Well it’s quite a breezy one out there as I write! (Wild under statement). Storm Eunice is flying across the land leaving a trail of destruction and mess. Everyone is talking about where they were in 1987 and 1990 when the last great storms hit and you realise that these things don’t generally happen that often thankfully. If there’s one certainty, it is NOT the weather to swim!!  No doubt there will be the adrenalin hunting kite boarders and wind surfers that will whizz out as soon as it’s  sensible to ride the surf, but I’m guessing sea swimming will have to wait for once.

Karen and I did manage to swim between Dudley and Eunice, sounding like a pair of accompanying elderly relatives (the storm names not us!), the named storms are coming thick and fast this week. As detailed in a previous blog , the names have already been picked for this season and I for one can’t wait for Gladys and Herman to be spoken about across the media… although I’m guessing the beautifully named “Meabh” is going to cause a few issues in pronunciation (it’s Maeve if you weren’t sure).

The inter-storm swim was breezy and cool and one of those days when the waves seem to purposefully be going out of their way to hit you straight in the face. What with that and a stiff wind in your face it was what Karen calls a ‘breath stealer’ day. I’m sure that Breath-stealers appear in Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter and probably are not things you want to encounter without some sort of combatting magical power, but The Orange Hat ladies are armed merely with sagging swimsuits, neoprene socks and …orange flowery hats. We ventured into the nippy water and got a face full of salt whilst a passing friend filmed us. I do sometimes ask myself why we do this?!

It might still be cold and windy, but the glimmer of spring is upon us. There’s the tiniest bit of warmth in the sunshine and the daffodils are starting to appear. We swim on with a smile!