Nice people thread part 3- Nice as pie

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

And there are swims organised .

I love swimming. As soon as it is organised I find I like it less.

lostinrates

Its summer again here this morning tough the weather said some people had ground frost today. Just as I want to get back out into the garden a friend has called and asked me to babysit for her this morning. I like her baby, and of course I'll help, but I wish her crisis had come up while the weather was rough.

Davesnave

I can't swim very well, thanks to the awful instruction at grammar school.

The school was only allowed to use an unheated open-air pool in the first part of the summer term, so it was excruciatingly cold, being with the learners, shivering at the shallow end of the baths, following long-winded bouts of instruction. Those who could swim had access to the deep end, where they could learn diving, or even nip off to the warm showers.

In my second year, I decided that I could swim! Nobody checked-up on that sort of thing, so I joined the divers. I liked diving, and I was good at it, being just like gym, but when it came to the 'swim away' bit, I just had to busk it.:o A few haphazard strokes would get me to the side, where I could nip out and maybe avoid doing another dive for ten minutes or more. Total time in the water on a cold day could be as little as a couple of minutes a session.:D

I think I remained a 'diver' for about 3 years, but then when I was around 15, they built a swimming pool in my town. Suddenly, I was a teen with a huge disadvantage, so I had a few proper lessons and eventually managed to get my 25m. It was all very embarrassing and I still wasn't much good at the end of it.

Of course, like all rural kids, from around age 10, I skinny-dipped in the local river on those long hot days that happened far more often back then(!;)) There were few places where it was deep enough to drown anyone, so swimmers or not, we all learned to go under water, pretending we were Hans Haas, a TV underwater naturalist of the day. I was doing that when I discovered a lucky St Christopher charm, which has the Virgin Mary on the reverse for extra protection.:) That's been on my key ring now for about 50 years....

chewmylegoff

Generali wrote: »

This sort of thing was a regular feature of my childhood, especially in Scouts. I remember making a dam one year in a small river to create a pool. It got pretty big after a week.

You sure that was in scouts, and not beavers?

I'll get my coat.

chewmylegoff

lostinrates wrote: »

The pony would probably poo and wee, without abashment, in the carriage. They aren't known for their cleanliness.

That is still better behaved than about half the commuters on south west trains, and 99% of people on the tube in rush hour.

lostinrates

I do not miss the tube in rush hour. Not one bit.

I'm thinking of going to see dh next week. Any one able to recommend somewhere in the City to eat on a mid week evening? (NOT brick lane)...not a great wine list...I'll be driving home...

silvercar

Was PN looking for a campervan?

http://www.firebox.com/product/3644/VW-Camper-Van-Tent?itc=276&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=!!!!!!_367&src_t=nwt&src_id=367&via=nlmain

lemonjelly

PasturesNew wrote: »

Belly full of indian food
Had an Alo Chana Biryani.... never seen one of those on a menu before, so had that. Chickpea/potato biryani when you strip out the fancy words.

You come out with this after telling me you won't have chips & gravy cos you ain't sure whether you'd like it or not!:mad:

Get out there & get some chips & gravy girl!:cool:

lostinrates

lemonjelly wrote: »

You come out with this after telling me you won't have chips & gravy cos you ain't sure whether you'd like it or not!:mad:

Get out there & get some chips & gravy girl!:cool:

You know, I'm not a chip person, but chips are exactly what I fancy now. I'd even try'em with gravy.

vivatifosi

lostinrates wrote: »

I do not miss the tube in rush hour. Not one bit.

I'm thinking of going to see dh next week. Any one able to recommend somewhere in the City to eat on a mid week evening? (NOT brick lane)...not a great wine list...I'll be driving home...

I like John Terode's restaurant Smiths, in Smithfield. City fringes rather than city proper, but the food is great and for what it is, very reasonably priced. I'm a vegetarian, so you wouldn't normally expect me to recommend a meat restaurant, but the veggie meals there are fantastic and I've seen similarly rapturous looks from my meat-eating companions. Make sure you book the dining room as it has different sections with different menus. I've only eaten there at lunch time but I understand that it is open evenings too.

Here's the website:
http://www.smithsofsmithfield.co.uk/sos/index.html
I've eaten on level 2, which helps when looking up menus...