Baby elephants and new perspectives

Life is a funny old game. At least, that’s the conclusion I’ve come to over the last week or so. Certain events in people’s lives can have an impact forever, and when I consider how much my life has changed in say, the past three years, I would say that not one of us can take a single thing for granted. Yesterday was my three year wedding anniversary. That’s all I’m going to say about that!

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 As promised, I'm writing to outline my suggestions and concerns surrounding safety and emergency procedures at the club following last Thursday's potentially fatal accident. I feel that we as a club have been extremely lucky that we have not had a serious incident in the past few years. However this does not mean that the membership as a whole (and by default therefore the general public who pass by our frontage every day) would not benefit greatly from a greater awareness of the risks of injury - and specifically drowning - and how to respond to these risks. It became very clear to me that, whilst I have attended a basic first aid course as part of my insurance requirements as a Pilates teacher, I was not trained to deal with drowning, which is clearly a specific risk factor on the river. Moreover I know from first hand experience when a member slashed her arm, that most people do not know what to do in a simple first aid situation either. Again, it was just lucky that I had only been on the course about three weeks prior to this incident! I would like therefore to request that the club arrange to have an external training provider come in and offer a course to members on a voluntary basis. Clearly there is a limit to the numbers that can be catered for in any one session, however I feel that if it takes ten courses to accommodate people, so be it. Rather invest the money and save lives, than be unlucky that the people on hand one day when something happens don't have a clue what to do, panic ensues and a tragedy occurs. I'll look forward to chatting to you about this further if needs be, and I would be glad to be of assistance in arranging some training in due course. With my best wishes

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.