Happy Hours

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 154, 26 March 1938, Page 9 (Supplement)

Happy Hours

0N a Saturday afternoon in summer and autumn I usually go for a swim, but if the weather is extremely cold there is always a very eager small dog ready to face the worst elements of any weather if it means a walk. Only extreme cold will keep me from my swim, for at this stage of the season I am always immune to the coldness of the atmosphere. I take this view: The baths, where I enjoy my swim, only stay open part of the year and when they are open 1 make the most of them. The dog Wil!, during the winter months, have his utmost fill of Saturday afternoon walks, and at the present time he gets his outings in the evenings and any spare minutes I have are usually given to his walks. These spare minutes might possibly be planned out differently, but the sight of a pitifully eager puppy, who has jumped on the window-sill to get a better view of the interior of the room from which he hears voices coming, will dispel my plans, and on goes his collar and we set off. But to return to the Saturday afternoon project. I run down the street, with my togs swinging gaily, to the baths. If the weather is warm there is no hesitation about my entrance into the water but sometimes the sun is not shining and a chilly nip is in the air. If I feel carefree and happy I just dive in. trusting to luck that the water is not too much of a shock at first. However, sometimes I wander round the pool, dipping a toe in here, climbing down the ladder backward until part of my person is immersed, then hop back on to the landing again, half wet and half dry, or go to the shower shed. This shower is no favourite of mine—it’s a most treacherous one, for a stream of icy water descends suddenly on the warm skin of one’s back. I retreat hurriedly from this, but return and stick first a leg and then an arm under. lam now almost wet and venture out on the diving board, where 1 stand on the end looking at the water. As I stand debating there I see a person approaching, and from the intent look in her eye guess her intention is to aid me in my decision, so I'suddenly grow bold and dive in. The water may be cold at first, but I soon grow accustomed to it and find it warmer in than out. On a sunny afternoon it’s a delightful sensation to lie basking in the warm sun, with an occasion dip between times.—Buster Boy (17), Wellington.