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Oh, and a few birthdays too including our temperature artiste in residence Guy Dunstan, Marie Antoinette, Daniel Boon, KD Lang, David Schwimmer, Ken Rosewall and yours truly :) ... Seems to be some Confuddlement in the universe at the moment - is it Mars retrograde? ... an unhappy mother nature sending La Nina to reinforce her lessons? ... or the ancient gods and goddesses of the sea making their presence known? Today, Poseidon, king of the seas and Lord of the sea gods, was happy.
Water temperature: 14.9 degrees
Air temperature: 7 degrees, almost exactly half!
conditions: Flat, clear, calm!
Vibe: grateful
I purchased "Mythos" by Stephen Fry about 10 years ago, to read on a sailing holiday in the Ionian Sea. I didnt turn a page as I was fully immersed in sailing, swimming, sightseeing, food, ice cream, ouzo and wine. On a recent clean out to find books for the charity shop, I found it and thought I would read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didnt study history at school - as a girly swot my preferred subjects were physics, chemistry and maths. Reading it also took me back to my childhood - our parents read to us until we could read ourselves and our favourites were fables, myths, legends and fairy tales - clearly i have been living in fantasy land most of my life! With all the confuddled conditions of late, I thought recognition of the ancient greek sea gods and goddesses was in order so that they will deliver us calm seas on a more regular basis.
With apologies to any greek historians in our community - following is a summary of some of those gods and goddesses so you can choose to recognise those you are drawn to, in your daily rituals. However, please note that gods and goddesses need appeasing. Ancient sacrifices to appease the gods/goddesses included but not limited to first fruits of the harvest, a basket of beans or grain, a cake, meat, a drink offering consisting of wine, milk, and honey. I presume that drinks consisting of wine only will be accepted as appeasement especially as it is a well known myth that vitamin Sea is a fabulous tonic to counter such appeasement.
Aegaeus- A god of violent sea-storms. Thank goodness he has given us a break from the tempestuous tumultuous seas of late. However, we know that he will return the favour!
Aeolus - The king of the winds. today he sent a blustery chilly westerly to flatten the seas and force a de-mothballing of neoprene today (for some - others maintain the "spring without wetsuit" challenge!)
Amphitrite - The goddess queen of the sea, wife of Lord Poseidon, and gave us the sea's rich bounty--fish and shellfish--as well as dolphins (led by the god Delphin), seals and whales (led by the Goddess Ceto).
Aphrodite - The goddess of love and beauty - born of the foam of the sea (I will leave you to look up exactly how - this is a family blog and the story may make a few males cringe!). I dont think Aphrodite wore neoprene....
Galene - One of the fifty Nereides, she was the goddess of calm seas and gave us calmness today.
Lamia - A monstrous shark-shaped sea Daemon. She was a devourer of men especially men who wear neoprene!
Sirens - Three dangerous sea Daemones who lured sailors to their deaths with their irresistable siren-song..... i dont think we would have any such sirens in our community :)
Thalassa - The Protogenos or primeval goddess of the sea, and we are all thalassaphiles - we love the sea!
Thoosa - A sea nymph, presided over "swift" currents and sea rips; Her parents and siblings represented other dangers of the sea. we can therefore thank toosa for being able to swim today back to the beach over the beautiful mesmerising sea grass, swaying in the gentle swell...
triton - The herald of the god Poseidon and the original mer-man (or, in our speak, manmaid). A blow of his conch-shell horn calmed the waves and at a wave of his magical trident - could arose the oceans..... perhaps he needs to deal with neoprene wearing manmaids :)
And finally - the canine gods of Chance and Hope (Sir Basil's new name) - hope was forever entombed in pandoras chest, and therefore Chance and Basil live in hope for the chance to snaffle some cake, crumbs, coffee - whatever falls their way :)
have a wonderful wednesday - stay safe, stay sane, look out for each other, stay kind and see you in the water!
Jocelyn
Public service announcement:
LAST BnB DINNER FOR 2022 – TUESDAY November 8At our next monthly dinner, to be held on Tuesday November 8th, Bluewater Café at 6.30 pm our guest will be Anita Jacoby AM.Anita is an avid ocean swimmer and a leading advocate for women in media and leadership.Renowned as one of Australia’s most distinguished TV producers (60 Minutes, Enough Rope, The Gruen Transfer), she has uncovered the truth behind headline breaking stories such as “The Body Snatchers”, interviewed world leaders like Bill Clinton, Elton John and so many others.But it’s the most remarkable tale long hidden in the midst of her own family which led her to write Secrets Beyond the Screen.Come and join us to hear Anita talk about her gripping memoir and share some behind-the-scenes stories from the sets of some of our most iconic TV shows.The cost of the dinner is great value at only $35 a head, which includes shared entrees, and a selection of mains to choose from (including a vegetarian option). Glasses of beer or wine and desserts are also available at the special price of only $5 each (please note, NO BYO). Bookings are essential, so to avoid disappointment and secure your spot please book HERE.
B&B 2022 Christmas Party
B&B Christmas Party is back again this year !!
The Party will be held on Monday 12th December at 6.30 pm at Bucketty's Brewing Co, 26 Orchard Rd, Brookvale.
All swimmers and partners/friends are welcome (no under 18s unfortunately).
The theme remains simply “Christmas”, so come dressed in your finest Christmas paraphernalia.
The music this year will again be provided by the band, “Gluteus Maximus”, which plays two types of music, Rock and Roll!
The cost is $20 per head, with all proceeds above the cost of hosting the evening to be donated to RFW
Food and drink available at bar prices.
Don't miss out on this fun event, as numbers are limited.
Click here to book now !
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