When you think of Santa, you imagine his big red suit, sleigh bells, and affinity for mince pies. You don’t tend to picture him going for a freezing cold swim in his full Father Christmas garb, but that doesn’t stop several hundred dedicated swimmers across the country organising ‘Santa Swims’ every year.
The concept is pretty simple: swim in the ocean, or somewhere similarly natural and outdoors, in December, with a Santa Hat on for charity. In Cornwall they take it one step further and celebrate the season with a ‘Santa Surf’, but one such event had to be cancelled earlier this month due to raw sewage leaking into the sea.
The surf, which was set for Fistral beach in Newquay in late November, was called off after heavy rain caused a sewage discharge into the water less than a day before it was due to take place. Its organisers, the Wave project, said that it was a decision, ‘not taken lightly,’ but that, ‘an ocean full of sewage is not a safe space. It's deeply disheartening, and confusing, when we must tell our surfers that the same environment we champion as life-enhancing is, in moments like these, unsafe and harmful.’
Although South West Water assured that the spill had only lasted an hour, and had occurred the day before the swim was set to happen (November 29), it was advised that no one bathed in the water until after a full tidal cycle, which is about 12 hours. Realistically you’d probably want to give it as long as you possibly could – there’s nothing Christmassy about getting poo-residue in your hat.
Now, local MP Ben McGuire is calling for water bills to be frozen until there is a definitive end to sewage ending up in public waters. Speaking in the House of Commons this week, he said: ‘North Cornwall has world-class beaches and rivers but Santa swims have been cancelled due to the constant dumping of raw sewage. Meanwhile, water companies receive millions from billpayers but then the very next day give it away to their shareholders.’
Steve Reed, current Environment Secretary, has assured that he will hold water bosses to account and attempt to improve what he described as the ‘scandalous situation’ we are currently facing. That would be a wonderful Christmas present for all of us.
Tis’ the season at Time Out
Looking to spread the Christmas cheer? We’ve got you covered. Make the most of the next couple of days by checking out one of the UK’s best Christmas lights displays, or the best Christmas markets in the country. We are also keeping you up to date on all the latest Christmas news, including exactly where you can find the Coca-Cola truck.
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