Today saw the year's first visit to my local swimming pool at the Latchmere Centre. If I've not been out late on Saturday night I always try to go for a swim on Sunday morning.

I usually aim to be there by about 9am, before it gets too packed with young children and their parents. Certainly it's good to be done by 10am because they turn the wave machine on, which makes proper swimming in straight lines a bit of a chore.

Of course, I never get there quite as early as planned and am usually in the pool when the waves start, and sometimes turn up just as they start, making it look like I plan my day around the waves, which is what happened today.

There was a new pool attendant, who obviously had a strong sense of showmanship because when I got in, he was standing at the side of the pool, leading all the children and a few adults in a loud chant of "Tsunami! Tsunami! Tsunami!"

Then, when the chanting had reached a peak, he shouted "Let's party like it's Boxing Day 2004!" and switched on the wave machine.

He continued to work the pool, introducing each big wave with a comment like "Just like Sumatra, waves coming at ya" and "Make like Sri Lanka, this one's gonna spank ya".

I'll be back next week for the advertised Hurricane Katrina-themed wavathon.