Screen Test?

Maybe I'm just very old. Or maybe I had a strange taste for television programmes when I was little. But no-one I've spoken to, absolutely no-one remembers the 1970s BBC television quiz show called 'Screen Test'.

Surely you remember? Hosted by Michael Rodd, it was a children's quiz show about films. Contestants were shown film clips, and each clip was followed by a series of questions specifically about the content of the clip.

I thought it was a fun show. I liked it because many questions needed observation skills rather than an encyclopedic knowledge of facts and figures.

What's this got to do with swimming the Channel? Well, we're holding a Channel Swim fundraising event on Friday 6 June. And that event will be a quiz in the style of Screen Test, and it will use the latest technology in lockout-buzzers. (Lockout-buzzers are the ones used in gameshows where the first contestant to hit the buzzer gets to answer the question and the other buzzers and contestants are locked out). It should be a fun event. Interesting film clips, the excitement of the buzzer, an embarrassing on-screen scoreboard, and of course, food and drink.

If you want more information about the event, or you'd like to book a ticket, click here:
Gameshow Quiz Night

Challenge complete

Clive after 70+ lengths

Orlaith after 70+ lengths

Well done to Alex and Orlaith for completing their Swimathon challenges. Alex swam 2.5km (achieving a personal best time) and Orlaith swam 5km in an amazing 1 hour and 44 minutes. And I ... was a lot, lot slower. I'm not a fast swimmer, but I can swim for ages. So, with the logistics of fitting in both a solo challenge and a team relay challenge, I swam 2.3km by myself, then 1.25km for my leg in the relay, and then another 2.7km by myself to complete my 5km challenge. So, all in all, a total of 6.25km in the Lido, in 14.9 degrees water, and without a wetsuit.

The temperature in the Lido was about the temperature we're expecting the Channel to be in July, so I was pleased at how long I lasted in the water (although I couldn't feel my toes afterwards).

Our next big team challenge is on Saturday 9 May, when we hit the sea (albeit Dover harbour) for our first Channel-like experience. Not all of us are looking forward to it ...

In the zone

Sandsend 40+ years ago

Maybe it's in the genes. Maybe it's in the blood. But, I've always loved swimming in cold water (especially the sea). So here I am, ramping up to swim across the Channel.

40 plus years ago, I was swimming in a sea-water filled pool on the beach at Sandsend. I had one of those (now banned) swimming masks with an in-built snorkel protruding from the top and a ping-pong ball in the end to stop water coming in.

I would literally swim all day. All Mum and Dad could see was a snorkel moving around the pool. Occasionally it would disappear and reappear, and eventually it would surface for food or for the journey home. I can't remember ever getting cold or having wrinkly skin. I just enjoyed the sense of isolation and the sense of being in another world - being in the zone.

Well, I'll be in that zone again tomorrow. No snorkel this time, but I will be swimming for a long time when I do the Marie Curie Cancer Care swimathon. 6.25km starting at 6.30am in Brockwell Lido - 1.25km swimming for Tim Sutton's Brockwell Swimmers team, followed by 5km swimming for myself. If you'd like to sponsor me in Tim's team, there's still time! sponsor my team

Summertime Blues

April 1st - not Fool's Day, just the start of the Summer season at Brockwell Lido. I can look forward to longer opening hours, blue skies, and warmer water.

Today was my first time back in the water since skiing last week. Nope, I didn't manage to find a pool in Crans Montana. Actually, I did find one, but decided not to pay the 45CHF to swim in it! Skiing was wonderful, but my daughter Kate broke her leg on the last day. The insurance company repatriated Kate and I via EasyJet on the Saturday (we had a row of 4 seats to ourselves), and we've all been sleeping downstairs in the lounge since then. (Kate's immobile at the moment.)

So, it's a bit of a blue summertime for us. We had a dreadful night's sleep, and I crept out of bed at 6 o'clock this morning to have a sneaky dip in the Lido. Kate and Elaine were finally fast asleep on the sofa and the floor respectively when I left the house.

I had hoped to be the first in the pool, but no, a lady in a purple swimsuit and neoprene top beat me to it. Still, I managed 50 minutes of swimming in 12 degrees water, and returned home to find Kate and Elaine still fast asleep. I've left them sleeping whilst I write this blog entry. If I can get enough sleep this evening, I'll sneak out early tomorrow morning too.