Chilled
| Sunday 14 October, 2007 |
 Taste a Teenager |
We always end up saying 'the best - EVER!' before looking out across a pool preparing for the winter months and then hibernating ourselves. Lido are LOVELY when the weather is in their favour, but they can also be utterly depressing when you are reminded of the winter months ahead.
This has been the first season since Fusion completed the building work to the South side of the Lido. Twelve months ago and I feared for the future of the Lido; an entire art deco wall was about to be demolished, replaced by treadmills and pumping R&B bollocks - the antithesis of arseing around at a Lido. Those long winter months can't sustain a summer season of swimming alone, and the plan was for the leisure lifestyle nonsense to pull in the pounds.
With the building work completed surprisingly on time and on budget, I returned to the Lido in July, over-joyed to find that my fears were totally misguided; behind the scenes and the Lido had a new leisure lifestyle life. MY Lido however remained intact, holding onto the ambience of the original 1930's building and providing me with my own little piece of South London paradise to waste away the summer months.
Fusion Chief Executive Peter Kay delivered his verdict on the season to the BLU members. A poor season weather wise, although you can't quantify lido life; it's a qualitative experience, unique to every individual user.
The Lido still broke even, with 22,000 visits (200 plus from me.) 15% of these were for the 6:45 early swim, and 3,200 of these alone took place on 5th August, a rare Phew Wot a Scorcher South London summer day this year. The pool temperature averaged 19 degrees - perfect.
Fusion is proud of the opening up of the Lido with the new reception allowing a view inwards of the wonderful pool from Brockwell Park. This keeps the building alive in the winter, and the plan is to delay draining the pool for as long as possible.
Kay admitted that the new shoebox changing rooms underestimated the space required, and this is a project that is being re-addressed over the winter months. The art deco cafe is the final piece in the jigsaw to undergo development, and discussions are in progress to find a long-term purpose and partner to manage this facility.
The loudest cheers from the floor came when Kay announced that the season next summer would hopefully run from the start of May through until the end of October. Brrrrr - great! (I think.)
Lido Manager Jeremy Lake confirmed that it has been a positive season from his perspective and the
And so lido life is evolutionary. At the centre of it all is a great big bloody pool, but it's the people and the community that meet up around this great public space that give Brockwell Lido such a unique identity. The growth will continue next summer with the appointment of Gethen Dick as the first Education Officer for Brockwell Lido. Amongst her plans are for a series of Lido Lates sessions. Back in the day and we use to call these skinny-dipping.
The business end of the AGM was next on the agenda. Hands raised For, Against and Abstentions, and in the carrot cake world of luvvie duvvie local SE24 politics, it's always a foregone conclusion.
But wait! An objection to the re-election of the Herne Hill Society to the BLU Steering Group! As far as the grand mechanisms of real politik goes, it's not quite the TUC withdrawing the block vote for the Big Tent Man, but blimey - I almost choked on my latt�. I look forward to twenty years time when I mature to become an argumentative South London local politics old git. Good work, fella.
The feedback session for Fusion came next. I thought I'd given my leisure lifestyle
All very strange - the Lido '07 has been pretty much perfect for me.
A bonkers Brixton moment when some dapper old boy from the floor delivered his rant. I lost something of the flow of his thread, but he appeared to be speaking in favour of a United Nations resolution, taking control of Lambeth Council, fat kids and better domino facilities.
The Lido is a unique experience for everyone...
Suggestions for Fusion to consider in the future included a Christmas Day dip (YES!!!!) a film festival and the annual BLU AGM red herring of heating the pool.
WE SWIM IN AN UNHEATED POOL BECAUSE WE HATE THE STERILE ENVIRONMENT OF INDOOR SWIMMING.
It's as simple as that.
More community use was encouraged, with the Lido becoming the hub of Herne Hill; much more than simply a pool, but a meeting point for local groups to network and build something positive for the local area.
Teenager Taster Sessions had my ear (and tongue) pricking. I hope's she's over sixteen...
After a positive Saturday morning celebrating the work of the past few months, we left feeling slightly depressed as the pricing structure was discussed. �5.20 is indeed excessive for a daytime swim, although this is priced more along the lines of a swim, and then arseing about all day by the poolside. Not so encouraging when it's overcast, as has been the case for the past summer.
There was much concern that local families have been out-priced. The Lido is too expensive for the 'hard working families' that surround the park. Meanwhile the Bright Young Things of SE24 have been queuing up to sign up for the leisure lifestyle nonsense.
Not all business is good - the Lido and what it represents would disappear overnight if the 'hard working families' were excluded for good. For a local authority that is having a few problems with South London Yoof, excluding the kids rather than inviting them in does seem a little disjointed.
As does the Lambeth swimming policy in general. Having prostituted the service out to the highest bidders, why should I have to pay GLL a monthly subscription to swim indoors at Clap'ham, as well as Fusion for the summer months? Both pools are owned by Lambeth, but I'm paying double the price for three months a year.
I can't cancel my Clap'ham subscription over the summer because there are some days when even I find the Lido conditions a little extreme. Plus the knobbers would only put my price up once I started paying once again.
The Man From the Council promised to go away and
And so that's the AGM for another season. We still have a lovely lido - reason to celebrate itself. It's down to the passionate and sometimes uncompromising attitude of BLU that not only do we have a wonderful open-air pool in South London, but in a world of corporate nonsense and silly marketing and sponsorship 'opportunities,' the lovely lido remains a rare place of peaceful procrastination.
Time to hibernate until next summer.
