00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:01.790
- [Jillian] Oh, there they are.

00:00:06.900 --> 00:00:09.790
I wonder if it's our
lady officer again.

00:00:09.794 --> 00:00:12.542
[birds chirping]

00:00:22.090 --> 00:00:24.028
- [Officer] Today it's
just words of advice.

00:00:24.032 --> 00:00:25.018
- Yes.
- I could have gone down

00:00:25.022 --> 00:00:26.818
the formal warning.
- Warning.

00:00:26.822 --> 00:00:28.078
- [Officer] Which would have
meant that you would have gone

00:00:28.082 --> 00:00:30.658
on our register, so if one of
my colleagues caught you,

00:00:30.662 --> 00:00:32.523
then you can be prosecuted.

00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:37.708
Yeah, but then I'd have to take

00:00:37.712 --> 00:00:39.124
enforcement action against you.

00:00:39.128 --> 00:00:39.957
- Oh, really?

00:00:39.961 --> 00:00:41.506
- Which I don't
really want to do.

00:00:41.510 --> 00:00:43.758
- What would that be?

00:00:43.762 --> 00:00:45.513
- It could lead to a prosecution.

00:00:46.545 --> 00:00:49.295
[birds chirping]

00:00:50.324 --> 00:00:53.532
[omninous ambient music]

00:01:07.915 --> 00:01:09.832
- So, lockdown happened.

00:01:10.917 --> 00:01:13.588
All the projects that
I'd been working on

00:01:13.592 --> 00:01:15.838
were just kind of frozen.

00:01:15.842 --> 00:01:17.908
All the work seized.

00:01:17.912 --> 00:01:21.213
I kind of ground to a halt,
like a lot of people did.

00:01:22.650 --> 00:01:25.858
The creative juices
weren't working very well

00:01:25.862 --> 00:01:28.918
and I started
looking at my archive.

00:01:28.922 --> 00:01:32.158
My Affinities project
I'd started in the 1990s,

00:01:32.162 --> 00:01:35.368
revisiting creative
collaborations.

00:01:38.430 --> 00:01:43.430
So it seemed opposite in a
time of international pandemic

00:01:43.770 --> 00:01:48.088
and isolation to look
at creative collaboration

00:01:48.092 --> 00:01:52.015
and togetherness in a
time of separateness.

00:01:55.500 --> 00:01:58.648
But I didn't feel a great
urge to be creative.

00:01:58.652 --> 00:02:01.678
It was hard to understand
what that was about,

00:02:01.682 --> 00:02:05.013
but it was probably this
shock of this pandemic.

00:02:07.110 --> 00:02:10.048
I was obviously
feeling quietly desperate

00:02:10.052 --> 00:02:12.028
and I spoke to Carla one day,

00:02:12.032 --> 00:02:16.468
and she very sweetly
invited me into the Rats.

00:02:16.472 --> 00:02:21.470
And so very early one
morning in the dead of winter,

00:02:21.540 --> 00:02:23.998
I found myself
sneaking over fences

00:02:24.002 --> 00:02:27.153
and doing anything to get my fix.

00:02:28.620 --> 00:02:32.338
And then one day when I was
swimming, I picked up my iPhone

00:02:32.342 --> 00:02:37.228
and Jac was probably
naked in the pond,

00:02:37.232 --> 00:02:40.533
and I did this photograph
through the trees,

00:02:41.580 --> 00:02:45.028
and people seemed
to respond positively

00:02:45.032 --> 00:02:46.498
when I posted it on Instagram.

00:02:46.502 --> 00:02:50.068
And I thought, "Maybe
there's something here.

00:02:50.072 --> 00:02:52.191
Maybe there's something there."

00:02:52.195 --> 00:02:55.170
[ominous ambient music]

00:02:55.174 --> 00:02:58.450
And then I started
bringing in my camera.

00:02:58.454 --> 00:03:01.952
[compelling post-rock music]

00:03:28.026 --> 00:03:31.526
[compelling post-rock music]

00:03:53.220 --> 00:03:54.470
- What should I tell you?

00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:00.478
About Jill the photographer,
or Annette the philosopher?

00:04:00.482 --> 00:04:03.748
- I live in a big old Catholic
school, it's been converted.

00:04:03.752 --> 00:04:05.308
I have the chemistry lab.

00:04:05.312 --> 00:04:08.398
Weirdly, the second
chemistry lab I've lived in.

00:04:08.402 --> 00:04:10.978
- You could hear about
Jac and her ladder,

00:04:10.982 --> 00:04:13.048
or Carla and her bladder.

00:04:13.052 --> 00:04:16.078
- The paradox about the
woodpecker is that their--

00:04:16.082 --> 00:04:18.778
their actual song
is, is not very nice.

00:04:18.782 --> 00:04:20.783
It's [raspy cawing sound].

00:04:21.870 --> 00:04:25.648
- Ahmed hurling rocks,
Sarah picking padlocks.

00:04:25.652 --> 00:04:30.508
- But the way they
interact with trees,

00:04:30.512 --> 00:04:32.578
it's much-- it's magical.

00:04:32.582 --> 00:04:37.580
- Tales of Nick and his
grunts, Jac and her cunt.

00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:40.918
- God, life is so
full of challenges.

00:04:40.922 --> 00:04:45.920
And my God, if we don't
take it by the bloody balls

00:04:46.410 --> 00:04:48.268
there's no point in being here.

00:04:48.272 --> 00:04:49.773
I mean, gee whiz.

00:04:50.730 --> 00:04:52.798
That's the way I look at it.

00:04:52.802 --> 00:04:54.033
Beautiful.

00:04:59.580 --> 00:05:01.558
- From this evening, I
must give the British people

00:05:01.562 --> 00:05:04.108
a very simple instruction.

00:05:04.112 --> 00:05:06.099
You must stay at home.

00:05:06.103 --> 00:05:08.458
[ominous ambient music]

00:05:08.462 --> 00:05:13.023
We'll stop all gatherings of
more than two people in public.

00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:15.748
You should not
be meeting friends.

00:05:15.752 --> 00:05:19.533
If your friends ask you to
meet, you should say no.

00:05:22.650 --> 00:05:24.478
If you don't follow the rules,

00:05:24.482 --> 00:05:28.828
the police will have the
powers to enforce them,

00:05:28.832 --> 00:05:32.202
including through fines
and dispersing gatherings.

00:05:32.206 --> 00:05:35.787
[ominous instrumental music]

00:05:37.320 --> 00:05:40.348
- Since the lockdown,
that's what immediately

00:05:40.352 --> 00:05:43.348
came to my head, that I
need to continue swimming.

00:05:43.352 --> 00:05:44.883
I can't without swimming.

00:05:47.219 --> 00:05:49.773
- There we were thinking
that we couldn't swim.

00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:52.792
And that was never gonna happen.

00:05:55.350 --> 00:05:59.890
- You know, we've had
constabulary officers

00:06:01.590 --> 00:06:03.543
you know, threaten us with,

00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:08.601
you know, legal charges, fines.

00:06:10.340 --> 00:06:12.628
- [Joe] Is it "constabulary"?

00:06:12.632 --> 00:06:14.668
- Oh, it's "constab"
according to one of them.

00:06:14.672 --> 00:06:15.988
- Constab?
- Constab.

00:06:15.992 --> 00:06:17.239
"We're gonna send
the constab after you."

00:06:17.243 --> 00:06:18.466
- Yeah, we got a constab story.

00:06:18.470 --> 00:06:20.548
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:06:20.552 --> 00:06:24.393
- Court appearances
on one or two occasions,

00:06:25.350 --> 00:06:29.008
which I have navigated
and we have navigated.

00:06:29.012 --> 00:06:32.158
- Yeah, we were like, "Oh,
they can't watch us come in.

00:06:32.162 --> 00:06:33.268
They can't watch us get out."

00:06:33.272 --> 00:06:36.568
And you would walk out, see
if anyone official was there,

00:06:36.572 --> 00:06:38.368
and you'd be like,
"Wait, wait, wait."

00:06:38.372 --> 00:06:40.288
And I was, like,
freezing in the water

00:06:40.292 --> 00:06:42.477
and just going,
"Oh no, let me out!"

00:06:43.530 --> 00:06:47.308
- It seems like an extra
level of extremism, too,

00:06:47.312 --> 00:06:51.058
and bravery, because
you go at night in the dark

00:06:51.062 --> 00:06:54.928
to hide from the public
and the constabulary,

00:06:54.932 --> 00:06:56.538
and the police or whoever.

00:06:59.130 --> 00:07:01.378
- We were the only people
breaking into the Mixed Pond

00:07:01.382 --> 00:07:03.448
for a long, long, long time.

00:07:03.452 --> 00:07:07.138
We ran into a very,
very interesting lifeguard

00:07:07.142 --> 00:07:08.548
certain mornings, yeah.

