Dear supporter,
We have got some very exciting news, and after a period of comparative quiet because we've been busy swooping in and out of pools to take any remaining images needed for the book it is great to be able to share this for our first update of the off-season.
The lovely people at Unbound have been beavering away with design samples and the whole thing is looking fabulous. Seeing sample layouts has helped us to realise that the Lido Guide will soon be real. But what has really brought that home to us is that the cover design has been agreed. Are you ready? Cue fanfare...
We love it, and we hope you do too. We are particularly pleased that the jacket designer chose a picture of Portishead Open Air Pool, completely unbidden by us. He didn't know it is where we both first met, in real life, so we are stoked that it was the strength of the image which spoke to him. We know how beautiful Portishead is, and to have someone else recognise that is gratifying.
It is also particularly important, to me, that this image was taken at Tuesday Night Squad, a weekly coached lane session that is a new initiative for the pool this season. It's designed to introduce casual swimmers to the world of a coached lane swim, as well as catering to already experienced swimmers. As such it is very inclusive, and it's been wonderful to see new faces come along to these sessions. And I can speak from personal experience when I say that Coach Alec's sets are incredibly fun, as well as offering a great bit of sociable exercise. And the pool, very shrewdly, maintain the two lanes nearest the lifeguard (that's the lovely Rebecca in the chair) for casual swimmers. So the folk over there are just pottering up and down, doing their own freespirited thing and enjoying the evening sun on their shoulders.
So, for a lot of reasons, these sessions typify the inclusive atmosphere at lidos all over the country, and it says a little about what great innovators the people who run outdoor pools are.
Feels kinda real, eh?
I'm already excited for next season, looking at that cover, but there's a winter of great swimming to be had before that. Later this week there'll be another update with a bit of a round up of winter swimming activities, an update on the progress of the Save Grange Lido campaign, a reminder of the great fundraising activity going on at the likes of Jubilee Sea Pool and Birghtlingsea lido and any other little interesting nuggets we can squeeze in.
Until then, thank you all for the faith you've shown in this project with your pledges and pre-orders.
Emma.