Going Swimmingly!

Today, the first Monday in July is the official start of the school summer holidays. 

Back in the 1960s during the first two weeks of the month between the Monday and Friday many of our classmates would set off first thing in the morning on the 16 bus from Oxgangs armed with our swim passes (issued on the last day of the school term - anyone still got one?); bus tokens; towel and costume for a week of either swimming lessons or swim development. 

For our southerly part of the city it was to either the pool in the basement of Bruntsfield Primary School or to Warrender Baths. 

It was on one of those occasions at Bruntsfield Primary School (Sean Connery's former primary school) with its basement pool that I first learned to swim - what a feeling! 

The instructor obviously realised I'd mastered the breastsroke but didn't quite have the confidence to let go and push off. He gave me water wings for confidence but what I hadn't realised was there was no air in the wings, bright or what