I am ashamed to admit that the last time I had a swim was over a decade ago in my daughter’s family pool in Perth, WA.

          When I was young I did much swimming. One of my early tutors was the mayor of Hastings. Hastings schools had some very good swimming pools.

          I was never a strong swimmer but I did earn a certificate for half a mile. In those days we were given certificates as incentives for swimming.

          The only other time I made a distance was on one of my four Samoan visits. That would be in 1980 when I was running a five week workshop for Pacific Island agriculture leaders.

          The workshop was held at Alafua Agriculture College the University of the South Pacific.  I was living in Apia at the Tusitala Hotel at that time. It’s now called Tanao Tusitala Hotel.

          Before dinner each evening I would swim in their first rate pool as it was a great way to relax. I decided each day to swim an extra length so at the end of five weeks I was clocking up a good distance.

          I enjoyed staying at the Tusitala. One of the highlights was having breakfast close to a small pond where some tame eels would slither out to join you to share your breakfast bacon.

Warm Water

          My father had a relative called Len Beasley. We often visited them at Rongatai Road in Kilbirnie.

          In those early days they had a beach over the road but it’s all gone, its now houses and roads. He had two young daughters who would encourage us to go for a swim. One ended up a lifeguard.

          When we visited we would often cross the road and go for a swim in the sea. If we were lucky we struck warm water from discharges from the gasworks. The gasworks was built out on a landfill into the sea.

          How things have changed!

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

“Our memory is the diary we carry about with us. Some events return, others fade away”.