Do you fancy cold water swimming?...by Sheila Claydon

 

I learn something new every day, and what a joy that is.

We have new nextdoor-but-one neighbours who recently moved to our small corner of North West England from Hampstead in London. As we're a friendly lot around here they have very quickly become part of the neighbourhood and, in the way of all new friendships, questions have been both asked and answered. And because of that I have learned all about Hampstead and Highgate Ponds.

A while ago a documentary was made about them (now on Netflix - The Ponds) and one of our new neighbours was featured. Naturally we were agog to see it and him, and we were so impressed. What did I learn?

Well the first thing I discovered was that just under 4 miles from central London there are many bodies of water, mostly man made reservoirs originally dug out in the 17th and 18th centuries to meet London's growing water demands. Nowadays they are mostly wonderful wetland habitats crowded with birds, insects, fish and wildfowl. In the midst of all this nature, however, are 3 famous swimming ponds. A large single sex pond for men and one for women, both open year round, plus a pond where men and women can swim together, which is open May to September. There is a lifeguard. No child under eight years of age may swim in any of the ponds, and no child between 8-15 without an adult accompanying them because the water is deep and only suitable for competent swimmers. Apart from that there are few rules.

Apparently access was free until 2004 when the City of London Corporation tried close the ponds, saying that they cost too much to maintain and were a health risk to swimmers. Those swimmers who had used them for many, many years challenged the decision in the High Court and won, although there is now a small charge to use them. 

There is more history too. Boudicca's Mound, near the men's bathing pond, is a tumulus where, according to local legend, but probably not true, Queen Boadicea was buried after she and her 10,000 Icini warriors were defeated at Battle Bridge.

What I found more fascinating than any this, however, is the fact that people swim in the ponds every day, all year, some even on Christmas Day. They dive into the depths when the water temperature can be as low as 1 degree, and when they have to take care not to cut themselves on the surface ice that has formed. And if the film is a good judge, they then all clamber out revitalised and sure that they are the better for it. I know couldn't do it, not just because I am a very indifferent swimmer but because I feel the cold too quickly. However, I greatly admire and envy the people who can. 

My new neighbour says the ponds are a great leveller. Shivering in bathing suits in the winter makes for a lot of joking and bonhomie.  Nobody cares who you are or what you do, it's whether you can withstand the temperature that is the test. 

We learned, too, how friendships forged at the ponds have helped people through bereavement, illness, job loss and depression. They even helped someone back from a near death experience. There were some real characters too. So interesting. Another thing became clear as well. However politically incorrect it might be to say it nowadays, those single sex ponds are both appreciated and necessary. Nearly all the swimmers enjoy visiting the mixed pond in the summer where they participate in various races and fun events, but for the rest of the year they appreciate those single-sex spaces where friendships and easy conversations bloom. In the film, female swimmers discussed breast cancer, family problems and ageing, while the men supported one another through illness, bereavement and job loss, but in very different ways. Sometimes we all just need our own special place.

To us the film was an eye opener to a whole different way of life. A place where people find peace and tranquility in the heart of a busy city. And our new neighbours? Well now they are too far away from London to use the ponds, they swim in the sea instead. Our beach is only a 10 minute walk away through field, woods and across sand dunes. It is idyllic. We love it. But we don't swim in the sea, not even in the height of summer - too many people then - and in the winter, when the beach is empty, it's far too cold. Not for our new neighbours though. If they can swim in the Hampstead and Highgate Ponds all year then I'm sure the will manage the choppy, grey Irish Sea whose waves break against our shoreline.

What is it about the Moon? by Nancy M Bell

To see my newest release Night at the Legislature click on the image above.

What is it about the moon that fascinates us so? I could spend hours just watching her swim across the sable ocean of the sky slipping through the constellations on her nightly journey. Songs have been written and poems composed, indeed even novels (although a lot of them are concerned with the affect the full moon has on certain shape shifters). There is something about moonlight that evokes magic in the heart and the imagination. Familiar sights take on new nuances when viewed through the lens of moonlight. 

The very fact that the daily tides in the oceans of the world are ruled by the influence of the moon is pretty darn amazing.  That an object floating in the vastness of space captured in the earth's magnetic pull moves literally tons of salt water is pretty magical to me. I know, I know, there is scientific information that explains this, but why get so bogged down in all that science speak when one can fill one's heart and soul with the sheer magnificence of the reality playing out before you as you sit on the shingle of the beach and watch the water creep up the shore little trickle by little trickle. Slowly filling the spaces between the pebbles while the magic fills your heart. Water is a living spirit, the earth's life blood. I often think how wonderful it would be to included in the unspoken communication between the waters and the moon's power to move it.

