News from Mr Grady
16th January 2025
Hello everyone!
A happy new year to you all, although as it’s just over half way through January already, that might seem a little late!
This year, for new year’s day I was in the Netherlands visiting family, and had planned to do the “new year dip” in the cold North Sea Waters off the beach from Zandvort Am Zee. I had seen thousands of new year bathers braving the chilly waters last year, and fancied a go too. My niece had also said she would join me.
I had packed layer upon layer of warm clothes to get into after the “dip” and was really ready for the blast of cold as we plunged in.
On the morning, we were disappointed to discover that because of the local storms, high winds and treacherous waves, the swim had been cancelled. For the first time in 60 years.
We went to the beach anyway, a day later and there were still 90kmph winds, meaning that one was almost bent double walking into the wind to even remain upright.
I do hope that this slight disappointment on the first day of the new year is not an omen. Sometimes we can see omens in all sorts of things, or attach too much weight to our feelings about an event that perhaps then colours the way we experience the next thing. As we were seeing family, the lack of new year’s dip did not really get in the way of us having a wonderful day with family, and instead we took a trip to a part of the Netherlands, just outside Haarlem that we had never visited before, so our missing out on one thing offered a chance to do something else. It really was a case of “when one door closes...”
I’ve spoken about new year’s resolutions in newsletters past, so won’t go on too much here, but the small lesson that nature taught us on new year’s day of not getting too fixed on a plan, as the sea, the wind and the climate had other ideas seems to me a sensible way of greeting 2025: I’ve got some plans, but I’m happy to be flexible – who knows what opportunities will present themselves to us when we step of the path we’d planned?
Stay safe and well,
Mr Grady
