Chlorine...Vile Chlorine!

Haven't been out to take my photo for the day yet. I have however been swimming, in a swimming pool. This is something I haven't done for many years. I swam on holiday, but that was all outdoors and I've never been a fan of indoor pools. Chlorine, vile chlorine. Trying to write this, even with the correct glasses on, is still giving me grief - stingy eyes!   And, granddaughter no.1 knackered me as I tried to keep up with her. I have no idea which side of the family has porpoise in its blood, but there's no stopping her when she's in the water.

As a kid I was similar. When I was little we lived in Barry and had the massive outdoor pool at Cold Knap, now sadly gone. One of my favourite things to do there was to struggle down to the bottom of the deep end, which was, I think, a good 15 feet deep, and watch people diving in from the highest diving board. It was always amusing to see if swimming costumes were lost or displaced by the impact.  I think I jumped off the high board once, just the once. 

Photo from www.barrywales.co.uk

The only indoor pool I remember fondly is the old Empire Pool in Cardiff, again now sadly gone. That was a fantastic building. Built in the 50's when Cardiff hosted the Commonwealth games. It was demolished in 1998 to make way for the stadium.

Photo: the people's collection Wales 

There was just something wonderful about being under that massive high ceiling. Everything echoed brilliantly, the noise of voices and water bouncing and blending into a unique sound in the vast space. It was built to take a huge audience, but I only remember the rows and rows of empty seats watching the proceedings.

Anyway, better stop now and rest my chlorinated eyes.

Let The Blogging Begin

Never been sure about blogging.  I hesitate to add my rambling piles of data to a digital world already awash with plenty of self-indulgent nonsense. Of course, there are those blogs and websites that have proved useful, educational or inspirational. I'm not sure mine will reflect any of those particular qualities!  Part of me thinks I should just pick up pen and paper and write, in the old fashion way. Wouldn't that be better?  Well, anyone who's seen my handwriting would probably agree that, no, it's not. There's no point pouring out endless scribble if that's all it remains - illegible scribble.  Also, I suspect that what I want to do most of the time is use photos as a starting point for my ramblings, so I'm rather interested in the multi-media aspect of this medium.

I've been thinking for some time that I should try to write more around the photos I take. Images, generally, should speak for themselves, but I find filling out the story with words can be interesting. I started trying to do this when I started a Photo-A-Day project at the start of this year. I think I got as far as May. Maybe it was a bit ambitious to take a photo a day and write something meaningful to go with every shot. I'll try something a little less intensive this time maybe.

In the past I have written diaries or journals but my resolve usually fizzles out, or is at least intermittent. Now, wherever I go I have some sort of communication device - phone or tablet. This should mean I write more...right?

We'll see.