Chapter 1
I decided I wanted to do something with the boring month of November. I have plenty of hobbies, I go boxing twice a week, I go to the gym (sometimes), I read, write, I even play the harmonica when it gets to 8 pm, and I’ve completed my ‘daily checklist’. But me being me, decided that wasn’t enough and that I wanted something more exhilarating to entertain me. “I should get in the sea every day in November and go for a swim”, I said to my housemates. They looked disturbed, confused, I don’t blame them. Anyway, once I said it, I had to do it. I set up a GoFundMe page and decided to do it for a very special charity called ‘The British Cave Rescue Council,’ which made people think I was less crazy, doing it for a good cause and all. Here is how some of the swims went.
1st November
This morning, I threw up. I am still in my Halloween outfit from the night before. My Bambi ears are clinging onto one of the curly knots at the end of my hair, and my skirt is halfway up my torso. But it’s day one, so I pull myself together and make my way down to the Plymouth Hoe. “I don’t envy you right now,” laughs my housemate, Laila.
Today I am accompanied by Dylan. Dylan is also hungover. Dylan went dressed as Aquaman to the Halloween party last night, so I thought he was a perfect fit for the occasion. Both of our heads feel heavy from last night’s actions as we try to convince ourselves that the cold water will make us feel better. I prop my camera on a rock at the beach and record us slowly getting into the ocean. The water did make us feel better, although we couldn’t stay in for very long because I needed to throw up again. Day one complete.
6th November
Today the wind feels sharp and cold against my skin, but the sun beaming through the clouds every couple of minutes allows me to feel warm. Not quite woolly hat and scarf weather just yet. The swims are going well so far. They kind of slip into my routine, but I don’t want to speak too soon.
Today I am accompanied by Erica. Erica is an old friend from my part-time job in a café. I say ‘old friend’ because Erica quit over the summer, as she found a job that best suits her Geography degree. I ask her to explain her job role to me as she picks me up from my house, but it sounds very complicated, and I don’t understand half of the scientific words she is using, something about lithification, geochemistry, and seismic monitoring. Just know that she now works in a mine, and much prefers it to the cafe.
The tide is out, and the sun is sinking over the sea, painting the water in shades of crimson and gold. It is just us two on the beach, so we run into the sea dramatically, screaming, and dive into the tiny waves headfirst.
14th November
Fourteen is my lucky number. Today doesn’t feel so lucky. Torrential rain and wind that blew me into an old, frail woman with a walking stick, just as I made it down the road from my house. God, I feel awful. I am a very dramatic person, so I’ve been told. I must’ve said sorry to her about six times. Today I am accompanied by no one. Which sounds a bit lonely, although I am really surprised that this is my first swim on my own. You would be shocked by the amount of people who want to swim in extremely cold water in the month of November.
It takes me thirty minutes to walk down to the Hoe. When I finally get there, I’m a little sweaty. I strip into my tiny bikini , prop the camera up, and quickly run into the sea, cutting my foot on a rock or ten as I scramble my way down to the water. I stay in for about four minutes today as I am numb.
As I awkwardly tiptoe back to the shore, I am approached by an elderly couple, maybe in their mid-seventies. “You’re crazy,” shouts the man, laughing. I can barely hear him over the deafening wind. He introduces himself as Dave and his wife as Ally. I tell Ally that she has a pretty name and she tells me that she thinks I am bonkers.
I start explaining the whole dip a day thing, I tell them about the charity and meaning behind it all, and Dave asks me if he can donate. I ask him if he is sure, and he tells me that he is touched by my story and that it is Christmas time, so he must.
Dave and Ally generously donate me twenty pounds, and we mingle some more about my degree and what I want to do in the future. I also ask them how they met, and Dave manages to make me tear up as he tells me the most romantic love story I’ve ever heard.
“I was on a weekend away with my lad friends in Newcastle. We were in a bar ‘boozing’ as the kids say nowadays.” We all laughed. “And in she walks, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.”
I can tell by the way Dave looks at Ally, that he still feels this way about her now. He goes on to describe what she was wearing, a black and white polka dot skirt with a white blouse and pearl earrings, which he did think was a little fancy at the time for an outing in Newcastle. He said that he went up to her and asked for her number even after his friends told him not to because she was ‘too good for him’. He says, although it took a few drinks, he knew he’d regret it if he didn’t.
As Dave is telling me their love story, I watch Ally’s cheeks blush, as if she never gets tired of hearing him repeat it. And that’s day fourteen done. I suppose it hasn’t been so lonely.
23rd November
Here’s an update: It’s freezing. I have a week left, and today I am accompanied by Leon. Leon hates the cold and is afraid of the sea, so I’m not sure why he wants to come. He is driving us to ’Devils Point’. He picks me up wearing triple layers and has a hot coffee in his flask, he’s prepared. It’s gotten to the point where all my towels are constantly damp, so the only warmth I can rely on is a scorching hot shower when I get home.
We get to the beach, the air is cold, and the clouds are grey. The tide is out, and as we are walking down towards the sea, Leon scratches the bottom of his foot on a rock, his foot begins to bleed, and he decides that his reasoning for no longer wanting to get in the sea is because he doesn’t want to be eaten by a shark. I try to convince him that this won’t happen, but I can not compete with him and his fear of the sea.
30th November
IT’S MY LAST DAY! My bones are cold, and my immune system hates me for swimming in Plymouth’s polluted water every day. My housemates accompany me for the final dip. Laila is driving us to 'Bovi Sands' Beach. In the car, we blast a bit of George Michael, sing our hearts out, and around twenty minutes later, we arrive.
Sophia offers to pay for the parking as Laila drove, and I stand talking to the rest of the girls. After about what feels like an hour of Sophia messing around trying to sort out a parking ticket, we make our way down the steps to the beach.
When I get to the bottom of the stairs, I turn the corner to see some of my favourite familiar faces, and most of them faces are shouting “SURPRISE!”.My housemates had planned for all my friends to join me for the last swim. I immediately start sobbing and open my arms for them all to hug me. “I didn’t even realize I had this many friends.” I chuckle to my housemate Lily.
