I did not know it at the time but my seven 2009 dives spanning April to July were to be my final dives in Leybourne Lake. Diving there in March 1995, under Chris Baker’s instruction, Eve and I had qualified as BSAC Novice Divers and the lake was to provide many fun dives with my friends in the years that followed.

With Eve seriously unwell I had not dived since early December 2008 but in April 2009 I returned to Leybourne for a dive with Chris Powell and Paul Hymers. Foolishly I had the same setup as for my last dive but in the meanwhile my weight had dropped by nearly two stone and so I was far less buoyant. I spotted a mitten crab and after failing to get shots of one on two previous occasions I was really pleased to get a photo this time. A week later I dived the lake again with Paul. We were lucky enough to spot a 1.5 to 2 metre eel in the wreck of a boat but I was unable to get a good photograph.

At the end of May Lesley Rudd and Lorraine Harrington and I set off for the lake from Folkestone. Jokingly I told Lorraine that she should have “a final fag” before we got there as the lake was a public area and smoking was prohibited. She believed me. While Lesley and I patrolled underwater in appalling visibility, courtesy of an algae bloom, poor Lorraine went “cold turkey”. Then indignant as she spied someone lighting a cigarette. Before she could reprimand him, she spotted another “offender” and realised “the ban” was just one of my silly jokes. Lesley and I came across the box that Spotty and I had buried in the lake bed during our December 2003 “infamous dive”.

In early June, Roger Still, Rick Stewart and I dived the lake again. The underwater visibility had not yet recovered from the bloom so Rick and I amused ourselves with demonstrations of our low visibility underwater navigational skills. Or rather, much to Rogers amusement, our appalling low visibility underwater navigational skills.

In mid-June it was Spotty Hasting’s turn to accompany me. Spotty was not at his best. “I feel dreadful mate… I don’t remember getting home last night or I should say back to your home, Malcolm…. but I really enjoyed what I can remember of last night…yes it was an excellent night… I can clearly remember… lots of double vodkas and orange juices…. and being in a strange Folkestone club at one point… that club was rough… anyway this dive was a bit dull and boring… poor visibility and I only saw two perch… or the same perch twice…. I’ve felt hungover throughout the dive…did I mention that I feel dreadful?”

In mid-July Chris Powell and I found that although the overall visibility had improved, frustratingly the water had turned “very milky” making successful photography difficult.

Two days later, accompanied by Peter Sharrad, I dived the lake for the last time. We were lucky enough to see a couple of freshwater eels, an excellent conclusion to my years of diving Leybourne Lake.