‘What’s mental about having a Cobo tea party in the middle of December?’
THE chilly temperature was not going to stop the Mental Tentacles from having an unconventional tea party on the beach at Cobo in December.
More than 20 year-round sea swimmers ate cake and sipped tea for about two hours, occasionally having to move further up the beach as the tide came in, with a special visit from Santa in a kayak.
It was part of the 12 Bays of Christmas challenge put on by Les Bourgs Hospice. Participants who take a picture of their swim session and tag the hospice on social media have a chance of winning a £50 voucher for Cobo Tea Rooms.
‘We want to support everything local and anything to do with swimming in our waters. We have always got charity in mind,’ said Mental Tentacles founder Jayne Packham.
Last year the group did a nativity scene with a real donkey and new-born baby, but this year they wanted to take it up a notch.
‘We wanted to do something a little bit different. People do selfies with silly hats and things, but we like to do make it a bit harder as a challenge for us,’ she said.
‘The Mental Tentacles has just grown and brings so much joy to people.
‘We took a Christmas tree down in a van and decorated it and borrowed some brightly coloured crockery from Cobo Tea Rooms and some cake from them.’
She said the whole event was a bit frantic, as they had to clear the beach beforehand of anything that might have ruined the picture.
While next year’s picture theme has not been chosen, Ms Packham said they will be taking part in the competition for as long as the 12 Bays challenge runs.
‘I think of crazy ideas and then the others think of other ways to make it more crazy. There were some really crazy ideas originally – they wanted a full roast dinner on Cobo.’
The distance-swimming group tend to swim for miles during the warmer months, but are a bit more limited when the water is colder during winter.
‘It’s definitely harder. We are a distance swimming group which is why we can probably suffer a bit longer. This time a mile is as much of a challenge,’ said Ms Packham.
She thanked Cobo Tea Rooms for supporting the group and said the cakes they had were amazing.
