London Pools Campaign: radio and television

BBC Somerset to air live swimming pool debate in Burnham-On-Sea

webteam — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 01:53:51 GMT

"Burnham-On-Sea residents are being invited to join in a live radio debate about the future of the town's threatened swimming pool when BBC Somerset's Radio Bus visits the town on Tuesday morning (January 15th).</p
Sedgemoor District Council is due to decide the pool's fate on Wednesday and the BBC team will be in town to cover the arguments on both sides of the debate.

'We'll be speaking to the people at the heart of the campaign to save it - Pat Pusill from Burnham swimming club, Margaret Smith from Burnham Disabled Swimming Club, who says it's a lifeline for her members and has helped her walk again, and Reverend Graham Witts, who's got his congregation praying for its future,' said BBC Somerset spokesman Andrew Enever.

The programme will also air comments from an executive member of the British Olympic Committee about why it is so important to support grass roots level sports."

(Via BBC Somerset to air live swimming pool debate in Burnham-On-Sea: .)

BBC Young Sports Personality 2007

webteam — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:05:13 GMT

"British athletes Thomas Daley and Claire Warne have been named in the final 10 for the BBC Young Sports Personality 2007 award.
Plymouth Diving's Daley became England’s youngest ever National Champion when he won senior Platform gold at the 2007 ASA Championships.
The 13-year-old was given special compensation to compete at this year’s Australian Youth Olympic Festival against athletes up to six years his senior, taking silver in the 10m Synchro with Callum Johnstone and coming fourth in the 10m Platform.
Disability swimmer Warne took 200m Individual Medley bronze at the International Paralympic Committee World Championships 2006 in Durban at just 13. At this year’s Disability Sport Events Junior National Championships, Warne came away with seven individual gold medals and a relay gold.

[in Western Counties ASA]"

(Via NewsIsFree: Swimming BBC Young Sports Personality 2007: .)

Schools miss swimming targets ... a picture paints a thousand words

webteam — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 02:39:26 GMT

watch and weep

The usual conditions apply about keeping your software up to date and having the appropriate player installed.

(Via BBC News Player - Schools miss swimming targets: .)

BBC London Radio devotes whole show to swimming in London

webteam — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:57:12 GMT

You can only hear this show for a couple of days as they only maintain a 7 day archive.

"Music and fascinating facts and oddities about London. The show features local history & guests from the arts, entertainment and media."

(Via CLICK HERE TO LISTEN BBC - London - Radio: .)

'Channel' swim challenge sparks row in Big Brother house

webteam — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 02:57:14 GMT

Regular readers know how hard we try to find topical news items about swimming ... just don't tell my girls I 'researched' this as I rant endlessly at their interest in the chimps tea party that is Big Brother.

"A row broke out in the Big Brother house last night after housemates were set the task of swimming the Channel to earn a luxury shopping budget for the week.
The contestants have to swim the equivalent of the 34 kilometre (21 mile) distance between Dover and Calais in the Big Brother pool. There must be one housemate swimming at all times and they must have completed the distance between them by this evening.
In addition, the housemate who swims the furthest will be rewarded and the housemate who swims the shortest distance will receive a punishment. Charley was first into the pool but she was soon overwhelmed by the task."

(Via 'Channel' swim challenge sparks row in house | Big Brother | This is London: .)

Lidos discussed on Today Programme

webteam — Wed, 10 May 2006 19:18:53 GMT

If you missed Janet Smith discussing lidos and the findings of the recent lido Conference on the Today Programme this morning listen again here

"There are now fewer than a hundred open-air public swimming pools in the country - are they worth saving?" BBC Radio 4, Today Programme, 10 May 2006 [LINK]. Janet is the author of Liquid Assets

BBC - Radio 4 You and Yours - Tuesday, public buildings discussed

webteam — Wed, 10 May 2006 08:11:21 GMT

"It seems that campaigners at NOT the Clissold Leisure Centre dot com, the website that loves to rant, have been angered yet again by a practitioner of the art of doodling buildings.
A Hackney swimmer phoning in to 'You and Yours' at Radio 4 was brushed aside, the website claims, as the 'expert' in the studio explained why they should be happy with the closed Clissold Leisure Centre as it was an 'architectural gem'. Sadly, for swimmers, the building has been unavailable for swimming (its primary purpose) for the past two years and five months with no date confirmed for its re-opening. The ''educator' and 'man of the people'' (as Sean Griffiths has allowed himself to be described) explained to the contributor that the closed swimming pool has people (architects?) that are 'uplifted' by it.
The website and the contributor claim that swimmers who reside in Hackney continue to travel to surrounding boroughs to find water while many young people in the borough are reported unable to swim with only 10% of KS2 children reported by some schools able to swim 25 metres." [LINK]

(Via BBC - Radio 4 You and Yours - Tuesday: .)

