So, who IS that girl?

The girl in question from yesterday’s quiz was pictured in 1974 with her cousin, Tricia Dwane.  Her name is Staunton, but she’s better known to all of us as our shining star, Mrs. Siobhan Russell.

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Also, for music junkies, Dave Stewart appears in the video escorted by a variety of guest stars including Cheryl Baker and Jay Aston of Bucks Fizz, Kiki Dee, Hazel O’Connor, Kate Garner of Haysi Fantayzee and all four members of Bananarama (including Stewart’s future wife, Siobhan Fahey and future group member Jacquie O’Sullivan who would replace Fahey in Bananarama in 1988). The gender-bending pop star Marilyn also makes an appearance in the video as another of Stewart’s escorts. 

By the way, Ms. Lennox  also appears as a man and in the last scene is actually kissing herself in male and female guises.  Mad stuff for 1983!

Now, get back to swimming.  Here’s another gratuitous shower shot to get you in the mood.  Or – given the model – put you off your breakfast.

Mr. Lowry becomes Mr. Showery.

Mr. Lowry becomes Mr. Showery.

Who’s that girl?

Never let it be said that we at Myrtleville Swimmers Meedja Enterprises & Associated Guff Production Inc. are not always looking for ways to keep our most loyal and committed fans – both of them – entertained.

Today we’re playing “Who’s that girl?” – and doing it not only with a Eurythmics soundtrack but also a further quiz based on the soundtrack video.  Mad or wha’?  You wouldn’t get that in San……, but anyway, let’s not digress.

Right, first of all, here’s a picture taken of serious swimmers about to swim to the Dutchman at some point in the 1970’s.  This was taken in Fennell’s Bay, so the swim to the Rock was more manageable for the young athletes.  Note particularly the coolest of cool togs – WITH skirt – modelled by the girl on the right.  That same girl on the right is still to be found swimming regularly at Fennell’s, the Dutchman and, of course, Myrtleville.

The question is – who’s that girl?1974-about-fennells-bay-tricia-dwane-cousin-siobhan-staunton

While you’re thinking about it, enjoy the dulcet tones of Ms. Lennox.  Watch the video and – if you’re of a certain era – enjoy spotting how many of the ladies accompanying Mr. Stewart are actually pop stars in their own right.  

See – the most funnest swimmy-type site in the whole world.  No competition. 

2016 in pictures

Siobhan Russell is at the heart of everything happening in Myrtleville.  Her pictures give us all great reminders of the fun to be had swimming at the beach and we are so lucky that she is involved.

She’s put together her 2016 pictures into about 38 mins of fantastic memories.  Grab a coffee and take the time out to enjoy it.

Thanks again, Siobhan.  We really do appreciate you 🙂

Shower Envy

It’s always after Christmas that the new toys start appearing at the beach, leaving some of us feeling a bit left behind.  

There are, for example, many of us who thought the HarCon 1.75L Manual Shower was as good as it got.  It was, therefore, a bit of a shock on Saturday morning when Gary Frost produced his All-New, Just-Delivered-By-Santa, HarCon 2000 5L Pump Primed Shower.

Talk about an “I-Want-One-Of-Those” moment.

Open water sea swimming in Cork, Ireland.

Gary with his 5L Pump Primed HarCon model. Certainly left those of us on the old 1.75L Manual feeling a bit underwhelmed.

I did my best to hide the feelings of inadequacy and waffled about wanting to “keep it real” and “going back to vinyl”, “retro” etc.  It was all just a front, though.  

Fortunately for me, both Messrs. Harris and Condon were at the beach on Saturday.  I was able to stop in to the HarCon Mobile Yaris Sales Pod and get advice on how best to respond.  Amazingly, it involved me parting with loadsa cash.  The end justifies the means, though (as the salesmen kept telling me).

Let’s just say, I’m looking forward to next Saturday morning, post-swim…

Open water, sea swimming in Cork, Ireland.

Me with my all-new HarCon 2017 Power Shower Deluxe. Bring it on, Gary!!

Anyone have a loan of a generator, by the way?

Congratulations to Steve Redmond

Congratulations to Steve Redmond on the news that he’s going to be inducted into the prestigious International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame next April.  It’s hard to imagine a more worthy recipient.

Of course, we will now shamelessly claim his success for Myrtleville.  We have the pictures to prove it.

Steve with the Hat - to which he attributes all his success.****

Steve with the Hat – to which he attributes all his success.****

Steve with his most devoted fan. Mad about him, she is.

Steve with his most devoted fan. Mad about him, she is.

**** Note : Steve didn’t have the Hat until long after his Oceans 7 heroics.  A mere detail and timeline blip we’re ignoring here.

Congratulations, Mr. Redmond 🙂

Christmas Party – this Saturday the 10th at 8.00pm

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Big crowd going on Saturday night to the Oar in Crosshaven.  8.00 start and excellent tunes promised from Brendan O’Brien.  €10 on the night for anyone who hasn’t paid already – to Breda Maguire.

Of course, a night out is nothing without lots of planning ahead for what to wear.  Frank Hallissey is ahead of the posse on this one and has clearly identified a slinky Ralph Lauren number for himself, which he inadvertently shared online.  Lots of leg waxing needed for that one, Frank.

franks-dress

In fairness to Frank, he’s never shy about showing he’s in touch with his feminine side.  He refuses to give up his lovely pink, fluffy towel to that other softie, K. Murphy.

towel

Going to be a great night and be sure to dress up well – Frank has set that bar high 🙂

The Secret Six

Following on from the very high-profile Myrtle Turtles channel relay this year, another group of Myrtlevillians – known as the Secret Six – are believed to be focused on that bit of dirty stuff between England and France for next Summer.  

