A warm welcome to James Sharpe, from Ipswich, Suffolk.
James will be known to some of you as the maker of several films about or
made in Broomhill Lido.

He writes today:

"I have always loved LIDOS - more than normal pools - because they are so
rare.

Well now they really are, Broomhill is the last of its kind.

We are fighting hard (e.g. I'm donating the proceeds of a new movie*, to
help save it)."

See also http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/lidos/message/2236
and http://www.jamessharpe.co.uk/

Oliver

*called Halfway to Heaven - which he wrote, filmed, produced and edited.

Great to see you on board James!  It was something of a miracle that
you managed to get the film of Broomhill Pool made before it closed at
the end of 2002, so that we have a record of how beautiful it was.

I wrote yesterday:
>.. and http://www.jamessharpe.co.uk/

James has pointed out that this is another film-maker with the same name,
not him.
His websites are:

at www.halfwayto.blogspot.com

or www.shoot50.blogspot.com

Sorry for the confusion!

Oliver

"Ian Morton" morton@...  wrote to the Pooling Resources
Yahoo Group on  1 Mar 2009:
>
>  After Wycombe District Council decided that our open air pool
>  [in High Wycombe, Bucks] would not
>  reopen this year, we have now decided to go down the road of coming up
>  with a Business Plan to take over the running of the pool.
>
>  So if anyone could send me some example budgets from community-run
>  pools it would help us no end.
>
>  Many thanks
>  Ian
>  morton@...

For other messages see
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/poolingresources/msearch?query=Holywell+Mead

Apologies that two similar messages have been sent on Portishead - I
sent one of them  very early this morning, but it didn't 'arrive' until
just now.

----- Original Message -----

From: Sally Wainman

To: poolingresources@yahoogroups.com

Cc: lidos@...

Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 6:43 AM

Subject: [lidos] Couch potatoes cost council millions

All over the country, newspapers are publishing the Dept of Health's estimates on the cost of obesity  eg in the case of North Somerset physical inactivity is costing around £3.4 million each year. These figures are published under the Be Active, Be Healthy, a Govt plan to get more people moving.

 

Dancing, swimming or walking are just some of the activities the plan wants to promote, apparently, to help get couch potatoes off their sofas.

 

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Portishead Open Air Pool supporters are struggling hard to raise the £20,000 they need to get the pool open this summer: over £7,000 has already been collected in donations but another £12,000+ is needed. 

 

NHS North Somerset's  (ie the Primary Care Trust's)  Director of Public Health wants to see more people living more active lifestyles.  Dr Max Kammerling said, " We know that only around half of obese people are receiving help and support to manage their weight, so efforts to get more people living more active lifestyles are vital if we are to prevent a further 6,000 people become obese in the next few years (in the North Somerset area)

############################################

 

If all Primary Care Trusts are backing this Be Active Be Healthy initiative then why is there no financial help from them for Portishead, Holywell Mead, Broomhill Pool, Halesworth, Beccles etc etc etc  

 

Primary Care Trusts have a budget available for healthy initiatives and you would think that they would be vocal in their support of any group that wanted to promote, er... swimming. This, sadly, does not seem to be the case.

 

http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/news/story.aspx?brand=westonmercury&category=newsNorthSomerset&tBrand=westonmercury&tCategory=znews&itemid=WeED24%20Feb%202009%2014%3A41%3A23%3A740

----- Original Message -----

From: goshawk

To: lidos@...

Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 6:08 PM

Subject: Re: [lidos] Couch potatoes cost council millions

on a similar vain, there is also no financial help, for those disabled people, who have got plenty of time to go to things that could keep them fit and active, and would really like to, but need that bit of extra financial help for things like regular transport.

a lot of disabled people, are as good as forced in to a Couch potato life stile, purely because there is no additional financial help for them to get transport to swimming places, gyms, ETC on a regular basis.

for example, when I used to go swimming 3 to 5 times a week, I really enjoyed it, and was nice and fit at the same time, but had to knock it on the head, purely because it was costing me 30 to £50 a week in transport costs, which I simply could not spare from my benefits, and live as well. since then, I have gone up 6 sizes in trousers, and put on at least 28kg. all because there is no additional financial help for disabled people to get to places where they can get regular exercise.

