In, out, in, out, was how the sun did it’s Brexitish best this week. The weather just couldn’t make up it’s mind. ‘SWinter’ or perhaps ’Swummer’ was how a witty Serpentine swimming wag described the current moody London weather during this sporting weekend. Thanks to Jaki FB for her photo capturing the huddled masses having al-freeze-co breakfast on the first Saturday of summer 2016.
And with summer, comes tennis. In, out indeed for poor Andy Murray.
I thought of George Best while some lamented Andy Murray’s runner-up spot on the warmer side of the English Channel at the French Open. Chapeau to the amazing Novak Djokovic, the Serbian Grand Slam champ, who is the first to concurrently hold all four major tennis titles since Rod Laver in 1969.
Owning an Olympic Games gold medal, a US Open title and Wimbledon title, you can hardly say that Andy Murray has not lived up to world class expectations.
And perhaps many of the older Serpentine swimmers - like Rob Ouldcott, Ian Stuttard, Natasha Dyer and Robin Hunter might recall the George Best moment when he was with Miss World in a Mayfair hotel. In a 1970s interview, Best recalled how he had been dating Miss World and took her gambling with him. They won £5,000 and went back to their hotel. They started counting the money on the bed when a waiter arrived with champagne. The waiter looked at him and said “George, I’d like to ask you a question, where did it all go wrong?”
I digress. And with three major titles, the world’s second best tennis player has not all gone wrong.
Back to swimming, there were some excellent cold water ins and outs to shout about.
In Dover, Alana Digby, Australia’s finest Serpentine swimmer, was doing her stuff in 12.8C. The gritty and constantly smiling Alana cracked out her six hour qualifier with some great swimming. It has to be pointed out that getting dressed afterwards, her technique for putting her clothes on had faded, but not her ear to ear grin. This brilliant and durable swimmer will be in search of support crew when her English Channel solo swim window opens on 19 July.
Alice Gartland put her cold to one side for what else but a swim in the cold, maybe hoping that like the rule in school mathematics where two negatives make a positive; she could kill her cold. Did a swim in the cold sea with a head cold allow one cancel out the other? Go ask Alice. Suffering in smiley silence, Alice kindly stayed on to help with feeds.
Deirdre Ward and Mike Barron also did a bit. And on Sunday, George Cselko and Dani Lobo brought the sunshine for a nice morning of swimming. And how do I know? Because I was there.
Now I only hope that there aren’t any multiple Channel swimmers out there who berate themselves for not being Michael Phelps? Or indeed, any Serpies who should have been in this story but I have left out.
In, out, shake it all about.
Yours swimmingly
[John Tierney]