00:07:08.552 --> 00:07:12.003
And he would shout
at us, scream at us.

00:07:13.099 --> 00:07:16.978
- So the day before lockdown,
I was already casing the joint

00:07:16.982 --> 00:07:20.788
of the Ladies' Pond
and slightly worrying

00:07:20.792 --> 00:07:22.828
about how I was gonna get in

00:07:22.832 --> 00:07:24.538
because I've had my hip replaced.

00:07:24.542 --> 00:07:27.873
I'm not the most
able-bodied amongst us.

00:07:29.610 --> 00:07:31.678
- Suddenly all
these, all these police

00:07:31.682 --> 00:07:33.628
were running around
the Men's Pond.

00:07:33.632 --> 00:07:35.578
And I was like, "Oh my God,
I've been caught," you know.

00:07:35.582 --> 00:07:38.230
And then there was a
helicopter above the Men's Pond.

00:07:39.437 --> 00:07:42.868
And, and I, I didn't know
where to hide, basically.

00:07:42.872 --> 00:07:45.319
I didn't know where to,
didn't know where to go.

00:07:46.219 --> 00:07:50.668
- We were all climbing over
the fence and going down.

00:07:50.672 --> 00:07:52.858
I'd never been--
it's four degrees.

00:07:52.862 --> 00:07:54.685
It's pissing with rain.

00:07:54.689 --> 00:07:56.518
- And the other girls
that were with me

00:07:56.522 --> 00:08:00.928
wanted to climb back
out again over the gate,

00:08:00.932 --> 00:08:04.018
forgetting that they're
with an elderly lady

00:08:04.022 --> 00:08:06.748
who hasn't got her
leg over in a long time,

00:08:06.752 --> 00:08:09.034
gate-wise or probably otherwise.

00:08:10.710 --> 00:08:12.538
- So I just swam underwater

00:08:12.542 --> 00:08:14.340
to try and swim
back to the pontoon.

00:08:15.180 --> 00:08:16.618
And I came up about halfway

00:08:16.622 --> 00:08:18.118
and there were these
police looking at me,

00:08:18.122 --> 00:08:19.043
and I've sort of gone like that.

00:08:19.047 --> 00:08:20.518
And they were like, "No,
no, no, mate. No, no, not you.

00:08:20.522 --> 00:08:22.558
You carry on. You
carry on. That's okay.

00:08:22.562 --> 00:08:25.182
We're looking for someone,
see, a, a proper criminal."

00:08:25.186 --> 00:08:28.767
[gentle post-rock music]

00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:38.068
- I had one hand on one,
one hand on the other,

00:08:38.072 --> 00:08:43.070
one foot going forward in the
gate, one foot coming back.

00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:48.538
And then, of course,
the metal railings

00:08:48.542 --> 00:08:51.898
going up a, you
know, elderly vagina,

00:08:51.902 --> 00:08:55.918
which may be having
problems in the near future.

00:08:55.922 --> 00:08:58.323
I didn't need any
extra help on that front.

00:08:59.910 --> 00:09:01.828
- [Liam] I've actually got
caught on the metal spike.

00:09:01.832 --> 00:09:03.628
- Have you?
- Yeah, and I realized it

00:09:03.632 --> 00:09:05.068
while I was in the shower.

00:09:05.072 --> 00:09:07.018
- [Jillian] Oh, what happened?

00:09:07.022 --> 00:09:08.634
- Grazed ball bag.

00:09:08.638 --> 00:09:09.759
[both laughing]

00:09:09.763 --> 00:09:10.978
Basically.

00:09:10.982 --> 00:09:12.298
I was grazed. [Jillian laughing]

00:09:12.302 --> 00:09:14.698
Grazed and confused.

00:09:14.702 --> 00:09:19.078
- There has been moments
where obviously what we're doing

00:09:19.082 --> 00:09:22.408
and have been doing
is deemed to be illegal,

00:09:22.412 --> 00:09:24.538
or against certain things.

00:09:24.542 --> 00:09:27.238
Therefore, you know,
we do it at very early times

00:09:27.242 --> 00:09:30.988
in the morning or very
late in the darkness,

00:09:30.992 --> 00:09:33.213
or under the cover
of many things.

00:09:34.590 --> 00:09:37.588
- It's the Men's Pond.
We shouldn't be doing it.

00:09:37.592 --> 00:09:41.427
It's December and
it's four, four degrees.

00:09:41.431 --> 00:09:42.628
Four degrees.

00:09:42.632 --> 00:09:47.398
- When you're in a group
and there's any kind of danger

00:09:47.402 --> 00:09:50.788
or difficulty, people
bond even more.

00:09:50.792 --> 00:09:52.893
And I think that's
actually created a,

00:09:53.836 --> 00:09:56.733
a powerful connection
between us all.

00:09:57.810 --> 00:10:00.298
- And I get in the water
and I'm swimming along

00:10:00.302 --> 00:10:03.748
with Nicky and I'm just
looking at her, following her,

00:10:03.752 --> 00:10:08.738
and just totally
paralyzed, paralyzed.

00:10:10.800 --> 00:10:13.168
- People who rely on
each other for their,

00:10:13.172 --> 00:10:15.748
for their safety, it's
a life-or-death thing.

00:10:15.752 --> 00:10:20.428
So it taps into a very
primordial survival,

00:10:20.432 --> 00:10:21.568
caring for human beings.

00:10:21.572 --> 00:10:24.718
And I think it just brings
out the best in all of us.

00:10:24.722 --> 00:10:27.035
- And Liam coming
up to me and saying,

00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:28.498
"I think you should go back now."

00:10:28.502 --> 00:10:32.998
- Because we sneak in at
night, early in the morning,

00:10:33.002 --> 00:10:36.028
group of us need
to jump, you know,

00:10:36.032 --> 00:10:38.883
the barriers and
sneak in and swim.

00:10:40.140 --> 00:10:43.528
- I definitely feel that
breaking rules is part of the fun.

00:10:43.532 --> 00:10:47.673
It definitely appeals
to my rebellious nature.

00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:50.259
- [Andre] A certain
type of person

00:10:50.263 --> 00:10:54.148
that's a little bit renegade
and brave or, you know,

00:10:54.152 --> 00:10:56.133
gets it like, like we do.

00:10:57.150 --> 00:10:58.978
- I think the idea
of being rebellion,

00:10:58.982 --> 00:11:01.348
it's born with me.

00:11:01.352 --> 00:11:04.798
Grow up in a refugee
camp in Palestine.

00:11:04.802 --> 00:11:08.029
It's always, you need to...

00:11:09.390 --> 00:11:11.848
...resist what is
being thrown at you,

00:11:11.852 --> 00:11:14.698
especially living under
Israeli occupation,

00:11:14.702 --> 00:11:15.947
being in prisons.

00:11:15.951 --> 00:11:17.698
[water lapping]

00:11:17.702 --> 00:11:19.798
- We did have a few
things up our sleeve

00:11:19.802 --> 00:11:21.003
in case we were caught.

00:11:21.900 --> 00:11:26.638
One of them was that
we were having a mikvah,

00:11:26.642 --> 00:11:29.698
which is a Jewish
tradition for women

00:11:29.702 --> 00:11:33.928
to purify the vaginas
for their husbands.

00:11:33.932 --> 00:11:37.228
We thought, "Well, clearly
they might be put off by that

00:11:37.232 --> 00:11:40.030
and they might not know the
ins and outs of the mikvah."

00:11:41.100 --> 00:11:43.738
- Since I start swimming,
especially challenging the cold,

00:11:43.742 --> 00:11:46.918
challenging the water,
challenging the authority,

00:11:46.922 --> 00:11:49.318
it was like, oh my God,
I'm finding myself again.

00:11:49.322 --> 00:11:51.020
I really need to break the rules.

00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:55.713
And that's
bring...bring life to me.

00:11:56.809 --> 00:12:01.809
[gentle post rock
music] [water splashing]

00:12:04.440 --> 00:12:06.898
- I think I'm the senior
member of the Rats.

00:12:06.902 --> 00:12:11.583
I'm 68, I'm semi-retired GP.

00:12:13.380 --> 00:12:17.476
And I came to know the Water Rats

00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:20.022
in November of lockdown.

00:12:20.026 --> 00:12:22.078
[gentle post rock
music] [indistinct chatter]

00:12:22.082 --> 00:12:24.506
So I met them up
at the Vale of Health.

00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:28.443
And I, I was warmly welcomed.

00:12:31.410 --> 00:12:36.410
- So, how did we end
up getting into the Rats?

00:12:36.690 --> 00:12:37.523
- Yeah.

00:12:40.627 --> 00:12:41.902
Luckily.

00:12:45.090 --> 00:12:46.858
And they were all,
like, gallivanting around,

00:12:46.862 --> 00:12:49.473
having fun like 10-year-old kids.

