We stopped Karen last Friday because we had seen her the day before and regretted not stopping her then. We were convinced that she was actress Catherine McClements who we had recently been watching in Dalliance, a six-part series that is great Australian TV.

Anyway, she’s not Catherine, she’s Karen and she was really fun to meet.

“I’ve been a Bondi local for nearly 30 years and you can pretty much find me in the water somewhere, most days.

I joined the Icebergs when the building was re-built in the early 2000s (after lots of great parties there on Sunday nights!) In fact, the last night before demolition saw everyone end up in the pool naked. Funniest relay swimming I’ve ever seen!

Swim squad at the Bergs with Coach Neil Rogers for many years kept us all fit and forged lifelong friendships, as did being a member of the surf club. We’d have a ladies Xmas lunch out somewhere every year and get all frocked up. It was fun then but turned into something really special throughout the years as the big life events roll through – marriage, moving away, kids being born, kids all grown up, Covid …

I’ve served the community through the North Bondi SLSC for 25 years, with 10 years on patrol and 15 years on the management committee in various roles.

These days my day starts either with a swim at the Bergs or a swim across the bay. And always taking longer to get to the starting point because you invariably bump into people along the way and have a chat. We are pretty blessed here! And I think we all know that.”