I’ve just read your latest blog and thought that I’d get in touch.

You gave me front crawl lessons in 2012 and taught me how to lengthen my stroke and to relax my neck.

Quite a lot of time has passed since then, – I had a hip replacement in 2016 and a partial hip replacement in 2020. The latter came about as I tripped down a step and broke the neck of my femur.

During the surgery my peripheral nerve was unintentionally damaged, which has left me with a dropped foot and peripheral neuropathy.  So not great – but I had a brilliant physiotherapist during lockdown and she came into my home to work with me. She loves swimming too and encouraged me to get back to it as soon as I could.

It is now my main source of exercise as it’s non weight bearing and it helps with the neuropathy too. I swim a kilometre of front crawl three times a week and it’s wonderful.

As a result of my time with you I can enjoy and relax in the water and sometimes go for about seven strokes, before I feel the need to breathe.  There are four lanes where I swim – fast, medium fast (me), medium slow and slow. Plus other times for people who don’t want any lanes at all, of course!

The icing on the cake occurred on Friday when a person swimming in the next lane to me said, ‘I’ve just spoken to D….. and said that I bet that he wished that he could swim front crawl as smoothly as you do.’ I was quite taken aback, but pleased, because I often wonder whilst I’m swimming what I look like in the water!

So your excellent tuition continues to help me greatly. I’m going to be eighty this year and am extremely grateful that swimming plays such a large, useful and enjoyable part in my everyday life.

Rosemary