?

How would you feel if you had just been swimming among  shoals of fish with hundreds of sea birds feasting on the fish and a pod of dolphins breaching just yards from your swim zone.

Doing that with the best group of bobbing buddies on a Friday morning is just one of the loveliest moments that life can unexpectedly deliver.

For a couple of days now there have been a lot of fish in our little bay on the edge of Plymouth Sound. Coupled with super high tides and the arrival of a pod of dolphins it has been like living in a wildlife documentary. The cries of the seagulls and the twinkle of fish scales in the water made our morning bob very magical. How am I feeling right now?

Blessed by the serendipity of nature. Swimming with Dolphins…

Somewhere out there there are 8 dolphins…

Millions of fish. Hundreds of Seabirds .Nine bobbers including Coach who couldn’t believe quite how lucky we are to swim in such a fascinating place.

#685 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, Fireworks, Serendipity1 Comment

Evening dog walk with enhancements.

The British Firework Championship was being held just across from our swimming zone.

We could see the flashes and hear the bangs as soon as we left home. A sure sign we had talked too much over supper. No real surprise there,we always talk too much. There were even some illuminated swimmers in our usual bobbing spot.

This morning everything had returned to normal and a dozen happy bobbers swam in the bay without the excitement of fireworks. One bobber had returned to us after being away in Abu Dhabi and another had been dealing with some family complications in London. It felt so good to have a big group of bobbers together to refresh our hearts and minds in the cool waters of Tranquility Bay. We are each others metaphorical fireworks, lighting and lifting one another as and when needed.

#671 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing1 Comment

Was today typical?

If today was yesterday, it was not completely typical. The long distance swimmers,who are also bobbers, took off from our usual bobbing location, but for a longer distance swim with very little chatting. What was not so typical was that a bright red Royal Navy ship sailed past the bobbing zone making the whole thing more colourful.

Normally bobbers are tiny orange dots swimming in the sea with military grey ships sailing past. Not so yesterday. HMS Protector sailed past as they were swimming out. Link below for information.

news/navy/onboard-hms-protector-royal-navys-ice-patrol-ship

If we think our waters can be chilly at times, this ship spends most of its working life in the Antarctic. It has just been in Plymouth for a bit of a spruce up and training. The bobbers were not the only bright things in the sea yesterday.

#653 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn art, Bobbing, Serendipity1 Comment

Last night our evening bob was a little more bumpy than we had anticipated. Getting in and out took more care than usual but swimming in a lively summer sea was invigorating and buzzy. Conversation afterwards was lively and touched on a new exhibition in Manchester by Yayoi Kusama.

https://factoryinternational.org/whats-on/yayoi-kusama-you-me-and-the-balloons/

Sex Obsession © Yayoi Kusama

I’m not sure we can fit a trip to Manchester into our summer plans but we did catch her exhibition in Hong Kong earlier this year. She translates life experiences into distinctive abstracts featuring dots and serpiginous and fascinating shapes. At 92 she is unlikely to take up cold water swimming but I wonder how she would depict an experience like last nights swim.

I might have a go at trying a chilly coloured watercolour. Depicting swimming in a bumpy sea with unexpected icy splashes as waves bump into each other. Showering bobbing swimmers with droplets of salty, very cold water.

Spot the blogger at Yayoi Kusama Hong Kong.

Spot the blogger + last night’s seascape.

Reel with music below.

#618 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn BobbingLeave a comment

6 bobbers and their dogs slipped anchor from Firestone Bay and camped and swam at Talland Bay over the weekend. It feels a bit like a superpower to walk, untroubled into the sea when all other beach visitors are tentatively dipping in their toes and squealing as an incoming wave splashes up their legs.After swimming we basked like reptiles in the afternoon sun.

There was a beach cafe too, that took card payments, which is quite a luxury for us. So cups of tea and a gooseberry ice cream followed our sea immersion.

When it was time to leave the beach we had a lovely late lunch to enjoy, cooked by an apostle of Ottolenghi. Wonderful Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food made with love and flavour. Humous so silky that it could be a beauty treatment.

Fresh lemony cake followed, and with that the most fascinating conversations. Bobbers follow eclectic topics of conversation on a normal day, but fueled by good food and sunshine we were off down more fascinating rabbit holes than the average rabbit explores in a lifetime.

#615 theoldmortuary ponders.

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, Firestone Bay, Serendipity1 Comment

Returning from holidays means that normal routines need to be re-established. The dogs have been away at their second home. A rural idyll with more than an acre of beautiful landscape to scamper in.

This morning it was very much back to work for them. Hugo hunting seaweed and Lola wrestling sticks. Yesterday I was back bobbing in 12 degrees of Atlantic sea after 42 degrees in Bangkok. Yesterday was a birthday bob for a friend and ex colleague.

It was a significant birthday, marked as they sometimes are with hair growth in all the wrong places.

It was a fun time with catching up on all sides with old friends and making new ones. Bobbing is a very social activity. There has been a massive development, involving our favoured area to swim, Firestone Bay. It has been incorporated as an Official Swimming Zone. Which means the water has to be tested for quality and safety and that certain amenities must always be available close by.

My morning dog walk started at Firestone Bay this morning and it was as beautiful as normal. A film crew from the BBC were there to report on the successful bid to become a designated swim zone. Below is a video of the news clip that will be on National TV for most of today, unless a big news story bounces it into oblivion. The dogs were unable to keep quiet for the whole 6 minutes. And I fidgeted a bit as I didn’t expect the segment to be quite so long.

Have a good day.

#435 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Bobbing, Serendipity1 Comment

Many months ago we made a plan to decorate the hallway in the Easter holidays. It is a big hall and I could bore the pants off everyone, talking about it but last night we reached a moment when the ground floor spindles were mostly painted and there was a moment when the stairs looked like a clever optical illusion.

We are replacing Nicotine Cream with a dark grey. The hallway links three floors, so getting nearly to the top of the first set is encouraging. Crouching on the stairs to paint is bone aching work but the call of the sea gave us an hour off yesterday.

Not only were we rewarded with a long cool swim but there were many after swim snacks to fuel the rest of the day’s painting.

Our bones felt very happy after an hour or so away from grey paint. The fiddly painting makes me clench my jaw but there were plenty of bobbers yesterday, to chatter to, which gave me all the jaw relaxing exercise I needed.

There is a lot to ponder, in this picture of warmly wrapped up swimmers. Some of us have been doing this together for two and a half years. What started as therapy for one bobber, who had been given a diagnosis of an immune system disease, quickly became exercise for the Covid years. Our numbers peaked at about fifteen for quite a while and are still under twenty. These occasional group photos link the missing bobbers with the active group of the day. The bobbers themselves link up on all sorts of dry land endeavours. Our lives have been enhanced, in unexpected ways, by this regular dip in cold water. All this for an activity which is officially discouraged.

49.1 F is 9.5 C

But who could resist this.