00:12:50.760 --> 00:12:52.978
Well, I think that's the
first time I saw Jac naked,

00:12:52.982 --> 00:12:54.655
actually, and Jill was
taking pictures of them.

00:12:54.659 --> 00:12:56.779
And I was like, "I
want pictures being

00:12:56.783 --> 00:12:58.321
taken of ourselves, as well.

00:12:58.325 --> 00:13:00.388
We want in on that! "

00:13:00.392 --> 00:13:02.908
- The very first time I met her,

00:13:02.912 --> 00:13:05.617
she'd goaded me
into skinny dipping.

00:13:05.621 --> 00:13:07.555
- "Have you heard
of the, there's--

00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:10.918
"Have you heard the
legend of the, of the, the lady,

00:13:10.922 --> 00:13:13.018
the naked lady
swimming at the Vale?"

00:13:13.022 --> 00:13:15.985
I went, "The legend
of the naked...?"

00:13:15.989 --> 00:13:18.148
He goes, "Yeah, apparently."

00:13:18.152 --> 00:13:20.998
- And she managed to get
me to just chuck my trunks off

00:13:21.002 --> 00:13:25.683
and run in front of a couple
of strangers naked, swimming.

00:13:27.210 --> 00:13:28.588
- He goes," Yeah, yeah,
yeah, there's this woman

00:13:28.592 --> 00:13:30.268
and she, apparently
she swims naked,

00:13:30.272 --> 00:13:31.528
but hardly anyone ever sees her."

00:13:31.532 --> 00:13:32.518
I said, "Yeah, that's Jackie,

00:13:32.522 --> 00:13:33.795
and she swims with us, you know?"

00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:35.128
He was like, "What!? It's true?"

00:13:35.132 --> 00:13:36.718
I said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."

00:13:36.722 --> 00:13:39.568
- But I remember the day
that, what I call the lionesses,

00:13:39.572 --> 00:13:42.628
the divine femme
came down the bank.

00:13:42.632 --> 00:13:44.368
We didn't know who they were.

00:13:44.372 --> 00:13:46.528
Me and Liam were in the pond.

00:13:46.532 --> 00:13:47.938
- I was at the other
side of the Vale

00:13:47.942 --> 00:13:50.098
and I started swimming back,

00:13:50.102 --> 00:13:52.258
and all these ladies
started appearing.

00:13:52.262 --> 00:13:55.618
- What's going on here?
This is pretty cool. Whoa!

00:13:55.622 --> 00:13:56.878
- You know, and everyone
was just swimming

00:13:56.882 --> 00:13:58.888
with smiles on their faces.

00:13:58.892 --> 00:14:01.738
- They came in and
we're like, "Yeah."

00:14:01.742 --> 00:14:04.438
- And the group started
getting bigger, basically.

00:14:04.442 --> 00:14:07.018
And we called
ourselves the Water Rats.

00:14:07.022 --> 00:14:09.691
- Consecrated it with
a WhatsApp group.

00:14:10.800 --> 00:14:12.244
So, that's when it came to me.

00:14:12.248 --> 00:14:13.746
Water Rats.

00:14:14.580 --> 00:14:15.838
- [Liam] And that
was really significant,

00:14:15.842 --> 00:14:17.518
because it was the camaraderie

00:14:17.522 --> 00:14:19.348
and the help we gave each other

00:14:19.352 --> 00:14:21.838
through lockdown
has just been immense.

00:14:21.842 --> 00:14:24.628
And they're friends for life.

00:14:24.632 --> 00:14:29.620
- Around the Rats, like,
I feel probably the least

00:14:31.950 --> 00:14:33.478
youthful spirited, in a way.

00:14:33.482 --> 00:14:34.311
- Oh, yeah.

00:14:34.315 --> 00:14:37.438
- And I think there's a
childlike aspect to it, definitely.

00:14:37.442 --> 00:14:41.398
I mean, I'm, I'm
definitely very in my child.

00:14:41.402 --> 00:14:44.368
- You know, because
everyone's just so, like, lively

00:14:44.372 --> 00:14:47.231
and everyone's so
happy-go-lucky and I wish, like--

00:14:47.235 --> 00:14:48.243
- Care free.

00:14:48.247 --> 00:14:50.209
- I think they brought me
that happy-go-lucky energy

00:14:50.213 --> 00:14:51.898
that I didn't have, you know?

00:14:51.902 --> 00:14:55.798
- It's something about
the fun and play of it,

00:14:55.802 --> 00:14:57.731
the cavorting around.

00:14:57.735 --> 00:14:59.368
It was a caper.

00:14:59.372 --> 00:15:01.501
Those old "Carry On" movies.

00:15:01.505 --> 00:15:04.294
[gentle instrumental music]

00:15:04.298 --> 00:15:06.035
God, it's lockdown.

00:15:06.039 --> 00:15:07.558
Nothing's happening.

00:15:07.562 --> 00:15:09.688
I'm happy to have a caper.

00:15:09.692 --> 00:15:12.507
I'm nearly dead, I'm gonna
caper as long as I can.

00:15:18.714 --> 00:15:22.648
- Was there one time, old
members start talking about us,

00:15:22.652 --> 00:15:25.378
a different new people
who come into here.

00:15:25.382 --> 00:15:28.378
Then I call it, we
are "The Refugees."

00:15:28.382 --> 00:15:31.957
And then, The
Refugees... [laughing]

00:15:33.810 --> 00:15:35.698
...start to become,
like, knowing each other

00:15:35.702 --> 00:15:38.188
that we are new here.

00:15:38.192 --> 00:15:39.688
And then I met Andre.

00:15:39.692 --> 00:15:42.088
- And then we've
mushroomed into Water Rats.

00:15:42.092 --> 00:15:44.098
Camaraderie, deep friendships.

00:15:44.102 --> 00:15:46.798
We all sort of love each
other in all these different ways

00:15:46.802 --> 00:15:48.718
and we hang out, so it's great.

00:15:48.722 --> 00:15:51.178
- The first time I
spoke with Andre,

00:15:51.182 --> 00:15:52.918
he was like, "You know what?

00:15:52.922 --> 00:15:56.398
I have a group of people.
We called ourselves the Rats.

00:15:56.402 --> 00:15:59.908
And you might like to join us."

00:15:59.912 --> 00:16:01.715
And then he come closer
to me and he said to me,

00:16:01.719 --> 00:16:05.848
"But you need to be aware
the majority of them Jewish,

00:16:05.852 --> 00:16:08.698
and you are
Palestinian." [laughing]

00:16:08.702 --> 00:16:12.058
And I was like, "Doesn't
matter, it's absolutely fine.

00:16:12.062 --> 00:16:16.047
As long as we can continue
swimming, then I'm up for it."

00:16:17.040 --> 00:16:19.325
- And Jac comes to me and says,

00:16:19.329 --> 00:16:22.108
"Ahmed, have you ever
thought that you'd be swimming

00:16:22.112 --> 00:16:24.507
with a group of
Jewish ladies naked?"

00:16:25.494 --> 00:16:26.902
[laughing]

00:16:26.906 --> 00:16:29.218
I thought, "Actually, Jac,

00:16:29.222 --> 00:16:32.008
I've always been fantasizing
about this growing up in Gaza.

00:16:32.012 --> 00:16:35.008
I mean, who wouldn't?" [laughing]

00:16:35.012 --> 00:16:37.141
- Yes, my background
being a refugee,

00:16:37.145 --> 00:16:38.308
it's always the "other."

00:16:38.312 --> 00:16:41.248
It's always the someone
who's pointing at you

00:16:41.252 --> 00:16:45.508
that you are not, you're
not, you're not really related,

00:16:45.512 --> 00:16:47.998
or you're not
really fitting in yet.

00:16:48.002 --> 00:16:50.338
- But I think it was
politics that actually

00:16:50.342 --> 00:16:51.921
brought us together,

00:16:51.925 --> 00:16:55.078
talking about the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

00:16:55.082 --> 00:16:58.918
I've literally just come back
from Gaza about 10 days ago.

00:16:58.922 --> 00:17:02.908
The family were asking me
about cold water swimming

00:17:02.912 --> 00:17:05.548
and they've seen
some of the photos.

00:17:05.552 --> 00:17:07.888
I tried to hide some of the
naked photos, of course,

00:17:07.892 --> 00:17:09.438
because it's a big
thing, you know,

00:17:09.442 --> 00:17:12.632
in the-- for a
conservative family.

00:17:14.340 --> 00:17:16.588
- When you swim,
especially while swimming,

00:17:16.592 --> 00:17:18.328
everyone is equal.

00:17:18.332 --> 00:17:22.588
It's, it's, you're naked,
or you have your short.

00:17:22.592 --> 00:17:24.328
I always try to swim just naked

00:17:24.332 --> 00:17:25.708
because I want to strip myself

00:17:25.712 --> 00:17:27.693
from all these material things.

