Didn't take notes, I'm sorry, but the gist is this:

The meeting started late - 20 minutes late. It's nice of them to organise these
meetings
but each time they start late and each time they say, we've got to cut short the
questions
because we're running out of time. Hmmm. Funny that.

Colin McBride, the architect, gave us his usual efficient sweep through progress
so far. We
went though all elements of York Hall - front of house, gym, pool, changing
areas, main
hall, 'spa'. Useful overview and good to see that almost everything is complete.
The 'spa'
would be handed over to Greenwich Leisure in the third week of March (just in
time to
celebrate one year's delay in the works).

James Bowden, York Hall general manager, told us how well the centre was doing
and how
more people were using the place and were happier with it - 52,000 people using
the gym
and satisfaction levels were at 87%. Fair enough. Decent guy, prepared to listen
(I think)
and I suggest you put any questions/suggestions through to him: email -
James.Bowden@
GLL.ORG

Then it came to the spa. Paul Martindill from Tower Hamlets council gave us what
he said
was the proposed programme for the 'spa' (I put spa in inverted commas because
this is a
piece of typically inept rebranding from the typically inept Alex Smith, 'Spa'
manager -
more of her later).
The nice folk at Greenwich Leisure and Tower Hamlets council were disturbed that
more
men than women used York Hall 'spa' in the old days. Their brilliant way of
making
amends is to now give four days over to women, and just 2 for men (Mons and
Thurs) -
Sundays would be the one mixed day. This was astonishing enough but more was to
come. We now stared up in disbelief as the overhead projector revealed the
prices for 'spa'
entry. Ready? OK, it's going to be £20 for non-members, £17 for members and
£7 for
concessions. General uproar in the room. At this point the oleaginous
arch-careerist Andy
McCabe (operations director at Greenwich Leisure, I believe) rushed to the
defence of his
own lunacy. The prices, he claimed, were comparable with any other facility of
this kind -
ie Porchester Spa. But as someone pointed out, hadn't he noticed Tower Hamlets
was one
of the most deprived boroughs in the country? It wasn't the same as Westminster.
Duh!
McCabe rather lost his rag at this and said, did we think we should have priced
entry at
99p? To which we might have replied no, but a rational compromise would have
been nice.
Or maybe some discussion with the user group?

Unfortunately one or two members of the audience wanted to do more than their
fair share
of shouting - a shame because other people had things they wanted to say but
couldn't. It
would have been nice to ask TH and GL how any ordinary person living on a low
wage -
no, not benefits, a low or even an average wage - could possibly afford to go to
such a
place. These guys talk all the time about 'diversity' and 'inclusion' and what
do they do?
Price entry at a level to keep ordinary working people out. The place is now
officially for
the well-paid middle classes. Ayudervic treatment anyone? That will be £60,
please...

We were also told that at all times - not just the mixed sessions, but ALL
times, we would
have to wear bathing suits (they would doubtless have to match the robes and
slippers we
were told would be given us when we entered the baths). Martindill said their
'research'
told them this would be popular. I look forward to seeing that 'research' (they
have so
much 'research' in fact that the super-oily McCabe couldn't even remember what
it was
called). The highlight of the evening was when McCabe said the bathing suits
policy was
more 'inclusive' (people in suits love that word) because a Bangladeshi woman
would then
feel she could visit the baths. If McCabe knew anything about York Hall and if
he had two
brain cells to rub together for an intelligent thought, he would know that the
York Hall he
despises was one of the most genuinely inclusive places on the planet. Do feel
free to
email your appreciation of his efforts: andy.mccabe@...
So that's about it. Everyone in the room was flabbergasted. We ran out of time
to ask any
more questions. I would have liked to have asked the ever-smiling Alex Smith,
who as far
as I can tell has nothing between her ears but her own vanity and banal
ambition, what she
thought she was doing coming into a place like this with so little experience
and with such
contempt for the people who use the centre. She is well down the road in her
career-
enhancing rebranding of the York Hall baths, transforming it into the London Spa
Experience, a rebranding so vacuous, so utterly out of keeping with the
character of the
place and out of touch with the spirit and history of the borough that I find
myself almost
in awe of her stupidity.

So what now? I have my own ideas, but would like to hear other people's first.
Paul