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Laughter - the best medicine

i have a little laugh to myself every time i go to nairn for a game the last couple of months.... theres a little group of ladies in swimming costumes going in the moray firth for a dip on a daily basis..... :LOL:
 
Collected my 7 yr old grandson yesterday ( in the care bubble). On seeing our snow covered lawn he said “Grandad, it’s pitch white!” It’s good to see him growing up but it’s also great to hear such innocent misunderstandings.
 
i have a little laugh to myself every time i go to nairn for a game the last couple of months.... theres a little group of ladies in swimming costumes going in the moray firth for a dip on a daily basis..... :LOL:

Nutters, I know a few lake swimmers down here that still do it, often break the ice to get in for a few minutes. Madness!! And it seems to be way more popular with women than men?!
 
Nutters, I know a few lake swimmers down here that still do it, often break the ice to get in for a few minutes. Madness!! And it seems to be way more popular with women than men?!
Some other slightly odd observations on that front.

If they have a charity skinny dip the number of women far exceeds the number of men (pre-covid they happen quite often on the coast up here)
I see far more women jogging than men
If it is the local athletics club, I see far more men than women
Male cyclists far exceed women cyclists on the roads

Not sure why the above is the case but there you go.
 
Nutters, I know a few lake swimmers down here that still do it, often break the ice to get in for a few minutes. Madness!! And it seems to be way more popular with women than men?!

Alice Goodridge using a sledgehammer to break up the ice at Loch Insh in the Scottish Highlands before her morning swim. Photo by Euan Cherry, February 2019.

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My friend is really into open water swimming - never in a wetsuit! I'm not so well covered in insulation (that's as polite as I can put it) so not for me unless clad in protective suit! I did once look into swimming the channel but not enough body fat and wasn't going to get fat just to try it!

On that note - turns out I don't have enough body weight to extend the fire service's 13.5m ladder. Just too light to move it sufficiently and no obvious way around it - dangling off it like or fish and/or climbing it seemingly doesn't work!! Watch Commanders tried to get the rules bent a little as I was excelling at everything else and they said they were impressed with my efforts and surpassed all their expectations and performances of much younger and bigger fellas...but rules is rules and, for now anyhow, I'm out of training to be an on-call firefighter. Said ladder is being phased out and seldom used ("5 times in 20 years active service") which is a little frustrating but it is what it is. I've come to terms with the disappointment and think it's the end of the dream for me but something else will turn up I'm sure :-)
 
My friend is really into open water swimming - never in a wetsuit! I'm not so well covered in insulation (that's as polite as I can put it) so not for me unless clad in protective suit! I did once look into swimming the channel but not enough body fat and wasn't going to get fat just to try it!

On that note - turns out I don't have enough body weight to extend the fire service's 13.5m ladder. Just too light to move it sufficiently and no obvious way around it - dangling off it like or fish and/or climbing it seemingly doesn't work!! Watch Commanders tried to get the rules bent a little as I was excelling at everything else and they said they were impressed with my efforts and surpassed all their expectations and performances of much younger and bigger fellas...but rules is rules and, for now anyhow, I'm out of training to be an on-call firefighter. Said ladder is being phased out and seldom used ("5 times in 20 years active service") which is a little frustrating but it is what it is. I've come to terms with the disappointment and think it's the end of the dream for me but something else will turn up I'm sure :)
Having worked in a very regulated industry, I get that rules are there for a purpose, but we always had some degree of latitude in deviating from them when that judgement is taken by an appropriate authority. Is there any route to an appeal?
 
Nutters, I know a few lake swimmers down here that still do it, often break the ice to get in for a few minutes. Madness!! And it seems to be way more popular with women than men?!
there is a small group of men who go out as well, further up opp the hotel, but they all have wetsuits and carry floats and actually swim a few hundred yards, the ladies just go in splash about and are out again. i shudder to think what its like getting in there this time of year, been in in the height of Summer, almost gave me a heart attack it was so cold
 
Again off subject(sorry folks),real sorry to hear about you and the Fire &Rescue Service Amanda-especially as you had put so much time,work and effort in to getting there!
Your attitude was have been amazing in there!
On a lighter note...what about going lady pro(golfer,that is)
Jimbo
 
Having worked in a very regulated industry, I get that rules are there for a purpose, but we always had some degree of latitude in deviating from them when that judgement is taken by an appropriate authority. Is there any route to an appeal?

Not currently but I sense they are keen for me to retry and that the phasing out might be sooner rather than later. My station doesn't even have a 13.5m ladder BUT if I was at a job and put on one then it could be a problem. The ladder takes 4 to pitch and the main extend is done in two's BUT if it needs further extension after that then it's number two on the crew who does it. My fellow recruits were pushing for a reason why I couldn't be placed at 1, 3 or 4 on the crew as you'd never use me if you had a choice BUT what happens if 4 firefighters of my stature find themselves as a crew...unlikely but too risky I suppose given the nature of the job.
 
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