Cast your mind back to Sunday April 24th in the year of Our Lord 2005. If you can’t remember, let me remind you. It was a mighty fine day, at least it was in Dublin.

We were blessed with brilliant sunshine and the world and his wife were out taking in the first decent day of Spring. I headed for my favourite local spot, the Half Moon swimming club on the south wall.

The sun was beaming, the tide was full in and the placid waters were enticing. Alas, I never packed the togs, and skinny dippin’ these days is dodgy, very dodgy.

There was a time when skinny dippin’ was the norm and togs were for wimps. Those men who liked freedom while splashing in the briny endured a longer swim on hearing the words “woman on the wall, woman on the wall”. For now, propriety prevails and togs are obligatory.

I sat on the bench and stripped to the waist. Some of my Half Moon colleagues had already taken the plunge and were sunnin’ themselves and talking and putting the world to rights. Two dogs, a Weimaraner and a mutt squared up to each other, but it fizzled out and was no more than handbags at Half Moon.

Two ladies sat for a while and we chatted about ‘The Da Vinci Code’, ‘The Remains of the Day’ and Chris Tarrant, he of ‘millionaire’ fame.

One of the ladies recalled the days of a ‘men only’ Half Moon. She enquired as to how the transition had come about? “Women just muscled their way in,” I replied. At this there was lots of laughter and one of the ladies simulated ‘muscling in’ by pushing her elbows backwards and forwards and nudging the person on either side of her.

Then we returned to the serious stuff and everyone gave their twopence worth on Pope Benedict XVI. Formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, he had been installed as Pope that morning, succeeding Pope John Paul II, who had died two weeks previously.

There were diverse views on the new incumbent and while Catholicism is not a democracy the bench at the Half Moon is. Just sittin’ and listenin’ was an education in itself. The ‘Da Vinci Code’ came up again as did Hans Kung the renowned theologian given the cold shoulder by Ratzinger.

Two serious walkers with walking poles sat down and unfurled two enormous rolls stuffed with ham and cheese and the devil knows what. They said they were committed walkers and had been to Glendalough the previous Sunday. When replete, the two washed the rolls down with bottles of sparkling water and were on their way once more. Next stop K2, Nepal, I guess.

A noisy moped carrying two fishermen passed by, hopeful of not exceeding the EU quota at the lighthouse. Two beautiful golden retrievers entered the sea at the Half Moon slipway. And having completed their ablutions duly shook themselves over everyone in their wake.

Well, that was just one afternoon at the Halfmoon– education, observance, debate and banter. The Half Moon was founded in 1898. I wonder what marvellous stories have been secreted in the walls of this building over the past one hundred and seven years.