00:17:29.190 --> 00:17:31.588
- My mom took my
phone and she was looking

00:17:31.592 --> 00:17:33.898
at some of the photos
on my WhatsApp.

00:17:33.902 --> 00:17:36.148
And I think there was a,
a photo that came through

00:17:36.152 --> 00:17:37.828
the WhatsApp group
on the Water Rats.

00:17:37.832 --> 00:17:41.188
And I had to literally
run and dive in

00:17:41.192 --> 00:17:42.795
and grab the phone from her

00:17:42.799 --> 00:17:45.568
so she doesn't see her son naked

00:17:45.572 --> 00:17:47.391
in front of all those
people, you know?

00:17:47.395 --> 00:17:50.376
I think she would
disown me completely.

00:17:50.380 --> 00:17:51.259
It's not what we do.

00:17:51.263 --> 00:17:53.098
It's not our culture, in a sense,

00:17:53.102 --> 00:17:55.528
you know, to swim
naked and to kind of, like,

00:17:55.532 --> 00:17:57.448
be so comfortable
in a group of people

00:17:57.452 --> 00:17:59.121
with nudity, et cetera.

00:17:59.125 --> 00:18:01.754
[gentle instrumental music]

00:18:01.758 --> 00:18:03.893
- Well, the first person
I met was Ahmed,

00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:08.178
and it was in the Serpentine.

00:18:08.182 --> 00:18:09.928
- I bet it just
struck me, actually,

00:18:09.932 --> 00:18:13.668
about how amazing
it is that cold water,

00:18:13.672 --> 00:18:15.508
it actually brings
people together

00:18:15.512 --> 00:18:17.493
from all sorts of walks of life.

00:18:18.720 --> 00:18:20.008
- And then we kind of
swam and we chatted

00:18:20.012 --> 00:18:21.118
and we chatted about his books,

00:18:21.122 --> 00:18:22.078
and we chatted about his plays.

00:18:22.082 --> 00:18:23.248
And I though,
"This is incredible.

00:18:23.252 --> 00:18:26.131
I've met a complete
stranger in my bikini.

00:18:26.135 --> 00:18:27.891
This is mad."

00:18:27.895 --> 00:18:29.248
- When you're in the water

00:18:29.252 --> 00:18:31.018
it doesn't matter what
your background is,

00:18:31.022 --> 00:18:33.718
doesn't matter who you
are and what your views are,

00:18:33.722 --> 00:18:34.888
and what your politics are.

00:18:34.892 --> 00:18:37.108
You're all connecting
with nature.

00:18:37.112 --> 00:18:38.908
And that's the
amazing thing about it.

00:18:38.912 --> 00:18:41.174
- There is no pretend.

00:18:41.178 --> 00:18:42.882
You're not fit or not fit.

00:18:42.886 --> 00:18:44.673
Not everyone is the same.

00:18:44.677 --> 00:18:46.168
Everyone is equal here.

00:18:46.172 --> 00:18:50.667
You, the water and
nature, and the joy of it.

00:18:50.671 --> 00:18:55.669
[water splashing] [gentle
instrumental music]

00:19:00.930 --> 00:19:05.008
- Within the Rats there's this
huge diversity in, you know,

00:19:05.012 --> 00:19:08.608
demographic, whether that's
culturally where you're from,

00:19:08.612 --> 00:19:10.618
or age, or career path.

00:19:10.622 --> 00:19:14.488
And there's so much nuance
to the group that, yeah,

00:19:14.492 --> 00:19:17.368
it's quite rare you'd
ever come across a group

00:19:17.372 --> 00:19:20.728
where there's so much
variation, so much color.

00:19:20.732 --> 00:19:23.908
- It's that rawness of
emotions and thoughts

00:19:23.912 --> 00:19:27.268
within this group, this
amazing group that I really love.

00:19:27.272 --> 00:19:30.688
- Usually you
consolidate to, you know,

00:19:30.692 --> 00:19:32.698
people with the same
preference in music,

00:19:32.702 --> 00:19:36.688
or you are from the same place.

00:19:36.692 --> 00:19:41.398
Whereas this kind of, kind of
just challenges the status quo

00:19:41.402 --> 00:19:43.738
of who can be friends

00:19:43.742 --> 00:19:45.940
and who can relate and
who can have a laugh.

00:19:47.460 --> 00:19:48.868
- But actually we're
more than that.

00:19:48.872 --> 00:19:50.578
I think we're kind of, you know,

00:19:50.582 --> 00:19:52.348
we see each other every morning.

00:19:52.352 --> 00:19:55.528
So we're kind of out
there with all our baggage,

00:19:55.532 --> 00:19:59.223
with all our good stuff and
bad stuff and horrible stuff.

00:20:01.020 --> 00:20:02.458
- I do wonder why that is.

00:20:02.462 --> 00:20:05.608
I don't think you need a
pandemic for that to happen,

00:20:05.612 --> 00:20:07.468
I just think you need
to allow it to happen.

00:20:07.472 --> 00:20:10.918
And that's what happened
when I got to know the Rats.

00:20:10.922 --> 00:20:15.268
They're such a beautiful
array of people from, you know,

00:20:15.272 --> 00:20:17.878
from graphic artists,
stockbrokers, to musicians,

00:20:17.882 --> 00:20:20.188
to osteopaths, to doctors.

00:20:20.192 --> 00:20:23.913
It was like this
beautiful kind of,

00:20:24.863 --> 00:20:27.868
I don't know, trifle
with odd ingredients.

00:20:27.872 --> 00:20:29.764
But it just tasted good.

00:20:29.768 --> 00:20:33.266
[lush ambient music]

00:20:35.520 --> 00:20:39.418
- I have a very, very strange

00:20:39.422 --> 00:20:41.518
yet interesting heritage.

00:20:41.522 --> 00:20:44.908
My mom is Russian,
my dad's Emirate,

00:20:44.912 --> 00:20:46.400
but I was born in the States,

00:20:46.404 --> 00:20:48.580
so obviously you've
got the holy trinity of

00:20:48.584 --> 00:20:50.263
all the countries
that hate each other

00:20:50.267 --> 00:20:52.378
in one person.

00:20:52.382 --> 00:20:55.023
- We went away as a family
before the last lockdown.

00:20:55.920 --> 00:21:00.330
And my daughter caught COVID,

00:21:01.830 --> 00:21:03.183
and I caught it from her.

00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:07.240
I ended up getting
stuck where we were

00:21:08.224 --> 00:21:09.665
for two months in all.

00:21:11.670 --> 00:21:14.003
Just my daughter and myself.

00:21:15.720 --> 00:21:18.797
- I was raised by a single
mum who grew up in

00:21:18.801 --> 00:21:22.798
the absolute horrors
of communist Ukraine

00:21:22.802 --> 00:21:24.328
in the middle of nowhere,

00:21:24.332 --> 00:21:29.330
and I spent my whole life just
kind of watching her struggle

00:21:29.340 --> 00:21:33.808
and watching her do everything
she can in order to give me

00:21:33.812 --> 00:21:35.638
a reasonable life.

00:21:35.642 --> 00:21:38.038
And when I look back, I remember

00:21:38.042 --> 00:21:40.743
just swimming in the ocean
with her every evening.

00:21:42.960 --> 00:21:44.368
- We were nestled
up in the mountains.

00:21:44.372 --> 00:21:46.798
It was beautiful where we were.

00:21:46.802 --> 00:21:48.281
But I was missing.

00:21:48.285 --> 00:21:49.123
I was missing the Rats,

00:21:49.127 --> 00:21:50.428
I was missing the swims.

00:21:50.432 --> 00:21:55.023
I was seeing the, the
chat and the pictures.

00:21:56.940 --> 00:22:00.033
I was feeling the,
the disconnect of it all.

00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:06.868
- But this was obviously warm,
warm, warm ocean in Dubai.

00:22:06.872 --> 00:22:10.618
And I think when I found the pond

00:22:10.622 --> 00:22:12.508
it kind of brought me
back to that moment

00:22:12.512 --> 00:22:15.688
where I was back in the water

00:22:15.692 --> 00:22:17.788
and I was kind of
swimming with my mum,

00:22:17.792 --> 00:22:21.328
and I could remember
us going to the parks and...

00:22:21.332 --> 00:22:23.703
Oh, I love my mum so much.

00:22:23.707 --> 00:22:24.538
Ahh.

00:22:25.508 --> 00:22:26.341
Ahh.

00:22:27.870 --> 00:22:29.380
Yeah.

00:22:29.384 --> 00:22:32.882
[somber ambient music]

00:22:34.260 --> 00:22:37.348
- And then I had to go to
Australia 'cause my mum was dying,

00:22:37.352 --> 00:22:41.403
and I was stuck in quarantine
in a hotel room for two weeks.

00:22:46.290 --> 00:22:49.683
She was definitely on
the way out, I knew that.

