On the evening of Monday 14th September, Clare and I attended the Civic Society to present the Friends of Peterborough Lido (FoPL) slideshow covering 90 years of Peterborough Lido’s history at St Marks Church Hall on Lincoln Road. On arrival we were greeted by Toby Wood, the Vice Chair who helped set up the projector and introduced us to Peter Sargent who provided microphones and made sure the sound was good. Members began to arrive and pretty soon all the seats were taken and there was a full audience.
Clare went on to explain how and why FoPL was formed in 2017 and all that had been achieved, including fundraising, supporting the operators, expanding a team of volunteers, funding equipment and dry robes for lifeguards, sourcing plant donations and planting and maintaining the lido flower beds and containers, campaigning and raising the profile locally and nationally. Photographs, life stories and experiences had been collated over many years leading up to the 90th anniversary to help curate the lido exhibition at Peterborough Museum, which included a slideshow, a history timeline and story boards later displayed on the walls and changing room doors at the lido. Then finally the publication of our book 90 Years of Peterborough Lido, and the production of the history slideshow.
I then introduced the history slideshow by explaining that the book 90 years of Peterborough Lido and the resent museum exhibition, had since triggered memories for past swimmers inspiring them to share their own personal experience of the lido. So, new stories and pictures were continually being added to the lido’s rich history and to our slideshow. I explained that the evening’s presentation could not include all of these having been adapted to fit the 45 mins available. I proceeded to present the history from 1936 to present day using a series of slides showing historical pictures and text.
At the end of the presentation questions were invited from the audience. These included questions about volunteering, the number of lidos still remaining in the country, the number of people using the lido during the recent heatwave. Some people took the opportunity to share their own personal memories of swimming there and were inspired to pay the lido a visit after many years. But most importantly there was clear acknowledgement by everyone, that as one of the few art deco lidos of its size left in the country, Peterborough Lido remains a valued part of our city’s history and heritage for generations past and future.
The evening closed with the sale of our books 90 Years of Peterborough Lido.
Clare and I would like to thank Peterborough Civic Society for their warm welcome and, on behalf of Friends of Peterborough Lido, for their generous donation
Photos by Toby Wood.
