Tuesday

As part of my latest vague attempt to attain a slightly better level of fitness, I have resolved to start swimming again regularly - something I tried for a while during my ill-fated gym membership days towards the end of last year - but gave up after getting frustrated with the pool being so busy after work and the long, cold trudge from work, to the pool and home again. K, however, still goes once a week and so, since she's not going to the women's only session this week, we arrange to meet at Park Road Leisure Centre at 7.30.

I head home first and grab a quick snack before walking up to the Centre. K is a little late due to the general rubbishness of the tubes, but eventually we are inside just as the lane swimming session is starting. I have a little trouble with lane swimming - mostly due to the fact that I'm not the strongest swimmer and the fact that, being terribly unfit, I can't keep up the whole 'getting to the end and turning round and setting off again straight away' thing. I definitely need to get my breath back after every couple of laps - especially at the moment when I'm so out of practice.

Nevertheless, I join the weak and elderly traffic in the slow lane and potter up and down for 45 minutes, while K streaks back and forth as if merely to taunt me. By 8.30 we're both pretty much done and ready to head home - so we get dried and changed and head back down the road. I feel knackered (and slightly concerned that my swimming technique is so poor that I've just buggered my neck) but pretty good for having worked out a bit. Mostly though, I'm hungry - so when we get back in time for the new series of Shooting Stars and That Mitchell and Webb Look and I'm tucking into some top-notch fish fingers, all seems well with the world.