Safe

I learned to swim in the North Sea. If you lived five minutes walk from it, that's what you did. It's gey cold and for that reason it took me a long time to do more than paddle, but in time, like every other kid in the village, I could swim. You wade in, count to three, and get your shoulders under. For about half a minute it's freezing, then you acclimatise and it doesn't feel cold any more.

There were a few rules, like not swimming out beyond the piers and never going in when the warning flag was up to tell you that the weather was too rough. Another one was never to swim alone, which was frustrating on a hot day when there was nobody around to act as minder. But it was a sensible rule. Getting cramp when you're out of your depth is more than a bit hazardous.

Most children learn to swim in swimming pools where the deep end is always the same because a swimming pool doesn't have high and low tides. They don't have hidden currents either, and if you do get into difficulties there are always lifeguards ready to pull you out. So children do learn to be water safe, but they don't know about tides, currents, jellyfish, things that get caught around your foot and pull you down, and other hazards of natural waters.

Time and again during this hot summer there have been stories in the press about people getting into difficulties in rivers. Some of them survived.

Many years ago a very lovely little boy - a child I knew and loved - died after he fell into a canal on holiday. It only takes seconds for a child to fall, and those are seconds you never get back.

You may be able to swim, but natural waters and man-made waterways aren't the same as swimming pools. Never go alone. If there are warning signs, they are there for a reason. If I sound like a nagging mum, I really don't care. Just stay safe, and keep the small people safe.