Page 62 - BR December 2023

December 2023 December 2023

a visit for this alone. I gather that at the end
of the season, the plan is for the exhibition to
tour local community spaces.

The pool measures 44 x 22 yards (I still love
imperial measure!) and is kept in pristine
condition and at a temperature of 25
degrees C. It becomes quite shallow at the
end incorporating a lovely fountain and a
boom was in place on the afternoon I was
there.
Beyond the main pool was a children’s play
area with water cannons for water fights and
small children’s pool at the far end to every
child’s delight. The pool surrounds were
made with soft rubberised materiel and very
child friendly. Since its refurbishment the pool
floor and sides have been lined with a plastic
cover cutting maintenance costs
considerably.
Talking to Matt it became clear that the
Friends of Droitwich Lido formed in 2010 were actively supporting the pool
organising raffles, tombola and late night swims with local musicians. An initiative
that I particularly liked was that the Friends were setting aside £2,000 to purchase
650 entry tickets to offer free entry to local schools and other organisations. This
was surely an excellent way to spread the word that the lido was the place to
come, bring a picnic and have a good day out.
This year the pool had done particularly well with over 15,000 customers coming
through the gates much boosted by a fine and sunny first week of the school
holidays. Over the last few days over a 1,000 people a day had been using the
lido. Brilliant!
Time for my dip and I quickly changed in the spacious and clean changing
rooms. No changing village here and the sexes were properly segregated much
to my approval. As I lowered myself down the steps, I felt the pleasant sensation
of the warm water around me. I pushed off
the side and set out for my first length only to
find that the expected salty taste was not
there. Somehow the brine had been taken
out of the pool and I was left wondering how
this could be. Frankly the water tasted much
like any other pool which was a little
disappointing. But no matter, this still was a
magical place to swim and I enjoyed every
moment of it.

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