Simon Wilkes,
e-mail,
dj.goshawk@ntlworld.com
skype name,
dj-goshawk
windows live id,
goshawk-on-horseback
goshawk-on-horseback@....uk
cb call,
goshawk
phone,
02082200261, +442082200261 if outside of UK,
mobile, (voice or text)
07957880038, +447957880038 if outside of UK.

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Sally Wainman

To: poolingresources@yahoogroups.com

Cc: lidos@yahoogroups.co.uk

Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 6:43 AM

Subject: [lidos] Couch potatoes cost council millions

All over the country, newspapers are publishing the Dept of Health's estimates on the cost of obesity  eg in the case of North Somerset physical inactivity is costing around £3.4 million each year. These figures are published under the Be Active, Be Healthy, a Govt plan to get more people moving.

 

Dancing, swimming or walking are just some of the activities the plan wants to promote, apparently, to help get couch potatoes off their sofas.

 

Meanwhile back at the ranch, Portishead Open Air Pool supporters are struggling hard to raise the £20,000 they need to get the pool open this summer: over £7,000 has already been collected in donations but another £12,000+ is needed. 

 

NHS North Somerset's  (ie the Primary Care Trust's)  Director of Public Health wants to see more people living more active lifestyles.  Dr Max Kammerling said, " We know that only around half of obese people are receiving help and support to manage their weight, so efforts to get more people living more active lifestyles are vital if we are to prevent a further 6,000 people become obese in the next few years (in the North Somerset area)

############################################

 

If all Primary Care Trusts are backing this Be Active Be Healthy initiative then why is there no financial help from them for Portishead, Holywell Mead, Broomhill Pool, Halesworth, Beccles etc etc etc  

 

Primary Care Trusts have a budget available for healthy initiatives and you would think that they would be vocal in their support of any group that wanted to promote, er... swimming. This, sadly, does not seem to be the case.

 

http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/news/story.aspx?brand=westonmercury&category=newsNorthSomerset&tBrand=westonmercury&tCategory=znews&itemid=WeED24%20Feb%202009%2014%3A41%3A23%3A740

I think this is a very important point Simon, and by a rather
extraordinary coincidence the google news alerts have highlighted a
group in the Bath and North-East Somerset area interested in the
provision of warm water pools for the disabled, which is related to the
sort of issues you have just raised.

I have put this on the Pooling Resources forum as this is not a lido
topic as such.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/poolingresources/message/1736

----- Original Message -----

From: broomhillsaved

To: lidos@...

Sent: Monday, March 02, 2009 7:31 PM

Subject: [lidos] Re: help for disabled swimmers

I think this is a very important point Simon, and by a rather
extraordinary coincidence the google news alerts have highlighted a
group in the Bath and North-East Somerset area interested in the
provision of warm water pools for the disabled, which is related to the
sort of issues you have just raised.

I have put this on the Pooling Resources forum as this is not a lido
topic as such.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/poolingresources/message/1736

I recently updated my entry on Bailey Park Outdoor Pool (1938), Abergavenny,
which closed in 1996:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/oliver.merrington/lidos/lidos6.htm#abergavenny

The aerial photo
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lidos_org_uk/3297233386/
shows it derelict, but in 2006 it was demolished and has been filled in,
after safety fears when youngsters were regularly breaking in.

Gavin from Flickr writes:
"There's really not much left of the pool any more. The pools themselves
have been filled in, and there's only grass left, and one or two of the
original walls. You really wouldn't know there had been a pool there at all
now.

It's a real shame - I used to swim there as a child myself. But even then it
was only open during the school summer holidays... then that became only two
weeks a year, before shutting down fully."

