I have changed my life in the first of two radical ways. For the great part of the past decade I have risen during the night to go to the toilet at least once and usually twice despite going to bed at midnight or later and then rising reluctantly between 8 and 9am, often shaving late into the day if I was not making an outing. Now I get up when I wake between 5 and 5.45, get myself ready and into the car with the dawn and begin swimming between 6 and 6.30 for about an hour, plus a session in the sauna before retuning for breakfast at nine. 12 hours later I am shattered and drag myself into bed before around 10pm. This is the 24th day and although I swim slowly am averaging over 40 lengths of the 15 metre pool some 600 metres and over 1000 lengths and 15000 metres in total. But is how I feel accompanied by the loss of weight which is important, together with a tightening of the tummy muscles.
The revolution was initiated after deciding to go for pre Airshow walk along the promenade at Seaburn, continuing to the Seaburn Marriott, Seaburn Vaux Swallow and once plain Seaburn Hotel and where a banner announced a get fit concession of six weeks for the price of four. My association with hotel has lasted 37 years
In the autumn of 1973 I had driven up to the Seaburn Hotel for an overnight stay prior for interview for the post at South Tyneside which I was hold for the next seventeen years. It had been pitch black on arrival and it was only on the following morning that I looked out of the window to discover how close the hotel was to the beach and the North Sea. I did not expect to get the appointment and when I did, I quickly found a house to purchase a short walk from the Hotel.
In fact it was the house next door which was to become my home for the next thirty years as the original property, owned by one of to enterprising brothers... one ran a private art gallery and the other a celebrated toyshop with the top floor full of Hornby train sets and layouts. Unfortunately I was part of a never ending chain of properties for sale and before I could complete the purchase, Sunderland Football Club raised the cash so their new commercial director and former professional footballer could acquire the property and move immediately in. There were three features which had made the property an attractive proposition. Its location overlooking the sea but with a small enclosed recreation ground separating the row of three pairs of large three storey double fronted properties each set in about a quarter acre of land. The two hotels Mayfield and Lemonfield which were to add a ground floor extension of four ensuite double room, and which provided additional privacy between the property I was to eventually buy, Newland House.
The second feature had been the disposition of rooms on the ground floor with an excellent open area almost room size, then a 20 square foot double window front lounge with behind this a second lounge which had been extended to make a 30 by 20 foot lounge with original oil paintings on the walls each individually lighted, plus an extended day work room and reasonably modern kitchen overlooking the garden. The third feature was the top floor where one large area had been created from the three former rooms and landing area. The adjacent garden of Newland House had been admired because of the gentle sloping landscaping and creation of five rockery beds and a fine lawn which looked as if it was being expertly maintained.
After being gazumped I received a letter from the owner of Newland House, a former baker in the Fullwell community, saying that having retired and following the death of his parent he was selling the property to move into somewhere smaller nearby. I put in bid which following some negotiation was reduced to allow for the necessary work required for the mortgage.
The main restaurant and bar of the hotel has always been at the side of the hotel on the ground floor facing the sea front. There was a public bar at the roadside facing what became the notorious roundabout fountain, the ugly designed structure at a quarter of million pounds of European money, probably close on £1million today.
It was during the late seventies early 80’s when dining in public houses commenced to be common that the hotel put on Sunday lunches in its public bar area and which by word of mouth became known for their value for money. When the hotel joined the Swallow brand of the Vaux group the decision as taken to knock down the small terrace of houses which accommodated staff and also included the post office newsagent run by a couple who lived a few doors away. They were removed to a shop a little way along on the parade of restaurant from the hotel. When the couple running the outlet retired it continued for a while but is now a coffee shop and eatery, as with the public house and the ever changing half a dozen other outlets including one converted out of the former Mason‘s amusement arcade.
I did eat in the hotel restaurant from time with one party of visiting family friends from Peru, and special family events. The most enjoyable part of the meal was the £5 pudding plate on which were small portions of all main items on offer that day.
