Night Swimming

I was listening to REM tonight and I thought their lyrics just about summed up the experience.

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
I'm not sure all these people understand
It's not like years ago,
The fear of getting caught,
Of recklessness and water
They cannot see me naked
These things, they go away,
Replaced by everyday

It's all true. I have been swimming many times at night. The first I remember was camping with my parents when I was about 16 and we were partying together in a club in N. Wales and my parents said "goodnight" I think I'd dropped hints that a few of use were going to go for a swim.

It was great, swimming off the coast in the sea for about an hour before heading back to shore and going to bed. I was caught out the next day when Mum found my footprints covered in sand over the kitchen floor.

The most memorable swim was at an Open University summer school in East Anglia, a couple of us had obviously been eyeing the lake up all week, and come friday we goaded each other to swim its length. Well after a somewhat boozy night we both ran down to the lake side, stripped off and went into the water. Damn it was good! If I'd known how good it was I'd have done it every night. We swam together about a mile up the lake and a mile back to our clothes and got one hell of a bollocking from our course tutor the next day. Yes, he grassed us both up "just in case anyone else reported us". I think it was the best swim I've ever had.

Other swims I've had at night was in lake Fraser in northern Canada - damn it was cold, but ones ardire keeps you going when following a woman lol, lake Lucerne (don't tell anyone I was under-age when I did this swim) when I went on a school visit to Europe, river Severn a few times, always at night under the moon.

I've done a few others, but these stick in my mind as being special. REM just got the mood right, it's cold, dark, scary, and others do not understand.

Thanks to my parents for making sure I was safe in the water.

Any other swimmer will understand the lyrics.

Sainsbury Horsham - Again

Really I don't know why I bother going there any more.

A week ago I bought a can of shaving gel because I knew I was almost out. So what happens when I come to need it? Yep, it didn't work, nowt came out when you pressed the button. So, as I am going to a retirement party I use soap to shave with and of course cut myself - not the best start to a Saturday.

So over to Sainsbuy's we go. I bought a bottle of wine for the retiree (one of my clients) and then went to the customer service desk to get a refund on the gel. Really it's a total misnomer, they should call themselves "We're here to tick off customers in any way we can" desk. A simple matter you'd have thought except when I asked for my money back I got "it's not one of our brands you need a receipt."
For goodness sake!
"Rubbish, I bought it here I want my money back, it's broken".
A 'manager' wandered over and said I wasn't going to get my money back because I didn't have a receipt. So I asked him who he was "Manager of the fruit and veg".

Great, so a manager who looks after a few potatoes isn't going to give me a refund.
"Can I see the real manger please?"
"I can get the duty manager"
"ok"
Then the guy who looks after the potatoes turns his back on me and starts to deal with another customer. Now this isn't on!
"Excuse me, I have a train to catch, can you get the manager please"
"Sir, I'm dealing with another customer, could you wait"
You have got to be kidding me!
"You were dealing with me first, now would you get the manager please and finish with me before being so rude"
So he wanders off, pulls out what looks like a DECT phone and starts speaking to someone. Then the duty manager comes over (Tim I think) and tells the girl on the customer service desk to give me a refund.

You know, it cost them less than two quid. It should have been done with a smile and a "I'm sorry it didn't work sir, here's your money back" I'd have been more than happy and been telling my mates down the pub what good service I had from them - after making exagerated claims about blood spurting from my lip and losing almost a pint. As it is I'm now writting another bloody blog about how shit they are.

Compare this to Waitrose, I had a duff bottle of wine but didn't realise for a few weeks because it was in my wine rack. I took it back and had a "I'm sorry I can't get a refund on this, we've stopped selling it. Can I get you a replacement?"
"sure"
We went to the shelves and he took a really nice bottle of wine and said "Is that okay for you Sir?" Now THAT is decent customer service, I should shop there more often if they opened late.

Really it isn't worth my £5,000/year to be treated like crap at my nearest supermarket.