This podcast, with German nationally-acclaimed playwright, essayist, dramaturge and prize-winning novelist John von Düffel and acclaimed film-maker James Norton, considers Charles Sprawson’s classic book about the history and cultures of swimming, some thirty years after it was first published. Both John and James are passionate about this book,  John having adapted it for a German-speaking audience in 2002. The discussion ranges from swimming heroes, to romanticism, and to environmental degradation, as well as James' and John's own swimming passions. The book remains as current as ever, but is about so much more than the issues we discuss. Had we recorded the podcast on another day, it might well have been different. Like open water swimming itself – each day is different. Haunts of the Black Masseur can be found at - https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/103/1032355/haunts-of-the-black-masseur/9780099577249.html Music links are: Glenn Miller and ‘In the Mood’; The National Anthem of Russia; and David Bowie and ‘Heroes’