When I was a kid I would sit under the maple tree by the dock of our cottage where the warm night was a velvet ebony blanket around me and watch the moon rise turning the still water of the lake to shimmering ice with her light. In the complete darkness and silence that was filled with sound it seemed that anything was possible and that the stars were singing to to the moon as she journeyed. Later as I grew older, I sat on my horse in the Rouge valley and smiled as the moonlight woke ripples of ice on the Rouge River at the shallow Durnford crossing. So many small, but important moments in my life have been lit by moonlight.

The moon has always been female to me, regardless of the Man in the Moon stories, and the sun has always seemed male to me. The warrior as opposed to the healer. Both strong in their own way.   

I'm not sure I'll ever really figure out just what it is about the moon and it's light that inspires me and holds me in awe at the same time.   

Until next month, be well, be happy.   

 

A strawberry in the sky, by J.C. Kavanagh

 

To purchase this award-winning series, click here: 

https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/

There's blood moons, there's blue moons, and yes, there's strawberry moons. 

Why call it 'strawberry' moon? The name stems from our Indigenous people - traditionally named for the time of year (June) when strawberries are ripe for the picking. Though the moon is not typically reddish in colour during a 'strawberry' moon, it certainly was this year in Ontario, Canada, thanks to the ash particulates in the air from wildfires in Saskatchewan, Alberta and northern Ontario.

Photo credit to Liza Symonenko, June 10, 2025

This year, the strawberry moon coincided with the celestial event referred to as a 'major lunar standstill,' one that occurs every 18.6 years. A major lunar standstill means the moon's orbit will be at the steepest angle in the sky compared to the earth's equator. This phenomenon won't occur again until 2043. A 'minor lunar standstill' occurs every 9.3 years, where the moon's orbit will be at the shallowest angle to the earth's equator. To better describe this phenomenon, I've copied the Wikipedia explanation.

Detailed explanation of a lunar standstill

[EXCERPT AND DIAGRAM FROM WIKIPEDIA]

Apparent paths of the Sun and Moon on the celestial sphere (angles exaggerated for clarity)

A more detailed explanation is best considered in terms of the paths of the Sun and Moon on the celestial sphere, as shown in the first diagram (right). This shows the abstract sphere surrounding the Earth at the center. The Earth is oriented so that its axis is vertical.

The Sun is, by definition, always seen on the ecliptic (the Sun's apparent path across the sky) while Earth is tilted at an angle of e = 23.5° to the plane of that path and completes one orbit around the Sun in 365.25636 days, slightly longer than one year due to precession altering the direction of Earth's inclination.

 The Moon's orbit around Earth (shown dotted) is inclined at an angle of i = 5.14° relative to the ecliptic. The Moon completes one orbit around the Earth in 27.32166 days. The two points at which the Moon crosses the ecliptic are known as its orbital nodes, shown as "N1" and "N2" (ascending node and descending node, respectively), and the line connecting them is known as the line of nodes. Due to precession of the Moon's orbital plane, these crossing points, and the positions of eclipses, gradually shift around the ecliptic in a period of 18.6 years.

Thanks Wikipedia. I think (?) that helped.

In my Twisted Climb series, the full moon plays an integral part in the night-time adventures for the characters in the Dream World and the un-World. There, the moon is always stationary - angled high above - yet the milky white, puffy clouds shift over and around it. There, Connor, Jayden and Max experience moonlit clarity as the moon beams down on them in a shifting frame of brightness. Does that pique your interest? If so, you'll love the adventures, action, suspense and drama in this award-winning series. If you're looking for a summer-time read, The Twisted Climb series is it. And please, leave a review in Amazon or Good Reads or Indigo, or any site that promotes authors and their books. Enjoy!

Stay safe and don't forget to tell the ones you love that you love them :)

J.C. Kavanagh, author of
The Twisted Climb - A Bright Darkness (Book 3) Best YA Book FINALIST at Critters Readers Poll 2022
AND
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young-at-heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Instagram @authorjckavanagh

Creative Collecting

 

                                                  my publisher's website

Do you like to collect? Author Paula Chaffee Scardamalia, (Divine Musings)  recent excellent newsletter delt with the subject. It got me thinking about links from our world of collecting to our creative lives. 

