onionbagblog
Brrrrr...
Nah, it's not all as negative as that. There's currently behind the scenes discussions to see if the lido can remain open one day a week fornutters cold water swimming enthusiasts, such as myself. There's also talk of a Brockwell Triathlon Club being set up.
How does that work?
'Mmm, don't fancy a run today. Or a bike ride. Hey - I know what - let's go for a swim today, tomorrow and everyday instead.'
And so as is tradition, I feel duty bound to deliver that tried and tested Michael Eavis statement of:
'Best year yet!'
Well, not quite. The golden period of Paddy & Casey during the mid '90s still holds fond memories for most, probably a combination of the sun and the poolside parties of the time.
There has been no South London summer of such to talk about this season. But this has been my first summer down in SE24 where I have treated the lido seriously as a training pool, rather than something I simply use for leisure. Plus the end of September is the latest we have ever had to endure / enjoy.
I even took part in a lido podcast this year, as well as losing all sense of dignity by accompanying forty of the finest from Year 4 for a morning swim. I'm all for encouraging kids to discover lido life. My patience was severely tested though on Sunday afternoon, when as part of an art installation piece, I was pelted with plastic bottles containing 'lido dreams' (yeah, right...) ten lengths into a swim.
I make it five lost lido days in total since that particularly icy plunge back in mid May; three of these were as a result of a rare holiday (why do I need to 'holiday' when I have the lovely lido right on my doorstep?) One day was lost when some knobbers threw some glass bottles over the lido wall (definitely not part of an art installation piece.) My other lido-less day was due to work commitments (although I did get to swim indoors at Clap'ham, and subsequently spent the rest of the week telling everyone how crap it was.)
I think I'm ready for a lido break to be honest. The water has been so cold of late that I've started to see things around the pool that logic tells you simply aren't there. It's your body's way of telling you that a blackout is close. Time to leave the water. Or at least put on a wetsuit, which I will do if the Tri club ever takes off.
Still, we leave SE24 on something of a high with a glorious Indian summer of late. The final ritual in the lido summer is the BLU AGM later in the month. Sadly I am unable to attend, something to do with waking up with a hangover following a beer festival some two hundred miles away.
Here's my AGM observations that I would have put forward anyway:
The toilets: not great. Not just a management issue, but also a user issue. It's piss poor when people are happy to leave puddles all over the place.
Please turn off Crappy FM in the changing rooms. I come to the lido early in the morning to lose myself and indulge in some solace. I don't want some shitty local radio bollocks blaring out as I shampoo my short and curlies.
Speaking of knobbers, please can Lambeth Council address the farce of me having to pay twice to swim in their pools over the summer months? I pay GLL, the 'preferred leisure partner,' for an annual season ticket for Brixton Rec and Clap'ham. I then have to buy a separate season ticket for Fusion, the 'preferred leisure partner' (and actually quite decent people) to swim in the lido for five months of the year. The infrastructure for all three pools is owned by Lambeth Council, so why not one season ticket? A cancellation during out of season swimming would just penalise me with joining fees etc being added on. Plain nonsense.
So long, lovely lido. Here's hoping the dark days of the winter can be interrupted with an icy plunge.
technorati: brockwell lido
| Tuesday 30 September, 2008 |
Nah, it's not all as negative as that. There's currently behind the scenes discussions to see if the lido can remain open one day a week for
How does that work?
'Mmm, don't fancy a run today. Or a bike ride. Hey - I know what - let's go for a swim today, tomorrow and everyday instead.'
And so as is tradition, I feel duty bound to deliver that tried and tested Michael Eavis statement of:
'Best year yet!'
Well, not quite. The golden period of Paddy & Casey during the mid '90s still holds fond memories for most, probably a combination of the sun and the poolside parties of the time.
There has been no South London summer of such to talk about this season. But this has been my first summer down in SE24 where I have treated the lido seriously as a training pool, rather than something I simply use for leisure. Plus the end of September is the latest we have ever had to endure / enjoy.
I even took part in a lido podcast this year, as well as losing all sense of dignity by accompanying forty of the finest from Year 4 for a morning swim. I'm all for encouraging kids to discover lido life. My patience was severely tested though on Sunday afternoon, when as part of an art installation piece, I was pelted with plastic bottles containing 'lido dreams' (yeah, right...) ten lengths into a swim.
I make it five lost lido days in total since that particularly icy plunge back in mid May; three of these were as a result of a rare holiday (why do I need to 'holiday' when I have the lovely lido right on my doorstep?) One day was lost when some knobbers threw some glass bottles over the lido wall (definitely not part of an art installation piece.) My other lido-less day was due to work commitments (although I did get to swim indoors at Clap'ham, and subsequently spent the rest of the week telling everyone how crap it was.)
I think I'm ready for a lido break to be honest. The water has been so cold of late that I've started to see things around the pool that logic tells you simply aren't there. It's your body's way of telling you that a blackout is close. Time to leave the water. Or at least put on a wetsuit, which I will do if the Tri club ever takes off.
Still, we leave SE24 on something of a high with a glorious Indian summer of late. The final ritual in the lido summer is the BLU AGM later in the month. Sadly I am unable to attend, something to do with waking up with a hangover following a beer festival some two hundred miles away.
Here's my AGM observations that I would have put forward anyway:
The toilets: not great. Not just a management issue, but also a user issue. It's piss poor when people are happy to leave puddles all over the place.
Please turn off Crappy FM in the changing rooms. I come to the lido early in the morning to lose myself and indulge in some solace. I don't want some shitty local radio bollocks blaring out as I shampoo my short and curlies.
Speaking of knobbers, please can Lambeth Council address the farce of me having to pay twice to swim in their pools over the summer months? I pay GLL, the 'preferred leisure partner,' for an annual season ticket for Brixton Rec and Clap'ham. I then have to buy a separate season ticket for Fusion, the 'preferred leisure partner' (and actually quite decent people) to swim in the lido for five months of the year. The infrastructure for all three pools is owned by Lambeth Council, so why not one season ticket? A cancellation during out of season swimming would just penalise me with joining fees etc being added on. Plain nonsense.
So long, lovely lido. Here's hoping the dark days of the winter can be interrupted with an icy plunge.
technorati: brockwell lido
| #permalink |