00:22:54.420 --> 00:22:57.298
And so that trip, though
it was very painful for me,

00:22:57.302 --> 00:23:02.300
it was quite epic in terms
of experiencing flying

00:23:03.060 --> 00:23:06.268
at the time of quarantine
when the airports were empty

00:23:06.272 --> 00:23:09.538
and everybody was in
masks and then being stuck

00:23:09.542 --> 00:23:12.363
when I knew she was dying
in a room for two weeks.

00:23:14.010 --> 00:23:16.108
The doors slammed shut.

00:23:16.112 --> 00:23:20.248
I suddenly realized I had
no fresh air whatsoever.

00:23:20.252 --> 00:23:24.298
If I tried to leave the
room, an alarm would go off

00:23:24.302 --> 00:23:28.143
and there were security
men in the corridor outside.

00:23:30.300 --> 00:23:32.958
The only thing I could do
was have Zoom calls with her

00:23:32.962 --> 00:23:37.768
on a daily basis and
play her classical music,

00:23:37.772 --> 00:23:38.763
which she loved.

00:23:39.750 --> 00:23:43.143
She was in this real
sort of drugged-up state.

00:23:46.650 --> 00:23:49.828
I got out on a
Friday after 14 days,

00:23:49.832 --> 00:23:52.653
and she had gone by
the Monday morning.

00:23:54.036 --> 00:23:55.380
So, I had three days with her.

00:23:56.614 --> 00:24:00.397
[somber ambient music]

00:24:06.090 --> 00:24:08.338
There's always something
positive in a negative.

00:24:08.342 --> 00:24:09.273
We know that.

00:24:11.400 --> 00:24:15.658
And I was really concentrating
on close-up details.

00:24:15.662 --> 00:24:19.160
[somber ambient music]

00:24:30.600 --> 00:24:33.871
And so I think that just
extended when I came back,

00:24:33.875 --> 00:24:38.873
because I started
photographing the body details.

00:24:46.260 --> 00:24:49.630
And going inwards

00:24:50.850 --> 00:24:55.850
just made the outward-looking
nature of the Water Rats

00:24:56.220 --> 00:24:59.518
allow me to go
into the specifics.

00:24:59.522 --> 00:25:01.593
Which I think
enriched it, really.

00:25:02.717 --> 00:25:06.217
[pulsing ambient music]

00:25:25.740 --> 00:25:29.548
And after a while, it
took a few weeks I felt,

00:25:29.552 --> 00:25:34.288
I understand why there's
so much richness in this,

00:25:34.292 --> 00:25:36.213
because it's not just the swims.

00:25:37.170 --> 00:25:40.863
It's the, the creativity
and the, and the group.

00:25:44.010 --> 00:25:45.898
- I've always
been a single child,

00:25:45.902 --> 00:25:48.118
so I had to grow up
very, very quickly.

00:25:48.122 --> 00:25:53.120
And to be, to finally feel
like you're part of a family

00:25:53.160 --> 00:25:55.318
and you will do this crazy thing

00:25:55.322 --> 00:25:56.428
where you hop into the water

00:25:56.432 --> 00:25:59.668
and it takes a certain
level of craziness

00:25:59.672 --> 00:26:03.969
to be able to go in
and a certain level of,

00:26:03.973 --> 00:26:06.808
of want for that kind
of numbing-ness.

00:26:06.812 --> 00:26:08.458
So, obviously everyone harbors

00:26:08.462 --> 00:26:11.169
a certain level of
pain in their life.

00:26:11.173 --> 00:26:15.588
[droning ambient music]

00:26:22.590 --> 00:26:25.198
- I get my physical
benefit from it,

00:26:25.202 --> 00:26:27.718
and my psychological benefit.

00:26:27.722 --> 00:26:29.698
I feel-- and particularly
as I've been going

00:26:29.702 --> 00:26:32.518
through quite a life event,
as many people go through

00:26:32.522 --> 00:26:34.767
and the--

00:26:34.771 --> 00:26:36.868
My life event this year
has been moving home

00:26:36.872 --> 00:26:39.238
and separating from my wife,

00:26:39.242 --> 00:26:42.508
and it's all been very
challenging and different.

00:26:42.512 --> 00:26:46.138
And it bring-- it's
psychologically very healthy

00:26:46.142 --> 00:26:48.105
for me to swim.

00:26:48.109 --> 00:26:51.607
[droning ambient music]

00:26:54.030 --> 00:26:57.066
- Every single day we
always complain about

00:26:57.070 --> 00:26:58.641
how cold it is that very day,

00:26:58.645 --> 00:27:00.501
and it doesn't get any warmer.

00:27:02.820 --> 00:27:04.453
But it's just...

00:27:06.336 --> 00:27:07.708
You have the support of people,

00:27:07.712 --> 00:27:10.383
and I think that's
what makes us human.

00:27:12.090 --> 00:27:13.888
- [Andre] But you know,
you're sitting there on the ice

00:27:13.892 --> 00:27:16.533
with each other and...

00:27:17.850 --> 00:27:19.558
...you know, not only
is there a bit of a laugh,

00:27:19.562 --> 00:27:22.893
but there's a looking after
each other component to that.

00:27:25.860 --> 00:27:27.298
- [Patrick] It was
persistent, the ice,

00:27:27.302 --> 00:27:29.643
and there was some
funny moments with the ice.

00:27:31.170 --> 00:27:33.418
- [Joe] Were you
there for Anat's...?

00:27:33.422 --> 00:27:34.258
It was Anat's birthday.

00:27:34.262 --> 00:27:36.748
So it was the day when the
Vale had completely froze over.

00:27:36.752 --> 00:27:38.547
- I was there.
- Yeah, and, um...

00:27:40.590 --> 00:27:43.503
Andre brought the,
the little Turkish baton.

00:27:44.670 --> 00:27:47.248
- Andre and one or two
others brought these wonderful

00:27:47.252 --> 00:27:49.168
sort of ethnic, ethnic...

00:27:49.172 --> 00:27:51.598
- So, I've got this thing
called a Persian club.

00:27:51.602 --> 00:27:54.448
- ...ethnic wooden
mallets to break the ice

00:27:54.452 --> 00:27:56.878
to create the plunge pool.

00:27:56.882 --> 00:27:59.052
- Or an Indian club.

00:27:59.056 --> 00:28:01.041
- I though it was a
champagne bottle in the photos.

00:28:01.045 --> 00:28:02.657
I was like, is that a big, big,

00:28:02.661 --> 00:28:03.615
big champagne bottle?

00:28:03.619 --> 00:28:06.237
I was like, it's so
out of the blue.

00:28:06.241 --> 00:28:10.348
- And I brought it along
and bashed the ice

00:28:10.352 --> 00:28:12.753
with this Persian
club, Indian club.

00:28:13.860 --> 00:28:15.928
One of them is quite
aesthetically beautiful,

00:28:15.932 --> 00:28:18.148
so my wife and a few other
people weren't too happy

00:28:18.152 --> 00:28:21.183
about that when they saw
it in the photo of Jillian's.

00:28:21.187 --> 00:28:23.278
- Freezing up, that's why.
[ice sprinkling]

00:28:23.282 --> 00:28:24.748
- [Patrick] And we go
into the plunge pool,

00:28:24.752 --> 00:28:29.698
but as you as you move towards
the edge of the plunge pool

00:28:29.702 --> 00:28:33.508
and move the ice it created
this cacophony of sound

00:28:33.512 --> 00:28:36.943
that sprinkled across the water.

00:28:36.947 --> 00:28:40.095
[indistinct chatter]
[ice shattering]

00:28:42.960 --> 00:28:45.408
- [Patrick] Yeah, the
cold is so enlightening...

00:28:45.412 --> 00:28:47.518
[rain pattering]

00:28:47.522 --> 00:28:48.351
- Ooh!

00:28:48.355 --> 00:28:50.619
- ...and enlivening.

00:28:56.632 --> 00:28:59.179
[gentle ambient music]

00:28:59.183 --> 00:29:00.764
- Always just dive.

00:29:03.390 --> 00:29:07.288
Transferring myself
from me being me,

00:29:07.292 --> 00:29:12.290
the person Jamal, to swimming,
diving in the cold water.

00:29:12.300 --> 00:29:16.948
It's kind of this extreme
change of personality,

00:29:16.952 --> 00:29:20.338
of mind, of even life.

00:29:20.342 --> 00:29:22.738
- And obviously the biggest
encounter is with yourself,

00:29:22.742 --> 00:29:27.328
because you're into a, you
know, a hostile environment.

00:29:27.332 --> 00:29:29.038
- You're transferring
yourself to something

00:29:29.042 --> 00:29:33.163
completely out of your control,

00:29:33.167 --> 00:29:35.529
and is just you by yourself.

00:29:35.533 --> 00:29:38.488
- We're all experiencing
something quite unusual.

