I also feel that I am in danger of becoming a one-woman, pain-in-the-backside crusader for water safety after an incident on the Thames last week. Without going into any detail, but to make it clear from the outset, the individuals involved HAD been wearing lifejackets throughout their trip, however it took that short moment between getting up and washed and putting the jackets on for a near-tragedy to occur. They were very unlucky, but I now find myself noticing how many people choose not to wear life jackets while out on the river. This applies to barges, gin palaces and tin fish alike...and I couldn’t resist asking one couple on their narrowboat this morning what made them decide not to wear one. The woman’s answer was, well, unsatisfactory: “We’ve never fallen in”.
Hmmm. Well done to the crew of this narrowboat!
This is a copy of an email I sent to our Club Water Safety Adviser and the Upper Thames Committee the other day (some personal details and names have been omitted):
Dear CWSA |
So, it appears that I am now one of these do-gooders I inwardly smile about! Ah well.
On to other things....I went out running with the boy the other day. He doesn’t do a lot any more, and it was as a result of a running injury that his interest in cycling was sparked. Well, let’s say a burning bonfire of interest was lit!! However, he was very fast back in the day, sub-four minute miles at age 17 and a good steeplechaser as well. Anyway, we went for my pre-breakfast run which is meant to be a fat-burning level, and honest to God, I felt like a baby elephant next to him. He seemed to just “skim” along the road, to float across the ground, and on the incline, chubby-legged old me was left feeling a little hopeless when I wasn’t going fast enough for him to move faster than a brisk walk. Stride patterns, apparently. Shuh, right.
Isn’t it annoying that some people are just born athletes, that they are just “put together right” for sport? I am one of these who likes sport, but has to work damn hard to keep up, whereas some people just, well, CAN.
Dammit. Better just head off to my wallow and get muddy.