From Hobart : 5.10.1992

ALAN CARLTON

PO BOXX 1078

GPO HOBART

7001

5/10/92

Dear Bev

In the middle of a song the clock radio comes on.  The clock radio has no respect for singer or announcers.  It starts abruptly catching the announcer mid-sentence or the singer in the middle of a song.  I lie in bed listening and I know I have ten minutes before I get up.  My sleep has been disturbed and I can't reclaim it.  I could lie here and listen to the radio for ages.  It would be easy.  But not today.  It's time to get out of bed.  Once I take that big step out of bed occurs everything else flows automatically. 

We drive through the darkness in silence.  The Derwent River appears calm, dark, quiet and very deep.  On either side the street lights snake up the valley.  The bridge always seems to have traffic on it.  Cars are converging on the giant cocoon from all directions.  Some of the cars circle, disgorge teenagers carrying large sports bags, and then disappear into the darkness.  How crowded are the lanes going to be today?  There are a lot of cars in the carpark.  We park and perfunctorily enter the pool.

I buy a ticket, walk round the corner and place the ticket in a slot.  Down the corridor and then I push my way through the swinging doors into the heat, humidity and bright lights.  Some of the regulars are already swimming.  It's reassuring to see the regulars.  I know I'm in the right place.  Some I know by name.  Some I greet.  Most of them only exist at the pool.  If they have a life away from this place it's unknown to me.  Occasionally you see a vaguely familiar face uptown but...

Everybody is quietly and efficiently peeling off tracksuits putting on caps and adjusting goggles.  No time is wasted as everybody prepares to enter the pool.  It's six o'clock in the morning and there are laps to be swum.  Which lane will I swim in?  This lane has the least swimmers in it but there is a very slow breaststroker in it.  He should be in the far lane.  Well I'm not going to tell him.  The next lane is a bit fast for me.  I'll take my chances with the breaststroker. 

Now to enter.  I stand and wait for a break in the chain of swimmers so that I can enter some clear water.  I give my goggles a final unnecessary adjustment and then slowly slide into the water.  The coldness of the water envelopes me like a second skin.  I duck my head under the water and then I'm away swimming slowly and it feels great.  A couple of hundred of free nice and easy and then something else.  What else?  I'll worry about that in a few minutes.  At the moment my arms, legs and back are starting to loosen up, the blood is starting to flow and I'm a million miles from care.

Regards 

Alan