00:29:38.492 --> 00:29:41.488
Unusual in a sense
that people are afraid

00:29:41.492 --> 00:29:44.578
to break that barrier
of going into cold water.

00:29:44.582 --> 00:29:47.583
And my first experience
with it when I did

00:29:47.587 --> 00:29:49.365
feel like I'm
breaking the barrier,

00:29:49.369 --> 00:29:51.906
it's like I feel like I'm
going into fairy land.

00:29:51.910 --> 00:29:56.145
[gentle ambient music]

00:29:56.149 --> 00:29:58.048
- Why I always dive as well?

00:29:58.052 --> 00:30:01.738
It's this just few second
when you dive under the water,

00:30:01.742 --> 00:30:05.098
it's just you by yourself.

00:30:05.102 --> 00:30:08.998
And this few seconds that
sometimes it's worth everything,

00:30:09.002 --> 00:30:12.028
just being under the water,
going down, going down,

00:30:12.032 --> 00:30:14.613
start to see the dark
things, and coming out.

00:30:16.500 --> 00:30:19.978
- Going through this cold
water is actually allowing me

00:30:19.982 --> 00:30:21.568
to enter a different realm

00:30:21.572 --> 00:30:24.028
where I'm still in
the same world,

00:30:24.032 --> 00:30:28.558
but I'm experiencing something
so magical and different.

00:30:28.562 --> 00:30:32.128
- It's kind of been a "holy
grail" winter [laughing]

00:30:32.132 --> 00:30:33.161
in that respect.

00:30:33.165 --> 00:30:34.708
Ice, snow.

00:30:34.712 --> 00:30:36.988
- And that is why it's
so addictive, I think,

00:30:36.992 --> 00:30:39.806
because you always
get the same buzz.

00:30:42.870 --> 00:30:47.728
- It became, you know, a
daily fix, a daily addiction.

00:30:47.732 --> 00:30:51.538
- And you'll be amazed
how many fellow

00:30:51.542 --> 00:30:54.868
recovering addicts I swim with.

00:30:54.872 --> 00:30:58.438
- But again, you know,
the, the thrill, the euphoria,

00:30:58.442 --> 00:31:01.348
the adrenaline kick, the
dopamine, the serotonin,

00:31:01.352 --> 00:31:05.158
the boost in the evening,
breaking up this lockdown.

00:31:05.162 --> 00:31:07.948
- I'm in recovery, I'm
in the 12 step program,

00:31:07.952 --> 00:31:08.913
recovering addict.

00:31:10.200 --> 00:31:12.543
The world stops
when I'm in there.

00:31:12.547 --> 00:31:16.808
[swelling post-rock music]

00:31:16.812 --> 00:31:20.428
- It was raining, it
was a sleety snow.

00:31:20.432 --> 00:31:22.608
And I said, "Guys, we're
doing anything for our

00:31:22.612 --> 00:31:24.988
fix here this
morning, look at us."

00:31:24.992 --> 00:31:26.190
So...

00:31:27.665 --> 00:31:29.038
[laughing]

00:31:29.042 --> 00:31:31.918
- The program
I'm in, the 12 steps,

00:31:31.922 --> 00:31:34.168
you have to practice every day.

00:31:34.172 --> 00:31:38.608
So prayer, meditation,
helping others, phoning others.

00:31:38.612 --> 00:31:40.918
And it's all about
connection, basically.

00:31:40.922 --> 00:31:45.328
And with lockdown, we lost
connection and we had isolation.

00:31:45.332 --> 00:31:48.328
And for an addict, the worst
possible thing in the world

00:31:48.332 --> 00:31:51.997
is isolation because
the disease takes over.

00:31:53.995 --> 00:31:57.497
- Yeah, I mean I
prescribed this, so...

00:31:59.010 --> 00:32:01.198
Yeah, definitely it's got
me through lockdown.

00:32:01.202 --> 00:32:03.268
I'm sure other people, as well.

00:32:03.272 --> 00:32:04.708
- It's changed
my life, basically.

00:32:04.712 --> 00:32:05.998
It really, I mean, you know,

00:32:06.002 --> 00:32:06.995
it sounds like an
advert, doesn't it?

00:32:06.999 --> 00:32:09.705
"Hey, I'm so impressed
I bought the coffee."

00:32:09.709 --> 00:32:11.801
No, I, it has changed my life.

00:32:13.326 --> 00:32:16.701
[gentle instrumental music]

00:32:19.243 --> 00:32:20.728
- Yeah, as a practicing GP,

00:32:20.732 --> 00:32:24.538
I've often extolled the
virtues of cold water swimming

00:32:24.542 --> 00:32:27.718
to my patients because there
is some good research around

00:32:27.722 --> 00:32:30.748
that regular
swimming in cold water

00:32:30.752 --> 00:32:32.818
does benefit our health,

00:32:32.822 --> 00:32:35.488
and particularly benefits
our cardiovascular health,

00:32:35.492 --> 00:32:37.468
our immune system,

00:32:37.472 --> 00:32:41.037
as well as our psychological
health and wellbeing.

00:32:44.790 --> 00:32:48.268
And finally, we've all heard
about the feel-good factor,

00:32:48.272 --> 00:32:50.338
and that's documented
around the fact

00:32:50.342 --> 00:32:52.198
that it does release
neurotransmitters.

00:32:52.202 --> 00:32:53.410
It releases dopamine

00:32:54.840 --> 00:32:58.113
for giving people a
good, positive high.

00:33:01.860 --> 00:33:04.108
And if you do it with
buddies and friends,

00:33:04.112 --> 00:33:07.708
then the collegiate
effect, the added value

00:33:07.712 --> 00:33:11.278
of coming together
brings even further benefits

00:33:11.282 --> 00:33:15.162
to our health and,
well, mental wellbeing.

00:33:16.629 --> 00:33:20.129
[gentle instrumental music]

00:33:24.463 --> 00:33:25.528
- I was thinking about this.

00:33:25.532 --> 00:33:27.778
What is it about
this group of people

00:33:27.782 --> 00:33:29.428
that makes them so special?

00:33:29.432 --> 00:33:32.518
You know, it's a group
of kind of broken people

00:33:32.522 --> 00:33:34.258
who are gorgeous and supportive,

00:33:34.262 --> 00:33:35.628
but actually they're
not broken at all.

00:33:35.632 --> 00:33:38.338
They're just really
normal human beings

00:33:38.342 --> 00:33:40.798
who are prepared to
show their vulnerability

00:33:40.802 --> 00:33:42.478
and support one another.

00:33:42.482 --> 00:33:46.221
But what ties everyone
together is enormous heart.

00:33:47.513 --> 00:33:51.013
[gentle instrumental music]

00:33:57.429 --> 00:33:58.705
- How you doing?

00:33:58.709 --> 00:33:59.589
- How are you?
- Hi, how are you?

00:33:59.593 --> 00:34:01.108
- How was Anat?

00:34:01.112 --> 00:34:01.941
- Hi, Jill.
- How is what?

00:34:01.945 --> 00:34:03.066
- [Jillian] How is Anat?

00:34:03.070 --> 00:34:04.458
- Are you going in?

00:34:06.233 --> 00:34:08.188
- There's the health
benefits that we know,

00:34:08.192 --> 00:34:09.843
there's a social aspect to it.

00:34:10.740 --> 00:34:13.833
But there's, there's a
spiritual element that's...

00:34:15.090 --> 00:34:19.768
It's hard to underestimate
the power that

00:34:19.772 --> 00:34:21.242
that brings to us.

00:34:23.100 --> 00:34:27.325
[melancholy ambient music]

00:34:32.910 --> 00:34:35.188
And there's something
incredibly evocative

00:34:35.192 --> 00:34:39.478
about the dark
water, black night,

00:34:39.482 --> 00:34:43.078
might have some
sleeping birds on the ponds,

00:34:43.082 --> 00:34:44.673
bats coming out.

00:34:46.860 --> 00:34:48.268
You might get a moonrise.

00:34:48.272 --> 00:34:51.298
You had a couple of absolutely
staggering moon rises.

00:34:51.302 --> 00:34:55.738
And swimming in that
and then big, fat, full moon

00:34:55.742 --> 00:35:00.423
just coming above the
trees is, is quite sensational.

00:35:02.580 --> 00:35:07.580
- There was the ugliest
pike that looked like a dragon

00:35:07.740 --> 00:35:12.448
and was enormous, and
it came right up to me,

00:35:12.452 --> 00:35:14.248
right up against me.

00:35:14.252 --> 00:35:18.718
I mean, it was like that,
and it took my breath away.

00:35:18.722 --> 00:35:21.153
It was unbelievable.

00:35:21.157 --> 00:35:24.655
[droning synthesizer music]

00:35:26.790 --> 00:35:30.303
- When you face one side,

00:35:31.560 --> 00:35:34.768
it looks as nature
has never changed.