I say “believed” but “rumoured” might be a better word.  Unlike the constant media bombardment undertaken by the Turtles (OK, OK, some pictures and made-up stuff on this site), the Secret Six are so far below the radar, they might be using the Chunnel to get to France, rather than swimming there.  Nobody’s even sure who they are.  Much searching on d’interweb has thrown up some possible candidates, but all images are hard to make out and clearly being adapted to avoid identification.

Secret Sixer 3.

Secret Sixer 1.

Secret Sixer 2.

Secret Sixer 2.

Secret Sixer 1.

Secret Sixer 3.

Of course what the Six have to understand is that nature (i.e. de meedja, i.e. me) abhors a vacuum – so we’ll just have to make stuff up.  

Accordingly, we are delighted to announce that the Secret Six are, in fact, doing a nineteen-way Channel swim, via Myrtleville.  This will be a world first, in case you didn’t know.  

The team will be piloted by Denis Condon, aboard a boat which he plans to “borrow” from a moorings in Crosshaven – possibly after a feed of drink at the Christmas party night next Saturday.  He intends to hide the craft in the “fresh-water” camp in North Cork/Korea – because nobody in their right mind goes there, so the boat will  be safe until it’s needed next Summer.

In the meantime, the Secret Six are loitering around the beach and various pools, denying they are doing any training and practicing secret hand-signals known only to the team members.  

Secret Sixer Signalling. Is that Denis with the boat outside?

Secret Sixer Signalling. Is that Denis with the boat outside?

Rumour has it there are female Sixers, but no sightings have been reported as yet and at least one has been heard to have taken up some alternative training.  According to sources, she has “gone mad altogether for de dancing – no stopping her”.

We will monitor (or make up, as required) developments with interest.  Go Secret Six!

After-drop is real

A timely reminder to be careful swimming through the Winter.

From: Editor’s Blog | Simon Griffiths | H2Open Editor |

“If you have spent any time hanging around open water swimmers you may have heard the term “after-drop”. If you’ve done any swimming in cool water, you may have experienced it. For the uninitiated, after-drop refers to the decline in your core body temperature after you have got out of the water.

When you swim in cool water the body cleverly tries to protect vital organs by reducing blood flow to the skin and limbs. Thus the core stays warm while the skin, arms and legs cool down. The process is known as peripheral vasoconstriction. Shortly after you exit the water, peripheral vasoconstriction ends. Cold blood from your limbs and skin returns to your core where it mixes with warmer blood thereby causing your deep body temperature to drop, even if you’re warmly dressed and move into a warm environment. This is why you often only start shivering 10 to 15 minutes after leaving the water.

It’s a good theory, but can it really be true that your core temperature keeps falling for quite some time after finishing swimming? Last week I had the chance to find out when I took part in a study at the Extreme Environments Laboratory at Portsmouth University. For the experiment I had to swim in cool water (16 degrees and 18 degrees) for two hours while the researchers monitored (among other things) my deep body temperature. After two hours at 18 degrees my body temperature had dropped by about half a degree. I towelled off, dressed, put on a coat and hat and drank a hot tea. I was then able to watch my temperature fall to just over 36 degrees before it stabilised and then started climbing back up. The same thing happened at 16 degrees but the effect was greater, the minimum temperature lower and the time taken to stabilise longer. After-drop is real. While your average body temperature may be increasing, your core will be cooling.

What to do about it

  • Get dressed quickly and warmly. Immediately after swimming you may feel great as the cooled blood has not yet returned to your core. Best to wrap up warmly before it does. It’s much harder to dress when you’re shivering.
  • Don’t take a hot shower as this will increase the rate at which cooled blood returns to the core and makes the drop faster and deeper. Cold water swimmers have been known to faint in hot showers. Wait until you’ve warmed up again before showering.
  • Don’t attempt to drive or ride a bike until your core temperature has recovered. Driving and shivering is not a good combination. If your core temperature drops too much and you become hypothermic it can also affect your cognitive abilities. Again, not good for driving.
  • Drink something hot and eat something. Shivering is a highly energy consumptive bodily function. You need to fuel it.
  • Keep an eye on your fellow swimmers. Someone who appears completely fine getting out of the water may be in trouble 10 minutes later and may need your help.
  • Get out of the water before you get too cold as you will continue to get colder after swimming – give your body a margin of safety.”

If you want to learn more – and if you’re swimming in the Winter, you should learn more – get a coffee and spend some time on Donal Buckley’s blog www.loneswimmer.com – the bible of cold water swimming.

Strictly-related Disorders on the Rise in Cork

This just in – from roving reporter, Glen Barton.

Withdrawal symptoms from the massively successful Strictly CUH event in Cork Opera are being reported to have caused one stardom-struck dancer to suffer from serious side effects of ‘I’llparkmyaudianywhere disorder’.

Loosely parked Audi prior to much-needed swim class therapy this week.

Loosely parked Audi prior to its owner’s much-needed swim class therapy this week.

Doctors say our very own Myrtlevillian hero, Marie Watson, is the fourth known case of this kind in Cork, since Friday 18th November.  

Marie at the disorder-causing event.

Marie at the disorder-causing event.

Symptoms are isolated and usually only experienced in empty car parks. Recovery from these rare cases has been solely as a result of hydrotherapy – along with aquatic therapy techniques including Ai ChiAqua RunningBad Ragaz Ring Method, Burdenko Method, HalliwickWatsu, and other aquatic bodywork forms.

It is hoped that the patient will make a full recovery and will be rehabilitated to white line realignment parking soon.

Visiting of the patient in CUH Children’s ward is strongly discouraged 🙂