Several years ago, while still teaching, my morning routine took me to the local swimming pool at six thirty every morning, where I would pull on some awful budgie smugglers and swim a kilometre at a fairly brisk pace, and twenty minutes later get out and head to work. I did this for years and actually had never felt fitter or indeed slimmer. Then came COVID, and in the aftermath, retirement from full-time teaching.
The lure of the pool faded, and the routine was lost as life became less regimented and more free-flowing. As did my waistline and fitness. A couple of years ago, I tried to get back into the whole thing but was thwarted by my knee, which, as regular readers not only know but also are completely bored with, has now been replaced. Time for action!
At one stage, I used an underwater MP3 player and blasted upbeat Tom Petty into my ears as I ripped up the lanes, but this has been a less aggressive return to the water. The fast lane is only just within my grasp, and therefore, it has been a case of steady as we go. Not that music isn’t playing its part, as I have decided to supplement the swimming with 20 mins on a rowing machine before the swim, just to get those knees working well. And what am I listening to as I surge down the Thames in my mind’s eye? Mainly Black Sabbath, I’m afraid.
It is good to be back at it tho’, let’s see how it lasts…
So music this week has been full of joyous things. Anne Claire‘s wonderful River is a string-drenched piece of loveliness featuring members of Hiss Golden Messenger and more. Also, Dawes, with their take on The Felice Brothers’ Jazz on the Autobahn, is revelatory. The radio show was one of the best for a while, IMHO and featured Bonnie Light Horseman, The Flamin’ Groovies, Jim James, Flypaper, Whitney K and more. As ever…