(Via Clissold Leisure Users' News BBC - Radio 4 You and Yours - Tuesday, public buildings discussed: .)

London Pools Campaign and Sport England on the telly

webteam — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 07:04:31 GMT

Max Calo of London Pools Campaign and Save Ladywell Pool and Sport England's Matt Delaney met up at the Wetlands Centre to discuss swimming pool provision in London on the BBC's Politics Show - it was all done in standing news style so it's good that Max didn't wear the infamous cycling shorts and pedal over there.

A worrying location for some of you not fully committed to wild swimming perhaps but it wasn't the unveiling of the Mayor's new strategy to quadruple swimming provision in London.

We are not quite sure of the way the realplayer files work on the Politics Show but here is the ram file we have at present [LINK].

hot air and old boilers

webteam — Sat, 25 Mar 2006 01:31:22 GMT

Those wonderful people at You & Yours on Radio 4 have looked at the issue of rising fuel prices and their affect on the cost power needed for heating Britain's ageing, inefficient swimming pools. As Mr Caborn has been opening pools lately he was happy to discuss this fact. The confusing thing, for us, is that from his rarified surroundings he is still trumpeting the opening of pools in the private sector - as if that had any possible effect on large swathes of the population - particularly children.

All in all this is a big problem facing all of us that should have been addressed many years ago. Those whackos that suggested building pools adjacent to large schools or office complexes and sharing new, modern combined heat and power plants for mutual benefit and cost savings or using groundwater do not sound so daft now.

here's a big file of the interview, 11.2mb thanks BBC

"On A Clear Day" Dover Straits here we go!

webteam — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 06:31:21 GMT

"Filmed on location in Glasgow, the film centers on Frank Redmond (Peter Mullan). After decades of laboring as a Glasgow shipbuilder, this no-nonsense 55-year-old working-class man suddenly finds himself laid off. For the first time in his life, Frank is without a job or a sense of direction and is too proud to ask for guidance."

(Via Apple - Trailers - On A Clear Day - Trailer: .)

IPOD

For Tom Robinson the route to happiness is filled with water ... BBC - Radio 4 - Happiness Is A Swimming Pool

webteam — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 18:46:42 GMT

"The 34 year old lump of blubber I had become was coaxed back into the chlorinated water. I learned to breathe underwater and soon settled into the long hypnotic rhythms of the training lane. Stamina and self-confidence increase in equal measure. The athletic lover left me, but the habit of swimming never did."

(Via BBC - Radio 4 - Happiness Is A Swimming Pool: .)

One in five children fail primary swimming targets

webteam — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 07:35:30 GMT

"Primary school children are unable to swim the minimum standard required by the National Curriculum - a failure aggravated by local pool closures, say campaigners.

One in five children leave primary school unable to swim 25 metres and in some areas, less than half of 11-year-olds can swim according to campaigners who include Olympic gold medal swimmer Duncan Goodhew.

'It's frightening, first of all for safety, to have that number of children unable to swim and at risk when they're around about water,' said Duncan Goodhew."

(Via Teachers' TV - General Zone - Teachers' TV News - News: 23 February 2006: .)

"Dave's super, Dave can do anything!"

webteam — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 05:38:18 GMT

This is a real family favourite of ours! "TEENAGE GIRL: "This is me, thinking as usual about Dave. Dave is super, Dave can do anything, ohh, he's great, he really is. When - POW! - up pops my fairy godmother with her 'I'll give you three wishes' routine. Wish number one is easy."

CAN YOU SEE WHAT IT IS YET?

webteam — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 09:53:30 GMT

"Every day in February, the BBC website Magazine is featuring a classic public information film from the past 60 years, concluding with a vote to find the nation's favourite.

Today's film is unusual among those we will be featuring in this series. No special effects, no animation, no hard sell, no comedy - it's just Rolf Harris, in a swimming pool, being the voice of commonsense" [LINK]

(Via BBC NEWS | Magazine | Water works: .)

Lidos on telly

webteam — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 01:54:59 GMT

Lido enthusiasts might like to know that ITV1 London Region is featuring lidos in Disappearing London, a regional programme next Tuesday evening. ITV1 London region only, 19.30-20.00 on Tues 7th Feb 7). And although I'm sure she's too modest to mention it, Janet Smith, author of Liquid Assets, the lidos and open air swimming pools of Britain, is one of the interviewees...