0MG Black Friday is BORING…. It’s been going on for such an age - will my electric toothbrush get any cheaper or should I just buy it now - there must be something more interesting to think about.

Anyway, I’m not playing the Black Friday game - The Indytute is out. Couple B.F with the news that Amazon is launching a Temu equivalent, and it’s official, we will all be going to hell in a shopping handcart.

I thought I would move off shopping and tell you what cold water swimming has taught me this year.

To keep you up to date I’ve moved swimming groups... Not because of any big falling out but I moved house, a little further up the road and to do these things regularly there must be no barrier to entry. Your fellow swimmers need to be as near as possible. The sea can still be conquered on a windy, grey day - as long as the sea and your friends are just outside the house. So bye bye ‘Deal Dolphins’ and hello ‘See Seals ’.

We regularly do see seals - which is part wonderful and part disconcerting as being seals, they pop up and then pop down. I often wonder if today will be the day they dive off with one of my toes. Something very large did bump into me a few weeks ago - so large I thought it was a person. I squealed before swiftly putting whatever it was to the back of my mind. It is important not to make a fuss - they were here first.

Everyone in this group has a form of Dry Robe and a pair of Crocs, hey ho.. But we’ve all vowed not to meet on Deal High Street wearing either and no one is buying a new one - these things will see us through to the end.

The sea temperature is starting to drop quickly now, it’s around 13 degrees - positively bath temperature. The real fun begins when we are swimming at sunrise - 13th December - and it’s 8 degrees.

This is what cold water swimming has taught me this year.

1. You never regret a swim—that’s the golden rule of cold water swimming. No matter how grim the weather, how freezing the water, the moment you’re in, everything shifts.

2. Even the drizzle is beautiful. Getting out first thing every morning isn’t just about the swim. This is a shared ritual with friends that sets the tone for the day..

3. When I get out of the sea these days, I don’t take long to warm up, and that’s all down to consistency. In the beginning, I’d spend hours bundled up in layers, shivering as I downed mugs of tea and stomped about. Now, after years of daily dips, my body knows the drill: in, out, and back to normal in no time. Proof that the things we repeat shape who we are.

4. If you can still laugh as you strip off in the freezing cold, with an arctic wind battering your nipples, you can pretty much face anything.