Saying Goodbye
“Goodbye?…oh no please. Can’t we go back to page one and do it all over again?”
Winnie the Pooh
“I didn’t get to say goodbye” is a sentence I’ve heard time and time again from The Teenager over the last few
days in the aftermath of the untimely passing of one of life’s true definition of ‘one of a kind’, Keith Bewley, at
the age of 69. Keith was my daughter’s swimming coach at City of Cardiff Swimming Club (CCSC) and such a
pivotal person in our lives as anyone involved in the world of competitive swimming will understand.
Keith’s reputation as a coach was legendary and spanned a 40 year career as a coach preceded by a successful
Commonwealth Games medal winning swimming career. His coaching career produced many Olympians and
National champions but he’d never tell you that himself…he referred to an Olympic medal winning swimmer as
“someone I used to coach a few years ago”. It was this quality that endeared him to many.
I first met Keith when I was a newbie CCSC committee member and we (the committee and coaching staff) had
gone out on a social evening. I sat opposite him and got a small taste of the meaning of life according to Keith
Bewley which was wonderfully no nonsense and frequently hilarious. Back then, he could never remember my
name or that of one of the other parent volunteers called Nerys, so just used to call us both ‘Cerys’ as he didn’t
know which one of us was which. It was and still is, a source of much mirth for Nerys and I.
What has become apparent over the last few days is that lots and lots of people have a ‘Keith’ story. These
stories have been fondly retold by way of coping with the ‘miss’ that is left behind in his absence.
In the last 16 months or so, many of my Saturday mornings have revolved around ensuring Keith’s coffee
requirements were catered for. Saturday mornings are tough for CCSC coaches as they coach multiple squads
from very early in the morning through to lunchtime without a break. I’m lucky in my job to be able to grab
refreshments in-between patients, but not so in the life of a swimming coach. Keith always seemed to really
appreciate the gesture and would often text his order from the poolside.
My daughter is bereft. Asking me questions such as ‘How am I going to swim without Keith?’ and I don’t have
the answers. I’m sure that the resilience of youth will play a part in resolving this.
The phrase, ‘he meant so much to so many’ is definitely true of Keith. The outpouring of fond words on social
media sites since his passing is tantamount to this. From people that worked, still work, were coached and are
still coached by Keith to the 6am Cardiff International Pool adult swimmers and triathletes (Keith would always
exchange a bit of banter about silly tan lines or offering swim sets for people to do). Obviously Keith’s family
will feel his loss the most but his swimming family are distraught and in shock.
There are lots of things that we will miss in the coming days and months. I’ll miss the hilarious military style
response to texts and emails (‘Copy that’ or ‘Roger that’), and we’ll miss chatting on the way home from
swimming about today’s ‘Keithisms’.
Swimmer-“Can we do something fun now Keith?”
Keith- “How about 8 X 200 fly?”
There was always something to smile about.
This week’s sadness has reminded me of a Mandela quote that sums up the impact that Keith has had on so
many people perfectly….
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives
of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
Goodbye Keith and thank you from all of us.