Dr Stanley I presume

Well done for Stanley who finished far ahead of the field in the first of the swimming heats. And with first prize, came first pick from the “Jones Lucky Dip” bag of assorted wonderful prizes.

Congratulations to Liz Thody, she was awarded best new entrant swimmer of the day. We cheered Leanne Harling to celebrate her on her birthday. 

The race commemorates three popular but sadly deceased club members:

Ron Hammill was a regular swimmer and competitor in the late 1960s and 70s. He was a Foreman at the Royal Albert Hall and in this role had a ready access to complimentary tickets. Those for boxing and wrestling matches proved more popular with Club members than those for more ‘high brow’ cultural events. Ron suffered a seizure under the lakeside shower and was resuscitated by Ron Miller who had recently attended a first aid course run by Norman Jones, who with Lorraine Jones sponsored today's prizes.

Ron Miller was an ever present at the Serp midweek and weekends in the 1980’s and 90’s. After national service in the Parachute Regiment, Ron travelled the UK with an amateur acrobatics team giving public displays. He was a supremely talented skier. One one occasion, Norm and Lorraine chuckled at Ron entertaining an aprez-ski table full of French people, without having a word of French. 

When he was in his 70s, he became a became swim coach with Norm at Imperial College, and Norm remembered him always parking his golf club-laden green van in the wrong spaces and places at the university.  

Ron Miller’s son Andrew was a young and enthusiastic member of the club who moved to Brighton, where having gone swimming, he was reported missing and his body was subsequently recovered several weeks later.

Norman and Lorraine joined the Club in 1983, and as kindly spoken by Stu Bowman in the post-race speech “they epitomise the warmth, generosity and wider ethos of the club.”

Norm won the Bridge to Bridge in both 1989 and 1994, the Christmas Day Peter Pan race in 1991 and was club champion between 1997 and 2001 and again in 2003. He is a past Club President from 2013-16, current committee member and a Vice President for life. Norman is a qualified swimming teacher, first aid trainer and RLSS lifeguard trainer and assessor. 

Norman is a highly qualified swimming teacher, he is a Fellow of the Institute of Swimming Teachers, a first aid trainer and a lifeguard trainer and assessor.  Norman spent much of his teaching and coaching career at Imperial College where he organised and coached students to compete at the National University Swimming Championships.  He has also coached school teams and has won the National Schools Swimming Championships on six occasions.  

Nowadays Norman can still be found teaching on the poolside at the Charring Cross Hospital Sports Club. 

53 years ago Norman was working as a swimming teacher and pool supervisor at the Pontins holiday centre in Camber Sands. During his first week he passed Reception and noticed a beautiful blonde lady, and he strangely found himself passing there more and more.  A few weeks later he found himself driving past the receptionist as she was walking to the shops, he offered her a lift which she accepted – and Norm is convinced it was his yellow Triumph Herald that impressed her and not him!

They married at the end of the season in October, and lived near Rye for a year or so before moving back to London to be near family. They have two lovely daughters, three grandchildren.

Once the girls started school Lorraine secured a parttime job with the newly launched IVF unit at Hammersmith Hospital, where she worked with Dr. Robert Winston. Lorraine quickly became the heartbeat of the unit, defusing anger, sharing a hug and looking after the Doctors – she was, to quote Norm ‘bloody good at her job’ and she finally retired after nearly 30 years’ service.

She took up other challenges – qualifying as a roller blade instructor – bloody good at that too – following the Jones teaching the Bowmans theme, she taught Ben my son to roller blade on Saturdays here in the park. She did a Channel relay with 5 other Serpies, suffering terrible sea sickness on what was close to a 24-hour swim, none the less she still did her 4 turns.

Music is a big part of her life, and she was a member of the ENO community choir before the funding stopped; following the disappointment she and a few others overcame many setbacks to set up the London Phoenix choir.

Despite the fact that she doesn’t dip her toes in the Serps she is at the heart of the Serpentine family, her warm welcome, fun outlook on life and motherly instinct are what we value most.   

What a team they are and how lucky are we to have the Jones as friends and members of this great Club.

Thank you

Stu Bowman