When we started crowdfunding for this book, almost 2 years ago, I imagined that this would be the easiest project update to write; that I'd sit down and it would flow from my fingers. But crafting an update to let you all know that we are finally at the magic 100% funded, and that this book will now certainly become a reality, is one of the hardest things I've ever done.
Perhaps it's becasue I feel that I should really by proclaiming this amazing news from the bandstand at Hathersage, standing on the roof terrace at Charlton and shouting it all over London, hiring an aeroplane to skywrite it above the Devon and Lincolnshire clusters of pools or turning it into a song and belting it out at top volume while hurtling down the slide at Stonehaven.
But, instead, here I sit eating celebratory peanut butter cups and quietly tapping away at a keyboard.
I really shouldn't be so lost for words. We've known this news for a little while so I've had a while to absord it, but it seems the enormity of being fully funded still hasn't sunk in.
The reason we've known about this for a little while is because we have been supported by the amazing people at Historic Pools. They've been an enthisuiastic supported of this project since its inception, and they have just become a very important practical supporter too.
Historic Pools have invested in the book, and it is this support that has taken us over the line. It's taken a while to work out the nuts and bolts so that we could make the public announcement, and to say there has been a state of high excitement at Lido Guide HQ would be putting it mildly. It's a wonder we managed to restrain ourselves from blurting the news, to be honest.
But here are. The big day has arrived.
The day we can finally shout about it.
WE ARE 100% FUNDED! THIS BOOK WILL BECOME A REALITY!
Enormous thanks to all of our pledgers. Without their early patronage, their willingness to put their hands in their pockets to back up their belief in this book, we wouldn't have made it. We can't think of a nicer way to get over the line than with the support of Historic Pools, but all of our pledgers got us close enough to the line for that to be possible.
And along the way we've had help and support from so many people, but we do need to just shine a little light on Dryrobe, The Outdoor Swimming Society, Jenny Landreth, Nancy Farmer, Katie Duffell and Sarah Thelwall. They have all made such a difference in so many different ways.
So now... the work steps up a gear. The manuscript is with unbound, the image library will have any gaps filled this summer and we are firing on all cylinders!
Thank you, all of you.
And if you haven't yet pledged you still can - except that you won't be pledging... you'll be pre-ordering! My word it feels good to say that.