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Jan. 1st, 2007 01:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eiffel_71Down to the beach, where it was my mother's civic duty to sound the airhorn to start the local Inshore Rescue Service's charity New Year Swim. We were invited up to the control room first to watch the rescue helicopter do a couple of exhibition fly-pasts, then taken down to the slipway to mingle with the swimmers. As always, they were dressed in a variety of costumes, including a couple of Santas and an elf and several of the local women's rugby team dressed in full kit. A girl in a cheerleader's outfit came up to me and said "You were at St Vincent with my sister. Sue *****."
"Yes, I knew Sue."
"Ginger hair. Mouth of the South," the girl grinned.
John, the inshore rescue team leader led us over to the side railing, where we were unlikely to get trampled by the stampede, though John stood bodyguarding my mother as he said "There's always the chance some idiot might think it'd be fun to grab the Mayor and drag them in." With three minutes to go, all the swimmers were lined up and clearly itching to go, but we held them there. There was a countdown of the last 10 seconds before noon, but when the count reached three John told my mother to sound the airhorn. We watched the dippers go in, then mingled with the crowd for a little while - a lady who me ma knew, but who I didn't remember, pecked me on the cheek and asked if I'd got drunk last night; she was disappointed that I'd stayed in watching Jools Holland and had just one Badger's beer - and met Alec, a family friend, before being led over to the raffle stage, where somehow we got roped in to separating and folding ticket stubs to put in the drum for the draw. One of the Inshore Rescue volunteers remembered my mother actually doing the dip last year; me ma promised to do it again next year when she'll be free of Mayoral duties, something I'll hold her to.
My mother was asked to do the raffle draw. When that was over, we were invited into the inshore rescue HQ for a cup of coffee and a mince pie, where we met Glyn, mother of my old pal Mark, who had Mark's two wee lads with her. We popped into the control room and talked to the control crew on duty for a little while, till they got a call-out. Then home for lunch.
"Yes, I knew Sue."
"Ginger hair. Mouth of the South," the girl grinned.
John, the inshore rescue team leader led us over to the side railing, where we were unlikely to get trampled by the stampede, though John stood bodyguarding my mother as he said "There's always the chance some idiot might think it'd be fun to grab the Mayor and drag them in." With three minutes to go, all the swimmers were lined up and clearly itching to go, but we held them there. There was a countdown of the last 10 seconds before noon, but when the count reached three John told my mother to sound the airhorn. We watched the dippers go in, then mingled with the crowd for a little while - a lady who me ma knew, but who I didn't remember, pecked me on the cheek and asked if I'd got drunk last night; she was disappointed that I'd stayed in watching Jools Holland and had just one Badger's beer - and met Alec, a family friend, before being led over to the raffle stage, where somehow we got roped in to separating and folding ticket stubs to put in the drum for the draw. One of the Inshore Rescue volunteers remembered my mother actually doing the dip last year; me ma promised to do it again next year when she'll be free of Mayoral duties, something I'll hold her to.
My mother was asked to do the raffle draw. When that was over, we were invited into the inshore rescue HQ for a cup of coffee and a mince pie, where we met Glyn, mother of my old pal Mark, who had Mark's two wee lads with her. We popped into the control room and talked to the control crew on duty for a little while, till they got a call-out. Then home for lunch.
