Month: October 2021

In previous years Hallowe’en has been marked in a colourful and raucous fashion at the Ladies’ Pond. The options were very limited last year and it is still necessary to exercise some caution this year, but the Ladies’ Pond swimmers can never be completely subdued…..

On Sunday 31 October 2021, swimmers are invited to don their spooky costumes, indulge in a little cackling, and to enjoy the spirit of the Ladies’ Pond.

The KLPA will be selling merchandise between 9 am and 11 am at the pond.  This includes our seasonal mugs (£10 each or a set of 4 for £35), knitted hats (£6 each or £10 with a donation) and the Wild Swimming Walks book (£10). We can take payment by cash, cheque or card.

Looking forward to your company whether you are marking All Hallows Eve, Hallowe’en or Samhain.

A Date for Your Diary – 28 November 2021

KLPA members were asked for their views on attending a Winter Tea Party, and voted overwhelmingly in favour.

Please hold Sunday 28 November 2021 in your diary 3-5pm.  We aim to hold a tea party this year, so long as public health advice remains in our favour.  More news to follow.

Following a successful breakfast event at the Ladies’ Pond in September, we are pleased to let you know that KLPA members have been invited for a return visit to Highgate Men’s Pond. The Highgate Men’s Pond Association would like us to join them for a swim and breakfast on Saturday 16 October 2021 from 8 am to 11 am. Hot drinks and croissants will be provided, along with the good company of our comrades from the Men’s Pond.  The invitation has also been extended to the Mixed Pond Association and Hampstead Heath Winter Swimming Club. In order to access the Men’s Pond it will be necessary to use your season ticket wristband or pay at the entry, as you would at the Ladies’ Pond.  The changing area at the Men’s Pond is no longer divided into two sections but gazebos have been provided to facilitate changing for Ladies’ Pond visitors (a large towel might also come in useful). Children over 8 who have completed their swim test (and have a wristband to prove it) will also be welcome, and will need to be supervised by their adult when at the pond. It is good to see a resumption of the social side of bathing pond swimming on Hampstead Heath, thank you to the HMPA for this invitation.

Petition – Sewage in Rivers Expiring 12 October 2021You may be interested in this parliamentary petition which will be expiring on Tuesday, and has nearly 71,000 signatures as this is written.  It can be considered for debate in Parliament if it reaches 100,000 signatures. “Ban Water Companies discharging raw sewage into water courses. Ensure Water companies treat the sewage they are responsible for. Not discharge it into rivers and water courses. After all what goes into the ocean comes back as the fish we eat.”

We usually hold a members’ tea party in late November. That could not happen last year for obvious reasons and we were, in any case, in the middle of the second national lockdown at that time. The tea party has been an important part of the KLPA year and was an opportunity for some members who can no longer swim regularly to get together socially.

Since we last held a tea party in November 2019, many new members have joined the KLPA.  For those of you who have not attended before, the tea party involves members bringing fresh baked contributions to share, and the KLPA organises a venue and hot drinks. We usually have a guest speaker. For several years our venue has been the Highgate Library in Chester Road, which has a function room for hire.

We would like to know what interest there is in holding a tea party this year, using a very brief survey (2 questions).  Please let us know by clicking the link below:

The survey closes on 10 October 2021 at 6 pm.

Thank you for your feedback.

We still need to raise funds for the Judicial Review
We have a date for the High Court hearing (see here).  Thank you to everyone who has donated so far.  The KLPA is continuing to fund raise for this case, to offset possible adverse costs.  Details of our crowd funding page can be seen here.  If you have not already donated, please consider helping the KLPA to keep the ponds accessible to all.  Even if you have already donated, please encourage friends, family and colleagues who may be interested.