One-Off Challenge 22: Skinny Dip

One of my rules of my challenges is that they're suspended when I'm on holiday.  Unfortunately, while it's the school holidays and we've got Renae's mum, step-dad and brother staying with us, I'm not on holiday, so the challenges continue unabated!

This challenge is courtesy of...

Matt Boyce.

The challenge

Skinny dip.  No specifics, so I'm taking this to be swimming naked somewhere public.  No other restrictions.

Challenge accepted.

This is probably not how you expect a skinny dipping challenge to start, but yesterday I was at a kid's birthday party...


Listen, don't dial that third '9', just put the phone down and hear me out.

OK, our nephew Charlie turned 6 yesterday.  As his party, he chose "cake in the woods".  It was pretty much what you might expect.  Cake.  In the woods.  The woods being Roslin Glen Country Park.  There was cake.  There were party games.  There was lots of splashing about in the river.

The deep, inviting river.  On an unexpectedly hot, Scottish summer's day.

It wasn't long before the kids were stripped to their pants and in the water.  Mostly paddling, but a few brave souls wading up to their thighs.  Then Lynne, Renae's mum, got into her swimming costume and went for a dip.  Then Donna decided to go swimming fully clothed.

It was an... odd choice.

Renae followed shortly after, in crop top and leggings.  Really, it was only a matter of time before I was in, clad modestly in my less-than-Sunday-best boxers.

Challenge not achieved... yet.  Xavi and Sephie can tick this one off, though.

Swimming in the murky, bollock-shrinkingly cold water, I remarked to Renae that I was just one pair of pants away from a challenge completion.

The result was inevitable.

I'd say to zoom in for the detail, but I'm not sure anybody wants that...

Then I went for a swim.

Head under and everything.

Then I went for more of a swim while I waited for all the children I didn't know to leave.

Then I went for even more of a swim while I waited for all the adults I don't regularly spend time naked with to bugger off.

Then I waited some more.

Then some more.

Then I told Donna to look the other way and decided "fuck it, I'm getting out".

Then Renae stole the t-shirt I was going to dry myself on, whilst I was standing around bollock-naked in a public park.

Fortunately, no-one else came along before I got my trousers on and so a trip to the local cop shop was averted.

Challenge complete.

Will I be doing it again?

If the opportunity presents itself.  It was actually much more pleasant swimming naked than with my boxers on.

Long-term updates

French words "learned" (according to the memrise app):422

Daily photos taken? Yes.

Swordfighting learnt: None this week.

I am currently reading: Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor.

"Cheat" days on food since last week: It's been a week of BBQs.  I'm almost on the Atikins diet such is the level of protein I've eaten.

"Cheat" days on exercise: A few, as per usual.  The swimming burned a lot of calories with the teeth chattering, mind you.

Favourite drawing: A character sketch of Flight, the crew's NPC pilot.

My continued inability to draw feet is an issue.