Moonlight Swim

On Monday a friend rang up to ask if I fancied a swim later, after he had entertained some old people with his music. 

It was rather cold and a little windy, but not wishing to decline and so dampen anyone's enthusiasm for wild swimming I agreed and made a flask of tea. 

Tea is my new craze, and discovering that it's no effort to make a flask of hot drink, and pop it into my back pack I then went outside and waited for a lift in the dark. 

We walked along to the lake. This time I used my new wetsuit top (£35 Cornwall) and lay back into the inky black water surprised to find there was none of the usual shock. But in fact felt bouyantly floaty and thought again that perhaps it was safer. It wouldn't be good to slip under in the silent water, this night. 

We swam over the lake and then along it and discussed the time of moonrise, it being so, he said, one day after full moon. I said that this would mean that 'after-full-moon would mean it rises after-sunset' ...a phrase I was pleased to learn many years ago. One day would therefore mean around moonrise one 28th of a day, which is 50 minutes after sunset. 21.15.  Right on track a big orange ball rose above the horizon and sneaking in and out of the silvery clouds cast a river of fire across the smooth water of the lake towards us

As it rose up in the sky the effect of the golden light got better still and we watched the firey sword laying over the ripples as afterwards we shared a cup of tea from the thermos flask.

 

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