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Page 4 of 5 A proposal was made to clean the Lido so that the space could be used for community events. And so permission was sought to have a clean up. Mark Williams and Lynda Thoroughgood coordinated the cleanup and distribute 3,000 leaflets around the area. The leaflet proclaimed "Come to the London Fields Lido CLEAN UP! This is a chance to have a look behind that corrugated iron fence by London Fields West Side and see what they have been hiding from us. We need volunteers to hack down the Buddleia Jungle that is now strangling the Pool. Sat. & Sun., 28th and 29th of June, from 10am. until we finish. A skip will be provided. Bring tools and appropriate clothing." People were excited about the success of London Fields Lido CLEAN UP on the 28th and 29th of June. With nearly 80 people turning up on the weekend the Buddleia Jungle was cut down revealing the full extent of this Olympic sized Lido. The years of dead and rotting leaves where swept and shovelled up valiantly. One lady of 84 had brought her own broom from her tower block flat opposite the site, to give a hand. The skip provided was soon filled, while a pile of full bin liners grew rapidly besides it. Drinks and refreshments were provided by local people between helping with this project. A great bond of friendship and good will grew between everyone who was involved. One unknown Councillor complained about us getting permission to do this. The following weekend, July 12th and 13th, found even more people who came to help. With the council shredder we were able to reduce all the boughs and branches to manageable chips, filling further skips. Over 180 people came along on the 4 days. It was a magnificent effort. But there was further rubbish to clear. Mark and Lynda of the Lido sub-committee organised the 3rd community clear up. It took place on the weekend of November 1-2 in conjunction with National "Make a Difference Day". The event was again well attended, with over 40 people turning up to finish the job of clearing out the remaining rubbish left in the pool. The Media was well represented with Liz Earl from GMTV, the Hackney Gazette with another positive photo article, while Lennox Lewis's coach turned up to see the work done and the potential of the Olympic Pool. He thought that the opening of this Pool would be exactly what the Youth of Hackney required. A local Councillor who attended was surprised at the size of this facility and angry that it was allowed to get into such a poor state of repair. This reflected the common thought of all the people who had not seen it before. The weather stayed fine and the objective of completely clearing the Pool of 8 years of debris was finally accomplished. With the pool cleared we now asked for the corrugated iron to be removed and the pool secured. So by Mar. 1998 the fence was removed, the windows boarded up and painted (blue) and razor wire placed at the top of the perimeter wall. The ground around the Lido wall has been cleared, showing bare patches where the piles of dead leaves that accumulated behind the corrugated iron and had killed off the grass. Rolls of turf arrived to lay on these patches. While a suggestion was made for drifts of narcissi to be planted on these areas later in the year. It was looking good. The Lido began to be used again. We held an event for Yellow Pages/CVS "Make A Difference Day" on Wed. 29th July, in the Lido. This had tremendous support. Although Ken Livingston was reported to be attending by the Hackney Gazette, he was unable to make it on the day. In his place Annabel Croft, the TV personality, gamely stepped in to the empty pool dressed in a 1930's swimming costume. Our local copper, PC Edgar, generously assisted Annabel out of the pool later, which made his day. For a number of people this was their first sight of the large (Olympic size) pool. Of course, the main reason for the effort was to keep up the good work that started the previous year, keeping the Lido clear of weeds and rubbish. They only managed to fill one skip this time. Carlos Cortez, an LBH officer, supplied 6 large brooms, plenty of gloves and paintbrushes. Among the people attending were 2 of the 3 partners then running the Brockwell Lido, who were examples for anyone reopening a Lido on a business basis. Supported by Lambeth Council, they ran their pool profitably 3 months a year. All the way from Plymouth were two organisers for the reopening of their Tinside Lido. Another supporter from the campaign to reopen the Enfield Lido also attended. All of them saw the London Fields Lido as a viable public amenity and pledged their support. Many others came along, including Councillor Hettie Peters, Sarah Vaughan Roberts of the Hackney Society, council officer Brendan Wells (Strategic Commissioner for Urban Regeneration) and Jackie MacKenzie (Renasi Regeneration). |
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