A momentous occasion today, as we decided to mark -blub! - the last day of the holidays with the inaugral Family Bland trip to the swimming baths. Naturally at first it required a lot of coaxing and gentle reassurance. Yes, there were tears and a poolside strop. Finally however, Cath managed to banish the fears that have haunted me ever since all the school swimming lessons spent holding onto the side of the pool, and I was ready to go in.

As for Olivia she took the whole thing in her stride, happily floating around on her inflatable chair and gawping in astonishment at the people swimming past her, even chancing a splash or two as we bobbed her around in the water. In fact there wasn't a trace of tears or upset for the duration of our stay, even when her splashing antics backfired and she soaked herself rather than her intended target - Mummy!

It seems that after a mere 20 minutes in the pool she is already a more confident and accomplished swimmer than her old man, and will thankfully never know the stigma of being forced to wear armbands even when holding onto the side, whilst age 16.

A note on the picture above. I wasn't daft enough to try and take pictures in the pool - not after all the explaining needed last time - so we had to take some quick-fire shots in the changing rooms. It was decided that, for reasons of taste and decency - and not wanting to attract the wrong knid of guests to our blog - my pasty physique would stay firmly on the other side of the camera. A relief for all but the clinically insane.