Swimming In The Sunshine

Often it's difficult to spot how fast your child is growing up. There's the occasional notable breakthrough, such as learning a new animal noise or reaching a previously-safe shelf with lots of valuables on it, but generally the progression is gradual. When you spend every day with a little one, you barely notice the differences.

So one of the best ways of checking is to compare new and old photos. Yesterday I took G for a day trip to Hathersage in the Peak District to visit the lido, and realised it was almost exactly a year to the day since I last did so. I blogged about it then, and I think it's fair to say she looks rather more grown-up in the picture above.

In fact, that swimming costume is now too small for her really, something I can confirm having struggled to squeeze her into it while dripping with sweat from the roasting hot sunshine. Actually it may not have been all that hot, but having been forced to spend Saturday in the house watching it drizzle all day, the contrast was quite something.

The pool itself was much cooler, but very pleasant. In fact, with the hills of the High Peak providing a lovely backdrop, it rather looked like a Yorkshire version of the Icelandic blue lagoon. Only with a little less steam and a few more kids around the side slurping on 99s.

As a tired-out G snoozed on the drive back over the Snake Pass to Saddleworth, I thought about how good it would be to have a lido that little bit closer to where we live. But then I realised I'd end up going all the time, even when it was raining. And it wouldn't be nearly as special then.