More ppl I get to meet where I swim 26 3 5
First let it be said how swimming in the sea every day is neither a big deal or a game changer, which is to say that in the town where I live there are some, say 25 ladies and a dozen men who regularly visit our changing hut on "The Ladies' Beach" to partake in this pass-time
That I have been doing now on pretty much a daily basis for the past 16 years is not unusual. Before I alllowed my wife to buy me, or strictly speaking rent me, a key, I had been swimming from our nearest beach for a few weeks, when I accepted the idea of getting a key for the much safer custom of swimming where others regularly swim: for the safety in numbers, if nothing else.
When I decided to give it a try then in 2009 8 19, the first guy I met there when asked when he started he began by saying how he came to live in the town in 1969, and when I related this story to the next guy I met there, he said he hadn't been swimming so long, because he didn't start until 1983.
So my own efforts, since 2009, pail to insignificance, and the stories of much more dedicated ppl, men and women, are legion.
But this last month was noteable because we had a deep freeze situation, coupled to the sea being at one of its lowest levels, to the extent the pump was no longer under water, so could no longer keep our opening in the ice ice-free to prevent a daily buildup of ice in the opening, in Finnish the "Havanto", when the town decided to close the use of the building, putting a notice on the door, 31st January, to the effect visiting had been suspended.
But without double locking it to prevent access, as was the situation when Covid 19 struck in 2020, when access was prevented so ppl had to abide by their lockdown procedue, pertaining to meetings of several ppl being forbiden.
Fast forward now to this day when as I was about to enter the hut, as a lady dipper was leaving when she engaged me in conversation. When I let slip how I had this last month been helping to keep the Havanto open, if not as for a time being the only person to do so...When she interjected "Yeah, I heard about it!", from her fellow lady swimmers..?
Then how this day 5th Marsh I first met this fellow Yke who had started visiting again after abiding by the suspension referred to above and then this what I suspected as being a newcomer when a conversation in Finnish began, when again, he didn't recognize my accent as being English, as I related my recent meeting with the famous person, who with the proceeds of his successful clothing company, he founded a famous museum in the capital noteable for having the British Scultor, Henry More, as one of its chosen artists, amongst other famous artists.
When he too expressed surprise upon learning of my being a native English speaker when he switched into speaking English with the most refined accent I have heard spoken by a Finn, albeit an Estonian Finn in this case, who it transpired was a linguist with possibly Finnish, Swedish, English and possibly Estonian (not mentioned per se), Russian and German, and his latest interest in Arabic, when I noted I only know one arabic word the word for "Gaza" pronounced "Rhaza" if that is close for an Arabic accent?
Finally it came to light, he lived in fact in Helsinki, but was staying probably with a close relative, studying for his up-coming student examinations later in the month, before his taking his second dip in the icy water, when we introduced ourselves and he turned out to be a Benedict, a Swedish speaking Finn...
What I am attempting to do in these blogs is to keep my audience up-dated with the evolving nature of being what it is like to be a foreigner from a different culture in this particualar meeting place in which very few ppl visit without interacting either on their way into the water, now among its best days for getting the release of endorphins, or on their way out when the endorphins usually have the effect of releasing the good hormones which give rise to easy light-hearted conversation...
That I have been doing now on pretty much a daily basis for the past 16 years is not unusual. Before I alllowed my wife to buy me, or strictly speaking rent me, a key, I had been swimming from our nearest beach for a few weeks, when I accepted the idea of getting a key for the much safer custom of swimming where others regularly swim: for the safety in numbers, if nothing else.
When I decided to give it a try then in 2009 8 19, the first guy I met there when asked when he started he began by saying how he came to live in the town in 1969, and when I related this story to the next guy I met there, he said he hadn't been swimming so long, because he didn't start until 1983.
So my own efforts, since 2009, pail to insignificance, and the stories of much more dedicated ppl, men and women, are legion.
But this last month was noteable because we had a deep freeze situation, coupled to the sea being at one of its lowest levels, to the extent the pump was no longer under water, so could no longer keep our opening in the ice ice-free to prevent a daily buildup of ice in the opening, in Finnish the "Havanto", when the town decided to close the use of the building, putting a notice on the door, 31st January, to the effect visiting had been suspended.
But without double locking it to prevent access, as was the situation when Covid 19 struck in 2020, when access was prevented so ppl had to abide by their lockdown procedue, pertaining to meetings of several ppl being forbiden.
Fast forward now to this day when as I was about to enter the hut, as a lady dipper was leaving when she engaged me in conversation. When I let slip how I had this last month been helping to keep the Havanto open, if not as for a time being the only person to do so...When she interjected "Yeah, I heard about it!", from her fellow lady swimmers..?
Then how this day 5th Marsh I first met this fellow Yke who had started visiting again after abiding by the suspension referred to above and then this what I suspected as being a newcomer when a conversation in Finnish began, when again, he didn't recognize my accent as being English, as I related my recent meeting with the famous person, who with the proceeds of his successful clothing company, he founded a famous museum in the capital noteable for having the British Scultor, Henry More, as one of its chosen artists, amongst other famous artists.
When he too expressed surprise upon learning of my being a native English speaker when he switched into speaking English with the most refined accent I have heard spoken by a Finn, albeit an Estonian Finn in this case, who it transpired was a linguist with possibly Finnish, Swedish, English and possibly Estonian (not mentioned per se), Russian and German, and his latest interest in Arabic, when I noted I only know one arabic word the word for "Gaza" pronounced "Rhaza" if that is close for an Arabic accent?
Finally it came to light, he lived in fact in Helsinki, but was staying probably with a close relative, studying for his up-coming student examinations later in the month, before his taking his second dip in the icy water, when we introduced ourselves and he turned out to be a Benedict, a Swedish speaking Finn...
What I am attempting to do in these blogs is to keep my audience up-dated with the evolving nature of being what it is like to be a foreigner from a different culture in this particualar meeting place in which very few ppl visit without interacting either on their way into the water, now among its best days for getting the release of endorphins, or on their way out when the endorphins usually have the effect of releasing the good hormones which give rise to easy light-hearted conversation...
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