Not waving, but drowning...

Kat's posts last month about Kirkham Baths really stirred some memories! So much so, that when my course wanted me to write about a "memorable learning experience" I decided to exorcise a demon by putting it out into the public domain.

So here's what happened at Kirkham Baths, one day in autumn 1964.

Out of my depth

I was 11, a shy overweight child. It was our first school trip to the baths (public pool) for a swimming lesson. I’d never been to the baths before. We all got changed & anyone who couldn’t swim was asked to sit on the side, at the shallow end. There was only me. Along came a teacher (not our regular one). “What are you doing? Come on! Into the water with you!” So I hoisted myself off the edge & into the water… & under the water, as my legs - completely unexpectedly - went from under me. The thrashing, splashing terror seemed to last a long, long time, till a classmate came & helped me stand upright. I was crying in shock & confusion, extremely embarrassed as everyone was staring, & my knee was bleeding.
That day, I learned about buoyancy. I didn’t learn to swim until I was 18.

Why it was memorable

I remember this vividly over forty years later, because it was such a frightening & humiliating public experience.