A welcome tea break followed the gym before the trunks were once again unpacked for a visit
to the hydrotherapy pool. A third of the size of the pool from earlier in the day, the hydro pool was
super-heated, ensuring all who entered expelled an involuntary sigh of delight as they sunk into
the relaxing waters and allowed tired muscles to relax. Chris – leading the session from the side of
the pool – dished out an array of floats and began with a short series of movement and flexibility
exercises, before allowing all of us to lie back, supported by said floats, and relax to some calming
classical music.
No one wanted to get out. This was heavenly and when Chris did eventually call time I imagined
that this must be how my children feel when I pull them out of the bath they’d been enjoying for
the past half hour. Thankfully, however, no one threw a tantrum or refused to get dressed.
My day was coming to an end but, if the hydro pool hadn’t been relaxing enough, our final
session of the day was one entitled ‘relaxation.’ Held once again in the conference room, we
were each given a mat and pillow, the lights were turned off, some pan pipe music played gently
in the background and our instructor, Lucy, calmly talked us through a relaxation technique that
involved imagining our body getting slowly heavier and warmer. It was, indeed, relaxing and
within seconds the technique had worked brilliantly for the person to my immediate left who
began snoring with gusto.
Regardless of the nasal sounds to my side, the session was a wonderfully calming way to end
an eye opening, tiring and inspirational day. My own expectations had most certainly been
met, my fellow beneficiaries were an incredible, brave, determined and gregarious bunch who
were grabbing this opportunity with both hands and embracing all that it threw at them. My
colleagues at Jubilee House, meanwhile, were clearly a dedicated, professional, approachable
and personable team, capable of putting beneficiaries at ease and encouraging them to get the
most out of their experience. Should the need or opportunity arise for you, dear reader, to attend
the programme at Jubilee House, or at any of The Fire Fighters Charity’s three centres, I wouldn’t
hesitate in taking the chance to do so. I would, however, opt for a lighter breakfast!
www.firefighterscharity.org.uk
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