the twilight zone

Last Sunday and there were a ton of things to be done - incl. washing the bike, and Mary's too in exchange for a trip past the bike shop on the way to the coast, all of which meant we were a bit tardy arriving at Gullane just at the wrong end of the sunset, these first couple of pics being taken out the window of the moving car.

the tide was high but enthusiasm was not

Because of the lateness of the day we settled on a miniscule run of less than 2 miles just to get the circulation up and try to find the necessary, to get into kit and into the water. Mary was keen to do a swimsuit only plunge rather than a wetsuit immersion just to avoid the hassle of changing and dragging home the usual bag of sopping kit. There was no way I was agreeing to this as it was far too cold to contemplate. Even though Julia and other west coast hardies had posted photos of them doing just that in Loch Lomond. I'm sure they must have a heated section where they go in. 

To take our minds off the cold evening, there were several places of outstanding natural beauty on the run. Sadly some of them have been ringfenced by the authorities.

Back to the Berlingo and the struggle into the wetsuits. There was still a bit of light in the sky, perhaps more than shows in the photos. The thermometer suggested the water was 6'. Now rumour has it the water gets colder till April then starts to warm up, however our weekly measuring would suggest that the sea here was coldest (3') a few weeks ago and has been gaining nearly a degree per week since. This is probably because our measurements are taken in the shallows which will pick up the ambient temperature. ie when it snows or is frosty the shallow water of the tide line will reflect this.

I don't remember the ufo landing OR the comet.

Mary had been considering playing a joker this week and just not bothering. Both of us were tired and busy doing other things and catching up on life, the way you do at the weekend. However she has managed every week since Sept. and by cutting the run short we just about managed to find the required push to get into the water. And once in (and out fairly quickly) we always feel better. It is excellent therapy and kind of wipes the slate clean for another week. It is a hassle and we do have to carry a bag of sodden kit home to wash and hang in the shower but it is worth it. And we had the whole beach and car park to ourselves. To celebrate this I did a lap of the Berlingo naked until Mary reminded me that Dr Neil had mentioned there is currrently a flasher at large in the Dirleton area and I should not do my best to be mistaken for him.