Water in many forms plays an important part in my daily life.

I start the day with a walk on my local surf beach usually as the sun rises or soon after. The sound of the waves is both soothing and energising. Depending on the tide and time of the year, I will walk for as long as an hour or as short as 5 minutes.

After my walk I join a group of friends for a body surf. They are an interesting group ranging from early 40’s to mid eighties.

One of the best body surfers is 84 years old, has had a quadruple bypass and swims out in big surf without the aid of flippers. Paul is amazing.

Body surfing involves catching and riding waves without a surf board and just using your body like a board. It is exhilarating. As the water temperature ranges from 19 C to 24 C over the year, we just wear our “Speedos”. Wetsuits are not worn. In winter the water is warmer than the air temperature.

We body surf for about 30 minutes, I f the waves are good we can be out there for an hour. If it is rough and sloppy waves or none at all then we may just have a “quick dip in kiddies corner”.

Another important ingredient of this daily routine is the laughter and sense of humour shared amongst the group. The Australian sense of humour is not politically correct at times and you have to give as much as you get. Underlying this apparent lack of regard for each other, is a deep sense of caring for each other. If someone gets sick or has a hard time, then the group is very supportive, even the “tough old blokes”.

One of my secrets of keeping young is to laugh often with people who refuse to act their age.

And back to the water theme, I drink a lot of filtered water each day- at least 6 to 8 glasses.