Ladies who Lido ...
Anyone who knows me will confirm that I am very keen on swimming, and especially out door swimming. To date I have almost managed to keep this in the 'hobby' area of my life ... although I was, for a while, a member of the 'artists swim club' that met once a week at York Road under the careful guidance of Kat our artist/tutor located via artist Ella Gibbs 'Spare Time Job Club' - so still arguably in the 'spare time' area ... but another story.
Anyway my friend Rona Lee doesn't keep swimming just in the hobby area and is fast developing a network of swimming contacts that only art research can garner! Yesterday she invited me to come along to the Everyman Cinema in Hampstead to see 'City Swimmers' a film made I think by Margaret Dickson , although the credit on all the publicity was to: "Hampstead Heath swimming ponds campaigners and a team of North London film-makers, TV and radio professionals". This kind of tells you everything you need to know about the film - which wasn't the most amazing piece of cinematography I've ever seen but did provide one of the most enjoyable 'I'm glad I live in London' days out I've had in ages.
Considering it was apparently made completely by volunteers (all found via shooters!) and organised in a very short time period (as was the campaigning strategy) it was a charming film, there's some great bits of women swimming amongst the ice in the ladies pond, and the New Years day swim with game old ladies sporting tinsel on their bathing caps! I do think the Hampstead ponds are a great London asset and I wish them every success in keeping them (now optionally) free and open.
My most amusing visit there ended in being attacked one summer by a Persian cat whist sun bathing. This again tells you most of what you need to know about the barmy atmosphere there ... you are sun bathing amongst a unique mixture of young couples, foreign tourists and Hampstead ladies ... one of whom, I have to assume, had bought her fluffy cat along. The cat took a lung at a pigeon missed it and ended up caught up in my hair ... all quite shocking when topless for some reason ...
ANYWAY ... this gives me a great opportunity to feature two images from the pack of postcards you can buy at the ladies pond (a snip at £1.50) I hope they won't mind me featuring them, as they're fantastic images, I always look at them and wonder about the different women featured and what in the 1930's they did when they weren't tearing round Hampstead Heath in sensible bathing costumes with dogs and bikes...
This post gives me a chance to provide a link to one of my favourite websites ever: Oliver Merrington's superbly researched Lidos in the UK
More info on the London Pools Campaign for those interested here.
One of their success stories, which I really do hope will come true, is that London Fields Lido is said be re-opening next summer ... that really will make me glad to live in London.
Anyway my friend Rona Lee doesn't keep swimming just in the hobby area and is fast developing a network of swimming contacts that only art research can garner! Yesterday she invited me to come along to the Everyman Cinema in Hampstead to see 'City Swimmers' a film made I think by Margaret Dickson , although the credit on all the publicity was to: "Hampstead Heath swimming ponds campaigners and a team of North London film-makers, TV and radio professionals". This kind of tells you everything you need to know about the film - which wasn't the most amazing piece of cinematography I've ever seen but did provide one of the most enjoyable 'I'm glad I live in London' days out I've had in ages. Considering it was apparently made completely by volunteers (all found via shooters!) and organised in a very short time period (as was the campaigning strategy) it was a charming film, there's some great bits of women swimming amongst the ice in the ladies pond, and the New Years day swim with game old ladies sporting tinsel on their bathing caps! I do think the Hampstead ponds are a great London asset and I wish them every success in keeping them (now optionally) free and open.
My most amusing visit there ended in being attacked one summer by a Persian cat whist sun bathing. This again tells you most of what you need to know about the barmy atmosphere there ... you are sun bathing amongst a unique mixture of young couples, foreign tourists and Hampstead ladies ... one of whom, I have to assume, had bought her fluffy cat along. The cat took a lung at a pigeon missed it and ended up caught up in my hair ... all quite shocking when topless for some reason ...
ANYWAY ... this gives me a great opportunity to feature two images from the pack of postcards you can buy at the ladies pond (a snip at £1.50) I hope they won't mind me featuring them, as they're fantastic images, I always look at them and wonder about the different women featured and what in the 1930's they did when they weren't tearing round Hampstead Heath in sensible bathing costumes with dogs and bikes...This post gives me a chance to provide a link to one of my favourite websites ever: Oliver Merrington's superbly researched Lidos in the UK
More info on the London Pools Campaign for those interested here.
One of their success stories, which I really do hope will come true, is that London Fields Lido is said be re-opening next summer ... that really will make me glad to live in London.
posted by Nina at 11:45 AM
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