Oliver

The local paper reports the closure of Hoddesdon Open Air Pool, Herts.

http://www.herald24.co.uk/content/herald/news/story.aspx?brand=EHHOnline&categor\
y=NewsEastHerts&tBrand=HertsCambsOnline&tCategory=newslatestEHH&itemid=WEED02%20\
Mar%202009%2016%3A25%3A31%3A700
or
http://tinyurl.com/d4sa65

Andy Hoines wrote to Oliver yesterday:

> Hoddesdon Open Air Pool is currently set for closure, for
> fiscal reasons.  This seems to have been recommended by Broxbourne
> Council officers,
> only to be first rejected and then approved by various Council committees.
> Having a loyal band of regular swimmers (due to the long tradition of
> opening from 7-9am everyday and 7-9pm on Mon-Thurs for adults only
> sessions) and being in a well heeled area means that the opposition is
> well organised!  On 24 Feb a petition was presented at a full
> council meeting - I attended & report back below.
>
> The nearby indoor pool [Lee Valley Leisure Pool*, previously
> called Broxbourne "Lido"] run by the Lea Valley Regional
> Authority closed in Sept 2008, [demolition of this building has just
> started]
> meaning that there will only be 2 public pools left in the Borough.
> The plans are even more topical given that Broxbourne will host 2012
> Olympic events (canoeing)** and the Council are currently being criticised
> for letting Hoddesdon town centre go to the dogs, whilst promoting
> development of out of town Brookfield instead.
>
>
> A petition, signed by about 1000 people was presented by
> June Crew at last week's full Broxbourne Council meeting.  She was allowed
> 5 minutes to present the petition (and did an extremely good job in my
> opinion), but there was no further discussion or vote.  The petition was
> passed back to the relevant committee (Community Services) and it was got
> onto their agenda last night.  There was a good public turnout, but we
> were not allowed to participate - several passionate swimmers did shout
> out when controversial comments were made though!  There was lively
> debate, with the chair dismissing the petition as offering no new
> information and reiterating that closure was a logical financial decision
> based on the ageing pool fabric and relatively low useage compared to the
> Borough's 2 indoor pools.  The two Labour reps on a predominantly
> Conservative council argued passionately for it's retention and got a vote
> agreed for a reprieve.  This was lost and the meeting moved onto other
> matters.  The pool closure may get taken to the Scrutiny Committee for
> further consideration.  All so familiar I am afraid, especially as the
> pool site is 3 acres of lucrative redevelopment opportunity close to
> Broxbourne Station!

* See http://www.btinternet.com/~paul.burns/LeeValley.htm

** See
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23612218-details/2012+whitewater+\
canoe+course+doubles+in+cost+to+30million/article.do

Oliver

How fascinating. The only instance where we came across segregated bathing on
our travels around the UK was on Hampstead Heath where they have a men's, a
ladies and a mixed ponds.

Best wishes

Bob




--- In lidos@..., Sally Edsall <sally_edsall@...> wrote:
>
> Hi
>  
> As Sydney Daily Photo blogster, you may be intersted in more pics of the
women's Pool on my "Swimming" Blog:
http://swimsallyswim.blogspot.com/2006/09/mcivers-baths-coogee.html 
>  
> I'm doing a whole series this summer on some of Sydney's ocean baths and rock
pools (and some out of Sydney too - both on Sydney Daily, and Swimming)
>  
> Cheers,
>  
> Sally
>  
> PS It is theis pool that I ALWAYS imagine the girls of Enid Blyton's Malory
Towers swimming in, notwithstanding the claim that Dancing Ledge was the
inspiration. I've been there too:
http://swimsallyswim.blogspot.com/search?q=dancing+ledge 
>
>
>       Make Yahoo!7 your homepage and win a trip to the Quiksilver Pro. Find
out more
>

I was not surprised to hear of the closure of this pool. When Dave and I were
there in August 2007 it looked doomed even then. The whole place seemed to
suffer from a lack of real leadership and good imaginative management. Even the
sign to the pool had been pulled round the wrong way and nobody had thought to
put it back. It needed running by people who cared, not by local councillors who
obviously see the it as a liability and not a real "liquid asset".

Bob
--- In lidos@..., "Sally Wainman" <broomhillsaved@...> wrote:
>
> Wycombe District Council met on Thursday 26th February 2009 and voted through
the closure of Holywell Mead open air swimming pool.
>
> Cllr Tony Green, who has cabinet responsibility for leisure facilities, said
he did accept that there were many people in the "hundreds and low thousands,
who see the Holywell Mead pool as an important facility in the district", but it
was "much more sensible" to focus cash on rebuilding Wycombe Sports Centre.
>
> This article continues:-
>
> Cllr Green said of Holywell Mead, "It needs work doing to it, it is not an
outstanding facility, it is not one that frankly I am proud of."
> Yet he said the council was open to the future of that facility and pledged it
will "remain in the community."
>
> (I am not sure what that means - the words "community ownership" are being
bandied around a lot by councils at the moment, as an alternative to the word
"closure."  It means the council intends to withdraw all financial support from
a facility and leave the "community" to either put in gigantic efforts to
somehow keep it going or watch their pool/library/community centre close down.)
>
> Anyway, the closure of Holywell Mead is another sad deduction from the list of
open air pools that were 'open' when Liquid Assets was published four years ago.
>
>
www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/whereilive/localheadlines/4158722.Council_votes_to_c\
lose_Holywell_Mead_pool/
>