The terrace housing was replaced by the present block of ensuite bedrooms above the two levels of car parking which has been flooded when the a raging sea swept over the twenty foot wall to pavement level and up the roadway closing the coast road.
It was in the early 1990’s that the local paper announced that the public bar and restaurant was to be knocked down and replaced by the leisure suite as part of major refurbishment of the main hotel building. The development took over a year longer than anticipated because of structural problems encountered but then came the news that the facility would be open to a limited number of members of the public and I joined soon after the opening in 1992 and remained in membership, with one short break, for over a decade.
The club comprises a 15 metre shaped pool which can accommodate half a dozen swimmers of the same abilities at the same tome aftershock it becomes difficult to swim for any duration, plus a sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and gym all of which have been changed and improved over the years. I enjoyed one period using the gym until I over did and pulled a muscle in my side.
I have never been a good swimmer having been afraid to be out of my depth since an older first cousin had picket me up and dropped me in sea on Brighton beach one bank holiday visit by excursion train. It was in 1966 in the warm waters of Glyfada Beach outside of Athens with jumbo jets flying a few feet above as they came into land at the airport that learnt to stay afloat within my depths and thus remained the situation until the later nineteen nineties and in my fifties that I decided it was a ridiculous situation and learned to swim under water and built up stamina.
One of the most triumphant experiences of my life was on the Greek Island of Rhodes and the lake like St Paul‘s Bay to the south of Acropolis and away from the town village, about a mile walk from the isolated bungalow hotel complex. There was a place to eat and drink and acquire sun shades but little else. There was a narrow entrance at the far end into the sea, wide enough for the tourist boats which went on a short trip along the coast after collecting folk from the main beach and harbour to where the film the guns of Navarone had been shot. The boat stopped off shore and those who wished could bathe. It was the first and only time I had such a blissful experience. However the experience of experience was to swim first from one end of the bay to the other and then to swim out to rocks outside the narrow entrance and then to swim back to where I had started. The only comparable experience was to climb a 3000 foot mountain in Scotland.
So it was afternoon on the Friday air show weekend that I noticed the special offer and decided to make enquires and then to return on the Monday and join and commenced a month which has changed by life. However I did say this was one of two events. The second? Perhaps I will reveal. Perhaps not
The revolution was initiated after deciding to go for pre Airshow walk along the promenade at Seaburn, continuing to the Seaburn Marriott, Seaburn Vaux Swallow and once plain Seaburn Hotel and where a banner announced a get fit concession of six weeks for the price of four. My association with hotel has lasted 37 years
In the autumn of 1973 I had driven up to the Seaburn Hotel for an overnight stay prior for interview for the post at South Tyneside which I was hold for the next seventeen years. It had been pitch black on arrival and it was only on the following morning that I looked out of the window to discover how close the hotel was to the beach and the North Sea. I did not expect to get the appointment and when I did, I quickly found a house to purchase a short walk from the Hotel.
In fact it was the house next door which was to become my home for the next thirty years as the original property, owned by one of to enterprising brothers... one ran a private art gallery and the other a celebrated toyshop with the top floor full of Hornby train sets and layouts. Unfortunately I was part of a never ending chain of properties for sale and before I could complete the purchase, Sunderland Football Club raised the cash so their new commercial director and former professional footballer could acquire the property and move immediately in. There were three features which had made the property an attractive proposition. Its location overlooking the sea but with a small enclosed recreation ground separating the row of three pairs of large three storey double fronted properties each set in about a quarter acre of land. The two hotels Mayfield and Lemonfield which were to add a ground floor extension of four ensuite double room, and which provided additional privacy between the property I was to eventually buy, Newland House.