00:35:34.772 --> 00:35:37.708
It's just so pure, and
we live in London.

00:35:37.712 --> 00:35:39.451
This is in London, you know?

00:35:39.455 --> 00:35:40.798
- And the other day
there was a heron

00:35:40.802 --> 00:35:43.108
flying in, catching stuff.

00:35:43.112 --> 00:35:44.649
You had geese.

00:35:44.653 --> 00:35:46.288
And then these two
foxes walked past me,

00:35:46.292 --> 00:35:47.968
looked at me, and
then just kept going.

00:35:47.972 --> 00:35:49.228
I mean, that's incredible.

00:35:49.232 --> 00:35:51.478
- And there was another
moment of lying back

00:35:51.482 --> 00:35:54.658
and just kind of just being
there looking up at the sky

00:35:54.662 --> 00:35:59.038
and having the swifts,
just having arrived and,

00:35:59.042 --> 00:36:02.668
and it was just like watching
a symphony in the sky.

00:36:02.672 --> 00:36:04.978
And you could hear--
the extraordinary thing was

00:36:04.982 --> 00:36:07.396
you could hear them.
[mimicking bird calls]

00:36:09.485 --> 00:36:12.235
[birds chirping]

00:36:14.640 --> 00:36:16.852
[gentle ambient music]

00:36:16.856 --> 00:36:20.128
- I particularly
remember my relationship

00:36:20.132 --> 00:36:23.728
with two robins down
by the Vale of Health.

00:36:23.732 --> 00:36:27.508
I decided I would
bring food up there.

00:36:27.512 --> 00:36:29.308
I was sort of repaying something.

00:36:29.312 --> 00:36:34.310
I was returning
something for them,

00:36:34.830 --> 00:36:37.558
the generosity they
gave, their bird song,

00:36:37.562 --> 00:36:40.708
and particularly robins, as
you know, are very friendly

00:36:40.712 --> 00:36:43.075
and very collaborative and want--

00:36:43.079 --> 00:36:47.043
and very inquisitive and
also want to get to know you.

00:36:47.972 --> 00:36:51.958
- All of a sudden it's
like whoosh, whoosh!

00:36:51.962 --> 00:36:54.298
And then the flap
of the feet, right,

00:36:54.302 --> 00:36:57.443
of the swans, and
there's, like, 20 swans

00:36:57.447 --> 00:36:59.638
that are coming straight over us.

00:36:59.642 --> 00:37:02.005
And, and Nicky goes, "Duck!"

00:37:02.009 --> 00:37:04.068
So, she drops and
drops her head down.

00:37:04.072 --> 00:37:07.018
And I swear I almost
got wiped out by,

00:37:07.022 --> 00:37:08.718
by the flipper of a--

00:37:08.722 --> 00:37:09.988
Flipper? Whatever.

00:37:09.992 --> 00:37:12.279
What is a duck, what
does the swan have?

00:37:12.283 --> 00:37:15.781
[gentle post-rock music]

00:37:16.620 --> 00:37:18.870
- The other night I was
swimming at the Vale.

00:37:20.218 --> 00:37:22.108
I had a black swimming cap on,

00:37:22.112 --> 00:37:26.398
and a goose basically
landed on my head

00:37:26.402 --> 00:37:29.368
because he couldn't,
didn't see me, basically.

00:37:29.372 --> 00:37:32.278
And so I was-- Jac was next to me

00:37:32.282 --> 00:37:34.768
and literally this--
I felt these two feet

00:37:34.772 --> 00:37:37.468
on the top of my head and
then it aborted the landing

00:37:37.472 --> 00:37:38.668
and took off.

00:37:38.672 --> 00:37:43.539
- But, incredible is these
beings just left the water

00:37:43.543 --> 00:37:46.601
for whatever
reason, I don't know.

00:37:46.605 --> 00:37:49.228
- So I would position
the little bird seeds

00:37:49.232 --> 00:37:53.008
into a particular log and
I'd pop my seeds in there.

00:37:53.012 --> 00:37:55.468
And by the end of the
swim, the two robins

00:37:55.472 --> 00:37:58.078
were coming to have a little feed

00:37:58.082 --> 00:38:01.444
and enjoy their morning feast.

00:38:01.448 --> 00:38:02.278
And that felt very nice.

00:38:02.282 --> 00:38:04.858
As you know, robins
are there in the winter,

00:38:04.862 --> 00:38:08.403
there to check what's going
on, keep an eye on you.

00:38:10.410 --> 00:38:13.588
- A fledgling heron splashes
down at the mixed pond

00:38:13.592 --> 00:38:16.678
while Canada geese
bellies skim over us,

00:38:16.682 --> 00:38:17.823
ushering in the dawn.

00:38:19.290 --> 00:38:23.548
A 500-year-old sequoia tree
provides comfort and shade.

00:38:23.552 --> 00:38:27.073
It beckons us near this
welcoming green glade.

00:38:28.073 --> 00:38:31.573
[gentle post-rock music]

00:38:32.520 --> 00:38:35.188
- And I was very sad
because I just lost a friend

00:38:35.192 --> 00:38:38.458
who died in lockdown,
which was quite a big deal.

00:38:38.462 --> 00:38:41.158
And I was swimming
and I was sad, obviously.

00:38:41.162 --> 00:38:44.454
And I saw this black swan
and I stopped and I looked at it

00:38:44.458 --> 00:38:47.038
and I, you know, kind
of cheered myself a bit,

00:38:47.042 --> 00:38:48.298
stopped crying.

00:38:48.302 --> 00:38:49.775
And I looked at the
black swan and I thought,

00:38:49.779 --> 00:38:52.768
"This is symbolic, this is
something, this is important."

00:38:52.772 --> 00:38:54.628
- At first I saw this
woman swimming

00:38:54.632 --> 00:38:58.048
and this swan behind
her, literally she looked like

00:38:58.052 --> 00:39:00.178
she was gonna be
attacked by the swan,

00:39:00.182 --> 00:39:02.733
so I started talking to
her and that is Louise.

00:39:04.020 --> 00:39:05.855
That's how we met, I
was just basically saying,

00:39:05.859 --> 00:39:07.648
"Careful of the swan over there."

00:39:07.652 --> 00:39:09.958
- And then Ahmed
came up and we didn't,

00:39:09.962 --> 00:39:10.791
we didn't say anything.

00:39:10.795 --> 00:39:12.088
We just-- we didn't
say hi, we didn't talk.

00:39:12.092 --> 00:39:13.798
We both just looked at
this swan and we kind of,

00:39:13.802 --> 00:39:16.228
you know, made some
comments about it.

00:39:16.232 --> 00:39:18.880
And then we've just
been friends since then.

00:39:21.270 --> 00:39:23.188
- I think about
seven or eight swans

00:39:23.192 --> 00:39:27.718
just come out of nowhere
and surround me in a horseshoe

00:39:27.722 --> 00:39:32.720
not far offshore, and
basically just look at me

00:39:33.090 --> 00:39:35.518
and say, "You're
not going anywhere."

00:39:35.522 --> 00:39:37.378
- I was genuinely
worried about it,

00:39:37.382 --> 00:39:38.935
because I'm scared of swans.

00:39:38.939 --> 00:39:42.238
I'm-- literally, I think
they're worse than dogs.

00:39:42.242 --> 00:39:44.758
- And I tried to
negotiate a bit with them,

00:39:44.762 --> 00:39:46.582
and they weren't having this.

00:39:46.586 --> 00:39:47.608
It was remarkable.

00:39:47.612 --> 00:39:50.308
- I saw a few attacks
in Gaza by swans.

00:39:50.312 --> 00:39:52.318
Actually, my uncle used
to have a couple of swans

00:39:52.322 --> 00:39:54.778
that were like guard dogs.

00:39:54.782 --> 00:39:58.258
He would actually have them,
have them outside of his house

00:39:58.262 --> 00:40:00.508
and nobody would
be able to enter at all.

00:40:00.512 --> 00:40:03.778
So I, I knew how
dangerous swans are.

00:40:03.782 --> 00:40:08.548
- So they just gently,
I think the main swan,

00:40:08.552 --> 00:40:10.228
eyeball to eyeball.

00:40:10.232 --> 00:40:12.388
It was just so apparent.

00:40:12.392 --> 00:40:14.308
It was like, "You're
not welcome here.

00:40:14.312 --> 00:40:15.891
We don't want you here.

00:40:15.895 --> 00:40:16.724
Get out."

00:40:16.728 --> 00:40:19.588
And they just artfully
moved forward.

00:40:19.592 --> 00:40:20.908
- But of course
the swan was fine.

00:40:20.912 --> 00:40:22.858
I mean, the swan, the
swan couldn't give a shit

00:40:22.862 --> 00:40:25.750
actually about us, you know?