As someone who works in the industry myself, i am somewhat bemused about the
goings on at holywell mead,and equally concerned about the closure of hoddesden
pool, and the situation at hoddesden i see the logical side as this facility is
managed directly by broxbourne borough council who simply want to be relieved of
the responsibility of the management of this facility. The situation with
holywell mead to me does not make sense at all as unlike hoddesden, Holywell
mead is managed independantly by NEXUS COMMUNITY LEISURE (an independant leisure
trust)and so far no mention has been made about their side of the story As this
more an issue of ownership, as the council wants rid of the pool and its
responsibilities and this issue could be solved if holywell mead was transferred
to the community group that wants to take it on,and this issue would never have
arisen if the council had incoporated refurbishment into the tender
specification. All this i find very topical as where i serve in hillingdon is
about to be outsourced to an indendant operator and i myself have nothing to
fear, as it must be accepted that in the not too distant future all pools all
over the country will be managed by independant operators, as the days of
councils operating pools themselves will soon be consigned to history,and i am
suprised by the number of lido members that are totally unaware of this,As this
i see as a good thing as it removes politics from leisure management which are a
Dangerous combination that has caused all this trouble we are in now. If all
pools (lidos and indoor) were managed by good independant operators that were
totally committed to their cause, there would be none of this nonsense with
closures etc As operators should be allowed to fundraise to their hearts content
and all would be well happy ever after! Regards.

-I have to say that although this works well in theory, not all operating
companies have the same high standard.

It's not unknown for private companies to run down facilities until they are
almost unusable. Although some are good and some are bad it is still up to the
council to have pools.

There is no real reason, apart from lazyness, for councils to get rid of the
management of pools. Remember, private companies do not run these pools for
charity, they make a huge profit. A profit that could belong to the council and
be re-invested in the pools themselves.

Somebody told me about this from yesterday's online Daily Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/4967637/Swimming-pool-to\
-close-if-it-gets-too-wet.html

about London Fields Lido, London. Swimmers at the pool last weekend were
warned that they might have to leave the water if the heavy rain increased.
Hackney Council said the rules were only enforced in extreme weather, when
there was torrential rain, hail or thick fog which may stop the lifeguards
from seeing people in the pool. A spokeswoman said: "Very occasionally
extreme weather can impair visibility for our lifeguards."

Does this also happen at Hampton & Aylesbury, which are heated & open all
year?

The article also mentions that children's Paddling Pools in parks in
Carmarthenshire could be drained under Health and Safety rules because they
are not manned by fully qualified lifeguards. The 18ins-deep pools "should
be subject to the same safety levels as beaches and public swimming pools".

Oliver

All outdoor pools should ask swimmers to leave the water during
thunderstorms  !!

From the 'net:
"Swimming during a thunderstorm is one of the most dangerous things you can
do. Lightning regularly strikes water, and since water conducts electricity,
a nearby lightning strike could kill or injure you. If you hear thunder, or
see lightning, you should get out of the water and into a safe place, such
as a building with walls."

This applies to the sea, too:
see http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/5149460.stm

Oliver

I know that the way this is presented sounds stupid 'Swimming pool to close if
it gets too wet' but actually it is doing everyone a disservice.

The whole argument about poor visibility and storms is actually very sensible
and to be applauded!

Not only is lightning a very present danger while in water, but poor visibility,
either through very heavy rain or mist/fog can make it impossible for a
lifeguard to do their job. If they can't see people in the water, how do they
know if they get into difficulties.

The response should someone drown in this situation can be easily forseen and
lead to the loss of all lido's as a result.

I have no time for stupid H&S, but this is actiually a sensible position being
made to look stupid!

John