A short note to remind everyone that looking after yourself, drinking lots of fluid and staying out of the sun is an excellent idea as we work our way through this really hot spell!

We may be nudists, but we’re not idiots. Keep cool, keep your skin out of the sun, and keep hydrated!! In particular, those in inland areas have it even hotter and drier – everyone should think very hard before spending too much time outside!!

We’re all looking forward to a balmy week in the mid-30’s, it will be positively cool!! Heating up again for next weekend though, so stay cool!!

From a post on the community forums, this article filed via Reuters:

Nude couple shock diners with Singapore stroll
January 29, 2009, 2:50 am
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A couple treated open air diners to a 15-minute naked parade in Singapore, triggering both embarrassment and applause for a scene almost unheard of in the conservative city-state.

Pub manager Terence Chia told the Straits Times newspaper he saw the couple taking off their clothes on Saturday night at a staircase in a block of flats in Holland Village, known for its popular nightspots.

“Then, clothes in hand, they coolly walked in their flip-flops towards the market,” he said, adding when the couple did a U-turn a sea of spectators was ready and poised with cameras.

“There were more than 200 people and everyone was taking pictures,” the newspaper on Wednesday quoted Chia as saying. “Even women were busy clicking and people were cheering, whistling and applauding like crazy.”

Police said the couple, a Caucasian man and an ethnic Chinese woman in their 20s, had been arrested and released on bail. If convicted under Singapore law, they could face a fine of maximum fine of S$2000 (931 pounds), up to 3 months in jail, or both.

Protests are rare in Singapore and only made legal last year in a designated area called “Speakers’ Corner,” modelled on London’s Hyde Park.

“They looked really comfortable walking down the street, which led to many curious stares,” wrote blogger Leonard Tan. “Singapore is getting more and more exciting.”

(Reporting by Kash Cheong; Editing by Neil Chatterjee and Bill Tarrant)

Two things we’d like to comment on:
- If it had been Germany or France, it would not have even made the news!
- It’s good to see that the reaction of the crowd was positive. While we don’t advocate wandering the streets or your local shopping centre nude, it is good to know that behind the conservatism of many Asian cultures, there are regular people who have no issues with simple nudity!!

And we’ll say it again to be sure – don’t try that in your city!!

It would appear some people are either not aware of the beach issues, not listening, or just not thinking. Apologies for the long post, but we need to highlight how the community tries to do the right thing and self-regulate inappropriate behaviour so that our beaches are safer and more enjoyable environments for all users, clothed and otherwise.

First, this post appeared on one of the community forums:

play
Posted by: [name removed]
Thu Jan 15, 2009 11:14 pm (PST)
just wondering how other members feel about couples playing (discretely or otherwise) on the beach. my partner and i when visiting Sunnyside, notice that couple do attract our attention and others i presume. As for us,we enjoy a little play, nothing that would’nt be acceptable if we were in cozy’s, but we have noticed some seem to take if a little further… we enjoy watching and sometimes feel it is put on for our benefit. there is nothing more beautiful than the naked body…. or should i say two naked bodies and in an adult enviroment – should we be critical.

Clearly this kind of comment and enquiry flies in the face of everything we’ve tried to establish for our beaches, in terms of appropriate behaviour and etiquette… and sure enough, the community unleashed!! Here are 2 of the swift replies:

Re: play
Posted by: [name removed]
Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:16 pm (PST)

[name removed], wake up and look at the bigger picture.

A public beach is not the place for any kind of ‘adult play’. It is that kind of activity from users of our clothes-optional beaches that can eventually lead to its closure to nudists.

Don’t indulge their fantasies by watching, it will only encourage such inappropriate behaviour to continue. If you want to watch another couple going for it, I’m sure you can find what you’re after on the net.

And this:

Re: play
Posted by: [name removed]
Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:42 am (PST)

Noooooooooooooooooooooo!

[name removed],

Do what ever you like, with whoever you like in private.

That is not the beach, the adjacent dunes and scrub, or the toilet in the carpark.

Our hold on the beaches is tenuous, but is stronger now that it was a couple of years ago because of a lot of hard work.

The reason we almost lost the lot was to do with people who thought that a clothing optional beach was a great place for them to indulge their sexual whims.

Remember, the law says they are clothing optional – no more. Anyone engaging in activity that goes beyond simply being naked runs the risk of copping the full force of the law for offensive behaviour, obscene exposure, etc.

We encourage everyone to do the right thing on the beaches – they are clothing optional, nothing more. There is a designated area for being clothing optional, and nowhere else. You should behave on the beach the same way you would behave on any other beach (actually, we should be BETTER behaved, we have a higher standard to maintain!). And if you see something out of place, don’t be afraid to report it – the police are aware of our efforts to improve the beaches, and encourage us to report activity that doesn’t belong.

One of the proposals outlined at a Surf Coast Shire Council beach update workshop discussed the installation of security CCTV cameras in beach car parks along the Surf Coast Shire. The proposal was not limited to the CO beaches, as there is apparently inappropriate behaviour occurring in car parks in general.

As quoted in the article:

Surf Coast Shire Cr Brian McKiterick said the cameras, which were poised to be installed on the beach’s car park last October, were still being reviewed.

“There are ongoing investigations to determine if the cameras would be a benefit or not,” Cr McKiterick said.

“There have been no reports of obscene behaviour and police have increased patrols over the summer to make sure people are not entering dunes.”

Cameras were always going to be a tricky proposition, and other methods of controlling inappropriate behaviour appeared to improve the situation. Fines for entering and being found in the dunes, plus increased police patrols were always going to be more effective than cameras.

Click here for the full article – and our thanks to Rob who was quoted in the article, for representing the interests of the nudist community so well!!

Haven’t times changed? Less than 2 years ago the fight to save our Surf Coast CO beaches from closure commenced, and here we are today with an article in the Geelong Advertiser stating:

SURF Coast Shire is offering its coastline to topless bathers after a NSW bid to outlaw the practice.

Brilliant!! Not only is our own Surf Coast Shite Council disagreeing with the recent moves in NSW to ban topless bathing, they are proactively making a statement of support!! Even better, these comments were not even related to the designated CO beaches – they were talking about ALL beaches along the Surf Coast!!

Even the Surf Coast police made a comment:

Torquay police Sergeant Brian McKiterick said flashing breasts on the beach was not an offence and he hadn’t received any complaints.

Enlightened times in Victoria it would seem – Feel free to visit our beaches, all you international tourists and NSW sun-seekers, you’re more than welcome here!!

Click here for the full article