The giant capsule hung, suspended from the diving tower. The white end facing the water whilst the red section sat in the wispy redness of the sky in which the sun had just set. The city lights made the buildings of the city look inviting, a tempting escape from the biting cold that was descending now the heat from the sun had gone. She pulled her coat tighter around her to escape the glacial breeze blowing in from Mont Blanc, across the lake to where she stood shivering on the walkway leading from the shore to the light house at the end. She was only going as far as the capsule but she didn’t think she’d stay long.

“You don’t think anybody’ll be stupid enough to jump into the water on such a cold night, do you?”

“I’ll be surprised if they don’t. Listen……They’ve got the music playing and I can smell the coffee. I think they’re planning on a huge party from the look of it.”

She stopped, listened and heard the sounds of the Beatles and Chubby Checker. Music from her era that would get the toes tapping and the skirts swirling and presumably tonight it would aid the happy Medecin sans Frontiere volunteers and the World Health Organisation staff jumping into the freezing water of the Lake. She laughed when she heard My Chemical Romance songs interspersed amongst the toe tapping music – this agreement with the pharmaceutical companies to allow cheaper versions of the medicines needed to prevent deaths from HIV/AIDS and malaria was obviously a big breakthrough. Thousands of lives would be saved and those working towards this outcome had chosen such a strange way to celebrate it, perhaps to get publicity.

Suddenly a roar erupted from the crowd. The first person had jumped from the tower, attempted to hug the capsule before sliding down it into the dark murkiness of the water below. It was the first of many attempts and she couldn’t believe that she was seeing the swimmers climbing up the ladder from the water and continuing on, up the tower for a repeat performance.

“I’ve had enough” she said. “I want to get warm. Lets go get  a drink  at Hotel de la Paix.”

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