The second feature had been the disposition of rooms on the ground floor with an excellent open area almost room size, then a 20 square foot double window front lounge with behind this a second lounge which had been extended to make a 30 by 20 foot lounge with original oil paintings on the walls each individually lighted, plus an extended day work room and reasonably modern kitchen overlooking the garden. The third feature was the top floor where one large area had been created from the three former rooms and landing area. The adjacent garden of Newland House had been admired because of the gentle sloping landscaping and creation of five rockery beds and a fine lawn which looked as if it was being expertly maintained.
After being gazumped I received a letter from the owner of Newland House, a former baker in the Fullwell community, saying that having retired and following the death of his parent he was selling the property to move into somewhere smaller nearby. I put in bid which following some negotiation was reduced to allow for the necessary work required for the mortgage.
The main restaurant and bar of the hotel has always been at the side of the hotel on the ground floor facing the sea front. There was a public bar at the roadside facing what became the notorious roundabout fountain, the ugly designed structure at a quarter of million pounds of European money, probably close on £1million today.
It was during the late seventies early 80’s when dining in public houses commenced to be common that the hotel put on Sunday lunches in its public bar area and which by word of mouth became known for their value for money. When the hotel joined the Swallow brand of the Vaux group the decision as taken to knock down the small terrace of houses which accommodated staff and also included the post office newsagent run by a couple who lived a few doors away. They were removed to a shop a little way along on the parade of restaurant from the hotel. When the couple running the outlet retired it continued for a while but is now a coffee shop and eatery, as with the public house and the ever changing half a dozen other outlets including one converted out of the former Mason‘s amusement arcade.
I did eat in the hotel restaurant from time with one party of visiting family friends from Peru, and special family events. The most enjoyable part of the meal was the £5 pudding plate on which were small portions of all main items on offer that day.
The terrace housing was replaced by the present block of ensuite bedrooms above the two levels of car parking which has been flooded when the a raging sea swept over the twenty foot wall to pavement level and up the roadway closing the coast road.
It was in the early 1990’s that the local paper announced that the public bar and restaurant was to be knocked down and replaced by the leisure suite as part of major refurbishment of the main hotel building. The development took over a year longer than anticipated because of structural problems encountered but then came the news that the facility would be open to a limited number of members of the public and I joined soon after the opening in 1992 and remained in membership, with one short break, for over a decade.
The club comprises a 15 metre shaped pool which can accommodate half a dozen swimmers of the same abilities at the same tome aftershock it becomes difficult to swim for any duration, plus a sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and gym all of which have been changed and improved over the years. I enjoyed one period using the gym until I over did and pulled a muscle in my side.
I have never been a good swimmer having been afraid to be out of my depth since an older first cousin had picket me up and dropped me in sea on Brighton beach one bank holiday visit by excursion train. It was in 1966 in the warm waters of Glyfada Beach outside of Athens with jumbo jets flying a few feet above as they came into land at the airport that learnt to stay afloat within my depths and thus remained the situation until the later nineteen nineties and in my fifties that I decided it was a ridiculous situation and learned to swim under water and built up stamina.
One of the most triumphant experiences of my life was on the Greek Island of Rhodes and the lake like St Paul‘s Bay to the south of Acropolis and away from the town village, about a mile walk from the isolated bungalow hotel complex. There was a place to eat and drink and acquire sun shades but little else. There was a narrow entrance at the far end into the sea, wide enough for the tourist boats which went on a short trip along the coast after collecting folk from the main beach and harbour to where the film the guns of Navarone had been shot. The boat stopped off shore and those who wished could bathe. It was the first and only time I had such a blissful experience. However the experience of experience was to swim first from one end of the bay to the other and then to swim out to rocks outside the narrow entrance and then to swim back to where I had started. The only comparable experience was to climb a 3000 foot mountain in Scotland.
So it was afternoon on the Friday air show weekend that I noticed the special offer and decided to make enquires and then to return on the Monday and join and commenced a month which has changed by life. However I did say this was one of two events. The second? Perhaps I will reveal. Perhaps not
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