Summary of article in Billed Bladet #26, 2015.
Written by Ken Richter.
Mary went to the west coast of Jutland the other day. The entire west coast is basically one long beach and as such an extremely popular destination for Danes and tourists alike, in particular Germans.
In her capacity as patron for the Danish Swimming Association and supported by the Tryg Foundation Mary went there to partly inaugurate the 37th fully equipped and permanently manned life towers. The equipment, organization, training and design is directly inspired by the lifeguard system in Australia.
Another part of the visit was to put more focus on an ongoing campaign to encourage all Danes, children in particular to be proficient swimmers and if possible also to proficient enough to help a person in distress in the water.
Mary inaugurated the new life tower, by pouring seawater on the tower. Then she got a demonstration of the skills of the lifeguards and local children also showed her the basics they had learned.
It was a slightly chilly day though. 16 degrees C, with the water being 15 degrees C = about 60 degrees F.
Mary said: "No matter where you are in Denmark, it's not far to the water and that's why it's important to teach children to swim and when they bathe, the parents should a vigilant eye on them.
Myself I began to splash in the water when I was two-three years old and I have since then been fond of swimming.
The water should preferably be 18-19 degrees C (= 64-65 F)".
Mary has worked as a lifeguard many years ago: "But, oh dear, that's long ago and I am not going to be an expert on that any longer(*). I'm delighted to see how skilled and competent the lifeguards are and it's nice to hear that there is an exchange of lifeguards between Australia and Denmark".
The water was actually very calm that day and that is not always the case on the West Coast, there is a reason why a part of the West Coast is known among surfers as Cold Hawaii.
This was also the first day on the job for Mary's new LiW, Christine Pii Hansen.
(*) Help English speakers. The expression used here is "ikke gøre mig klog på". I cannot be translated correctly to "not being an expert", but more something like not wanting to appear to wise about a subject you are not really that good at. I.e. like me talking in a knowledgeable manner about fashion.
So, what expression would be the best translation?