22 March 2026 The organisers of the (gala name aside) excellent " Derbyshire Open Masters Championships" missed a brilliant branding opportunity to name this the "2026 Swimming Derby in Derby." Held at the most(ly) excellent Moorways Sports Village (now pool 779)... (click to enlarge pictures) ... this one day event afforded me the opportunity to finally get in my first racing of 2026, and to have a bit of a short weekend getaway with my wife. Thanks to a couple of health "

16 December 2025 I don't think I've ever been more surprised by a city than I was by Warsaw. Admittedly, I had done very little reconnaissance ahead of this trip so my pre-conceived notions of Poland were overly-influenced by memories from letters from a friend of mine who worked here in the post-Solidarity, re-opening to the "west" days of the early 1990s. Letters which painted an expectant and hopeful society, but bleak skies and an even bleaker infrastructure. I fully r

13 September 2025 - Tiranë After swimming the turquoise seas of the vibey beach paradise of Ksamil , where white-sand coves and clear...

9 August 2025 After I finished my first 400 LCM free of 2025, back at the K2 Crawley meet in mid-January , I wrote ... I still think I...

6 August 2025 Among serious swimmers and/or the aquatically-obsessed, The Haunts of the Black Masseur and Waterlog have become cult...

27 June 2025 I think more London area fitness facilities should adopt this term - “Lifestyle Club” - over the much more dominant “Leisure...

15 June 2025 But, first, a word of thanks to our sponsors for a most excellent weekend of racing: I don't know what it costs for the...

14 June 2025 Back at the wonderful London Aquatics Centre this morning for two events - a mixed 200 free relay and the 400 freestyle...

13 June 2025 Friday the 13th might not generally be thought of as an auspicious day, but it was a beautiful day, inside and outside the...

9 June 2025 I probably didn't discover The Jam's "Going Underground" in 1980 when it was originally released, but I know I knew it well...