00:40:25.754 --> 00:40:29.138
[gentle post-rock music]

00:40:29.142 --> 00:40:31.890
[water lapping]

00:40:36.000 --> 00:40:39.328
- One evening, we
arrived at the Mixed Pond.

00:40:39.332 --> 00:40:41.458
There was a beautiful
family of swans

00:40:41.462 --> 00:40:43.858
that we'd been
watching for months.

00:40:43.862 --> 00:40:46.228
They had 10 cygnets.

00:40:46.232 --> 00:40:49.888
Over the months, some
of them didn't make it.

00:40:49.892 --> 00:40:52.773
They were eaten,
or they were weak.

00:40:53.760 --> 00:40:56.878
What we noticed was
that the mom and dad

00:40:56.882 --> 00:41:00.568
and two of the
cygnets had decided to

00:41:00.572 --> 00:41:03.513
go to the Mixed Pond,
leaving their nest behind.

00:41:04.350 --> 00:41:06.778
And then they probably panicked,

00:41:06.782 --> 00:41:08.793
and decided they
wanted to go back home.

00:41:10.050 --> 00:41:11.878
In fact, one of
their other cygnets

00:41:11.882 --> 00:41:13.653
had been left behind alone.

00:41:14.610 --> 00:41:17.742
The whole family took
off and two of the cygnets

00:41:17.746 --> 00:41:21.730
hit a redwood
tree that is standing

00:41:22.860 --> 00:41:26.068
majestically in the Mixed Ponds.

00:41:26.072 --> 00:41:28.833
The one cygnet
fell to the pontoon.

00:41:30.840 --> 00:41:33.058
The mom and dad
came to investigate.

00:41:33.062 --> 00:41:35.518
They nudged it to see
if it was dead or alive,

00:41:35.522 --> 00:41:37.683
and unfortunately
it hadn't made it.

00:41:39.840 --> 00:41:41.788
By the next day,

00:41:41.792 --> 00:41:43.918
when we arrived to
swim early in the morning,

00:41:43.922 --> 00:41:48.808
we found that it had been
disemboweled by the foxes.

00:41:48.812 --> 00:41:50.998
And that's when we
decided to make an image

00:41:51.002 --> 00:41:53.763
that would be an
homage to this baby swan.

00:41:55.008 --> 00:41:58.198
[indistinct conversation]

00:41:58.202 --> 00:42:03.200
Nicky spread out on
this bed of soaking leaves

00:42:03.510 --> 00:42:05.893
and we did this photograph,

00:42:05.897 --> 00:42:09.676
which just seemed
something we needed to do

00:42:09.680 --> 00:42:12.070
'cause it had been
quite upsetting.

00:42:13.721 --> 00:42:17.221
[gentle post-rock music]

00:42:27.365 --> 00:42:29.568
- It takes you back to
the sounds in the trees

00:42:29.572 --> 00:42:33.028
as the heron goes over, then
you hear the woodpecker again.

00:42:33.032 --> 00:42:36.358
And you think, they're
all sort of marking out

00:42:36.362 --> 00:42:38.098
their place in the
pond, as we were doing.

00:42:38.102 --> 00:42:39.658
We had a very special place.

00:42:39.662 --> 00:42:42.393
We had this muddy, slushy bank.

00:42:43.950 --> 00:42:45.328
And that was our little place.

00:42:45.332 --> 00:42:49.228
That was our sort of little
animal place that we found.

00:42:49.232 --> 00:42:52.678
So we were given permission,
if you like, by nature,

00:42:52.682 --> 00:42:55.618
to find our little side
that didn't disturb

00:42:55.622 --> 00:42:59.309
other animal members of the Vale.

00:42:59.313 --> 00:43:00.909
And that's where we grew.

00:43:00.913 --> 00:43:03.216
That's where we
enjoyed our moment.

00:43:04.980 --> 00:43:06.898
- When they came to get
me out of the Men's Pond

00:43:06.902 --> 00:43:09.478
one evening, I just said, "Well,

00:43:09.482 --> 00:43:11.698
I've been waiting
for this moment.

00:43:11.702 --> 00:43:14.998
You know, I waited all
my life for you to come

00:43:15.002 --> 00:43:18.388
and put me in handcuffs
and take me naked

00:43:18.392 --> 00:43:21.473
and put me in the
van with the dogs."

00:43:23.820 --> 00:43:24.658
- We had this, you know,

00:43:24.662 --> 00:43:26.973
this Boris Johnson
Partygate thing.

00:43:27.840 --> 00:43:30.058
I think really the
bigger issue there is

00:43:30.062 --> 00:43:33.748
we have a class of people
or people that enforce rules

00:43:33.752 --> 00:43:35.899
and then don't live by them.

00:43:37.132 --> 00:43:40.632
[somber ambient music]

00:43:43.320 --> 00:43:46.408
- And so we talked a
little bit about it being ours,

00:43:46.412 --> 00:43:49.828
you know, it belonged to
those who used the ponds,

00:43:49.832 --> 00:43:52.468
those who shared
the ponds with nature,

00:43:52.472 --> 00:43:55.888
who shared the
ponds with the birds,

00:43:55.892 --> 00:43:58.348
and the ducks, and the moorhens,

00:43:58.352 --> 00:44:01.593
and the cormorants,
and the herons.

00:44:06.150 --> 00:44:08.548
- But the truth is,

00:44:08.552 --> 00:44:11.818
you don't really have to
have it covered and lie,

00:44:11.822 --> 00:44:16.198
because we weren't super
spreaders as going to a party.

00:44:16.202 --> 00:44:19.978
We were going there
for our wellbeing.

00:44:19.982 --> 00:44:23.168
We were going there to feel alive

00:44:23.172 --> 00:44:26.878
and make ourselves feel
good physically and mentally.

00:44:26.882 --> 00:44:31.880
And right now, with
COVID, with technology,

00:44:32.910 --> 00:44:35.523
with Black Lives
Matter, with Brexit,

00:44:36.720 --> 00:44:39.358
there's a whole heap of
things going on in the world

00:44:39.362 --> 00:44:42.123
that are in a bloody mess.

00:44:43.080 --> 00:44:45.208
And people are suffering.

00:44:45.212 --> 00:44:50.128
So if it's breaking the rules
to put your bum in the pond,

00:44:50.132 --> 00:44:53.788
I'm so sorry, I'm just
going to continue to do it

00:44:53.792 --> 00:44:58.175
till they have to, you know,
take the swans off me.

00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:03.825
[somber post-rock music]

00:45:07.011 --> 00:45:11.038
- When lockdown
happened in March 2020,

00:45:11.042 --> 00:45:11.871
Bang!

00:45:11.875 --> 00:45:13.296
The world stopped.

00:45:13.300 --> 00:45:14.423
A door closed.

00:45:15.300 --> 00:45:17.848
And another portal
opened, much like Narnia,

00:45:17.852 --> 00:45:22.623
like stepping into a nether,
other, magical weird world.

00:45:24.300 --> 00:45:28.023
And I entered that
landscape with enthusiasm,

00:45:30.930 --> 00:45:35.608
making new friends who
you may never have met,

00:45:35.612 --> 00:45:38.643
meeting them at
strange hours of the day.

00:45:41.010 --> 00:45:45.448
And everybody went through
their own enormous changes

00:45:45.452 --> 00:45:49.413
and life-changing experiences,
like I did with my mum dying.

00:45:51.420 --> 00:45:54.273
And almost like an
echo in the political world,

00:45:55.920 --> 00:46:00.088
apocalyptic climate
change facing us.

00:46:00.092 --> 00:46:04.863
There's forms of extremism
that seem to be all too intense.

00:46:05.730 --> 00:46:07.978
When we went into that pause

00:46:07.982 --> 00:46:10.258
the way we looked
at life was one way,

00:46:10.262 --> 00:46:12.310
and we've come
out and it's shifted

00:46:13.200 --> 00:46:16.923
most definitely,
possibly for always.

00:46:19.200 --> 00:46:23.398
As we step out of our
paused magic bubble,

00:46:23.402 --> 00:46:26.398
it's just not gonna be the same.

00:46:26.402 --> 00:46:29.428
♪ Is there anybody out there? ♪

00:46:29.432 --> 00:46:34.078
Our new world, our new
reality is much transformed

00:46:34.082 --> 00:46:38.296
from the one that we
were in March 2020.

00:46:39.879 --> 00:46:43.929
[gentle post-rock music]

00:46:48.760 --> 00:46:52.593
♪ Is there anybody out there? ♪

00:46:57.987 --> 00:47:01.887
[gentle post-rock music]

00:47:33.927 --> 00:47:37.274
[water lapping]

00:47:37.278 --> 00:47:39.369
- It's like being in heaven,

00:47:39.373 --> 00:47:41.032
whatever that is like.

00:47:41.036 --> 00:47:46.034
[water lapping] [birds chirping]