At Halcyon swim last night I was surprised to be told by Stephen that he had been reading my blog. As it is almost two years since I last posted here that seemed quite amazing. In fact looking at the statistics it appears that it still has a lot of hits each month and so I'm wondering whether to start writing again.

Just a bit further down the page I told you about the missing fence panel. Well, after sunbathing nude in the garden whilst the neighbours were doing their digging and weeding I can report that Ken had the fence panel replaced within 24 hours. Result!

I was thinking back to the other day when I was on the beach and the dog ran up to me all waggy and welcoming.

Isn't it strange that people will complain about dogs if they bark too loudly, or too much. They are outraged if they bite or crap on the pavement but I've never heard a complaint about a dog, or any other animal, being naked in public.

Why is it, as a naturist, I don't even have the acceptance that a dog has? Answers on a postcard to.....

Yesterday we bumped into the neighbour in town - she of the broken fence. She rapidly and gushingly told us how they were going to get the fence replaced with a whole new one. Obviously our nudity has not caused a problem but, as predicted, it has spurred them into action.

Meanwhile he of the broken fence is doing some maintenance on the trees in his garden which essentially means he is chopping down his laurel. I'm not too bothered about that as it provides me with no screening whatsoever. But, he has also leaned over his boundary fence into the cemetery and had a go at a tree there which was just starting to give me some cover from the view of another house higher and behind ours. I'm not sure what he has got against that tree, especially as he knows that it has provided cover for me, but he has done this before.

This could be a good time to plant a tree of my own. I had hoped not to but I think that I would like the privacy that it would bring.

Today the day starts bright and clear with no clouds in the sky to upset my sunbathing plans. By late morning I have the sun-loungers out on the lawn, strategically placed to catch the sun yet retain as much privacy as possible.

This does not mean total privacy - in fact not much privacy at all. My neighbour still has not repaired his fence and so from some angles they have a clear view onto my patio. Dispensing with ideas of modesty I use the garden anyway. After lunch we retire to the patio and whilst not making any effort to be provocative I continue to use the garden as if the fence panel was still in place. My neighbours come and go but have not called out to us and nor have they complained. I hope that they are broad-minded enough to accept that I am a naturist and live and let live. So far, so good.

It may be March but I have definitely caught the sun today. This is the start of building up my tan ready for the summer. At least when it gets here I'll be well acclimatised and not prone to burning like those who start late and rush it.

Saturday 10th March 2007 and I'm on Eastney beach at 10:30 in the morning. It is bright with scattered clouds and a cool breeze blowing. With the sun on me it is still warm enough for a nude sunbathe. This must be the earliest time of the year that I've been nude on a beach in this country.

The dog walkers are out in force. The dogs don't seem to notice, or mind, that I'm naked and one even runs up to me and gives me a lick, all happy and tail wagging. Only the owners seem to walk by without apparently noticing. There is a wind shelter further on down the beach with, no doubt, another nudist sat comfortably inside. I have no such shelter and must endure the wind. Soon, another man parks himself close by and busies himself setting up his wind-break. We exchange 'good mornings' as he searches for a stone large enough to use as a hammer with which to erect it.

It's not easy as the beach has changed over the winter. Gone are the large stones to be replaced by large expanses of sand and finer shingle. More concrete blocks are now exposed, more steel posts for the long-gone groins. Gone, too, are the dips and hollows along the shore. The winter storms have somehow evened the beach leaving no natural protection from the wind that skips along the coast. After an hour the sun disappears behind the clouds and I must go. This all too brief visit is at an end but, still, the weather is improving and I can see a long summer of nude gloriousness ahead.

This evening I have been to the Alton swim. I left Fareham at 7:00pm for the ½-hour drive through the country. Already my nude evening has started as I stopped at the side of the road to divest myself of clothing for the drive. This is a much more comfortable way of motoring.

The swim is not as well attended as it should have been and I can only hope that the lack of sufficient numbers does not spell the end of these very good naturist evenings.

I have used the swimming pool which felt somewhat cool compared to the air temperature but the sauna and the steam room were hot as hell! There are people there, too, that I know from the now closed South Hants club and it's good to meet up with them again.

Soon it is time to leave as the three hours have just flown past. So it's a quick strip off in the chilly night air in the car park before getting back in the car for a fast, nude drive down the Meon Valley to home.

What a great weekend so far.

Saturday 10th March sees the latest naturist swim at Alton in Hampshire. Actually, it is more than just a swim as the whole sports centre is given over to naturist use for the evening. It is a good event to attend with the opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones too.

With naturist venues in the south closing or coming under threat this is an event that must be supported so that we do not lose it.