I fully admit to being a collector. Living in an old house with a big attic has made it easy for me to say "yes" to a neighbor who was in the process of moving and would I find a good home for her now excess flower pots, side table, mystery collection? 

My attic seemed to expand to provide!

Do you go antiquing? Attend estate sales? It's a good way to discover what colors, textures art styles appeal to you. How you decorate your home shows your own aesthetic, your own style.

Paula suggests that "collecting first of all stimulates the brain, especially through the senses.. Look at any collection of items you have and see which of your senses respond to those items."

Here's something else I hadn't realized about collecting...

"Beyond that sensory effect, collecting while traveling anchors memories of new experiences, new understandings and insights."

Haven't we all looked at a piece of blown glass, a travel brochure, an old long-out-of-print cookbook and remember what adventure we were on when we discovered our treasure? I still lovingly iron a now well-worn embroidered blouse I bought from a vendor in the shadow of a Mayan pyramid, and I think with wonder and gratitude that I was able to experience that moment in my travels.

One of my favorite collections is fellow writer friends, old and new, that I've made over the years. We even get to see each other while on book tours and conferences. Here are my friend Liz and David at a memorable moment... We like collecting those book awards, too!

I hope what you collect inspires your life and fuels your creativity!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garage Sale Season

                                                 Please click this link to learn about A Killer Whisky

My project this winter was to declutter the Calgary home I've lived in for twenty-nine years. My husband Will and I loaded fifteen boxes of books into our car to donate to charity book sale. Will sold our old foosball table and other items of some value on Kijiji. We filled an old suitcase with items to bring to our son in Ottawa for him to keep or sell in his neighbourhood garage sale. 

The Great Glebe Garage Sale takes place annually in Ottawa the fourth Saturday in May. About a third of the homes in the Glebe neighbourhood participate. Shoppers come from all over the city and make the event into a festival. People line the sidewalks, food trucks set up on main streets, and flea market vendors rent spots in the high school yard. 

This year, our spring visit to Ottawa corresponded with Great Garage Sale. Will and I helped sell items to the thousand or so people who browsed the goods that lined our son's driveway. Our old suitcase sold for $10. A woman paid $25 for a dilapidated rocking chair that had belonged to my grandparents. She plans to refurbish it into a cherished antique. 

Two weeks after The Glebe, my Calgary neighbourhood hosted a Parade of Garage Sales. Will and I were inspired to give it a try. From the Parade organizers and our son, we picked up a few garage sale tips.

• Painter's tape is good for price stickers since it peels off easily and cleanly
• Elevate items as much as possible, using TV tables and boxes in addition to regular tables
• Organize items by categories and prices
• Wear a fanny pack for holding coins and bills
• Have lots of coins and small bills on hand to make change
• Offer deals: 2-for-1bundles, or "fill a bag" for $5

As it turned out, we didn't need the change since almost everyone paid with coins or small bills, and the deals didn't entice people to add to their own clutter, although our neighbour bought our whole box of fridge magnets for one dollar.

We generally priced our goods lower than our son did his because our prime goal was to get rid of stuff and we knew our shoppers would be a fraction of the Great Glebe's. Our first buyer arrived a half hour before the official start and got first dibs on our vintage board games and other items. We heard the word "vintage" several times that day, which was nicer than saying "junk." People enjoyed nostalgic moments at the sight of toys they recalled playing with as children. A woman reminded me that I'd bought my abacus in Hong Kong 50 years ago. 

Another woman fell in love with a heavy mirror in a carved wood frame that had been on my father's wall. She bought it for five dollars. My father liked garage sales and collecting "vintage" goods. He'd be happy the mirror went to this woman rather than remain stashed in my basement corner. 

It was great to see bulky items go to people who'd appreciate them. My old guitar with broken strings, a folding lawn chair that we'd found uncomfortable, a bean bag game we hadn't played in years. 

A lot of stuff was left over at the end, including a ping pong table. But the table's large surface was so handy for displaying items like board games that we don't mind storing it disassembled in the garage for a future garage sale.

Yes, we'll probably do it again. Garage sales seem to run in my family blood and one of these years I'll convince Will to sell his "vintage" childhood wagon that a few of our buyers spotted in our garage. 

Now our task is to throw out the real junk, pack up China and household items for Goodwill donation, and return a few unsold things to our house to keep until next year. I'll return my abacus to the wall unit as a source of Hong Kong memories instead of a piece of clutter. 

The sale has also inspired our next project -- to clean up and organize the garage. It will be a pleasure to drive inside, when there's finally room again for the car.