The Beach

Last Wednesday I cycled to Penarth to swim. We were in the middle of a heat wave and I decided to grab it with both hands and go swimming on three days, ending with the gorgeous Jackson’s Bay in Barry on the Friday.

I got down to the Pier just before 6 am and as cycled up to my usual jumping off point I thought ‘Are those birds in the sea? There’s a lot of them.’ but no it was people (Soylent Green is people), as I approached I realised that there were close to a hundred people on the beach. I’m not proud of this but I did think ‘What are you lot doing on my beach?!’ fleetingly, but everyone was just having such a great time that i stopped being a prick. There was a giddy atmosphere of celebration. People were laughing, smiling and just seemed grateful to be enjoying this slice of nirvana. Everyone was being considerate and letting other people have their space, there seemed to be an air of incredulity that this was happening and we could all enjoy it. I did drink it up, but at the same time was suited up for my swim. The months have meant additions to my swimming kit, including an inflatable Tow Float and goggles, I’m like RoboCop going into the sea now.

The sea was still and seemingly calm, but it can be deceptive,. When I’m swimming in Penarth I try and swim around the end of the Pier, underneath it, back and down it again. However for the second time since I’ve been doing this the current was pushing me back. I was swimming on the spot! It was like the scene in ‘Holy Grail’ where the two castle guards are looking at a rampaging knight running towards them who never seems to get any closer. I swam and swam and swam and looked up but the Pier didn’t get any closer I did eventually get to the end of the Pier and had to put some effort in to to get around it. It took me fifty minutes to swim to the Pier, then just ten minutes to swim back as the current pushed me back.

When I got got there we were only around half a dozen people still on the beach. It was over as quickly as it had started, but we had that moment of shared bliss, and that’s enough.