THE KENWOOD LADIES' POND ASSOCIATION
We are happy to tell you that we have just received the following email from the Heath Superintendent: –
The Ponds will remain open for the time being. Please continue to abide by the safe distancing measures which are in place, allowing the lifeguards to work safely and ensuring that the Ponds can continue to remain open through the Tier 4 restrictions.
This year the Christmas Day arrangements at the bathing ponds, predictably, are very different to those we are used to. Due to the need to maintain Covid-secure arrangements, there will be no mass races at the Men’s Pond, with crowds cheering on the participants. This means, more positively, that the Ladies’ Pond will be open later than usual on Christmas Day as our lifeguards will not need to assist at the Men’s Pond races. There will also be a period of mixed bathing permitted at the Men’s Pond. At both ponds overall numbers will continue to be restricted to 60 swimmers each at a time.
The opening hours are as follows:
This has been a very difficult year for everyone, with the pandemic causing health and economic distress, as well as our ongoing disagreements with the City of London over swimming charges and exclusion. Please take a moment on Christmas Day to thank the lifeguards for their continued hard work in the face of many challenges this year. They have worked through a public health crisis to keep swimming in the ponds possible.
We will not be able to hold our usual New Year’s Day festivities for 2021 either (in 2020 this attracted over 200 swimmers). When it is possible for us to meet again and celebrate the Ladies’ Pond in our usual crowded and disorderly manner, it will have been worth the wait.
KLPA MERCHANDISE
On 19 December 2020 between 10 am and 12 midday, the KLPA stall will be back at the Ladies’ Pond, where you can buy KLPA mugs (designed by Sue Hellard) and the hi-viz knitted hats so essential on dark and murky mornings at the pond.
On 12 November 2020 the KLPA and Bishopsgate Institute held an online launch of the KLPA Archive, which was brought together by Sarah Saunders. Places for that event were limited so many members did not get to see the presentations from current and former KLPA activists. Those who saw the launch may also want to see these inspiring speakers in action again. Click here to see the video, and hear about the fighting spirit of the KLPA.
Speakers and times are as follows:
With thanks to Sarah Saunders and the Archive Group for all their work bringing the archive together over many years, also thanks to the Bishopsgate Institute for taking care of our archive and hosting the launch event.
The KLPA Archive is alive and growing, with an oral history project currently under development. If you would like to be involved in this and to share your memories of the Ladies’ Pond, please make contact via klpaarchive@gmail.comwith “Oral History” in the subject line. You should include your name, age, contact details and how long you have been swimming at the pond in your message.
From time to time we need to “take the temperature” from our 700+ members and so we recently sent out a succinct and focussed survey to help understand priorities for the coming year. We asked about continuing to campaign against the City of London’s charging regime now and in the future.
The results of this survey were:
Total Responses: 171
1. In favour of continuing the current campaign against charges: 81.9%
2. In favour of campaigning against future price rises and restrictions: 94.7%
3. Those who responded expressed a preference for campaigning activities such as signing a petition (26%), peaceful protest (21%) and writing to or lobbying elected representatives (16.3%).
We received 12 additional responses, either in the “other” field of question 3 or as emails sent separately. Views here included working with other swimmers’ associations and community groups (including those beyond the Heath), greater community participation in running the ponds and exploring legal challenges to the charging regime, including on grounds of discrimination .
The KLPA has been working closely with the other Heath swimmers’ associations and seeking legal advice on potential claims. The suggestion that we work with other swimmers’ groups beyond the Heath is certainly worth exploring. Please let us know if you have any useful contacts and can assist with developing those links.
Many of you over the last year have said that you object to the level of the charges and the methods of enforcement, but not in principle to those who can afford it paying a reasonable amount. This has been the line taken by the KLPA in supporting “Option 2”. We have campaigned to prevent the exclusion of those who cannot pay the new charges (details are on our website here and here).
Thank you all for your input and continued enthusiasm.
KLPA LOGO COMPETITION CLOSES 5PM ON 12 DECEMBER 2020
There is still time to enter! Details here.
KLPA MERCHANDISE
The KLPA stall will be back at the pond on 19 December 2020 (10 am to midday). Come along to show your support and buy your KLPA mugs and hi-viz hats.
The next meeting of the Management Committee will take place on Wednesday 25 November 2020 from 4pm and can be viewed online here.
The committee papers can be accessed online here and the full pack can be downloaded here (20MB).
Items of relevance include:
– Item 6 – Superintendent’s Update
– Item 8 – Code of Conduct for Dog Walkers & Licencing Scheme for Professional Dog Walkers
– Item 13 – 2020 Summer Swimming Season (with details of income including season ticket sales since September 2020)
– Item 15 – Income Generation
– Item 17 – Resetting of Departmental Budgets 2020/21.
– Item 21 – Non-Public Minutes of meeting on 9 September 2020 (attached here in case the City realises this is visible and removes it)
Please note that we have not yet received any information about the possibility of the Ponds re-opening after 2 December 2020. As soon as we have more information this will be on our website.
The Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association (KLPA) was established in 1985. It has recently come to our attention that we are yet to create an official logo. Therefore, we have drawn the conclusion that it is about time we had one!
This is where we have decided to call on your creative talents and enthusiasm for all things ‘Pond’. We thought what better way to promote, reconnect and reinvigorate our community following a very challenging time than to open up this collaboration with our membership in the form of a competition.
Prize – Win a lifetime membership to the KLPA plus KLPA hats and mugs. The top five short listed designs will be made into postcards. The ten finalists will have their logos published in the next newsletter and their designs will be added to the KLPA archive to become a part of history.
Brief – We would like a logo which captures one or more of the following; the history, community, spirit, ethos or the nature at Kenwood Ladies’ Pond.
– All applicants must either be a member of KLPA or a member’s daughter/granddaughter/niece if under the age of 16. To become a member of KLPA please apply here. Annual membership is £5.
– Keep it simple so that it can be reproduced easily in different formats/locations.
– A4 in size, it can be colour but needs to be able to work in black and white.
– The design should be entirely your own work and does not use any copyrighted images.
– The winning design will become the property of the KLPA for unlimited use in the future for publicity and merchandising.
All entries must be received on or before 5pm, 12 December 2020. Please send digital copies to ladiespond@gmail.com addressed to ‘Harriet’. Should you wish to send a hardcopy please contact me on the above email and I will provide a postal address.
Kenwood Ladies’ Pond was opened to the public in 1925 and Irmgard Schaeffer, a founding swimmer, offers an early description: ‘Our Pond was then and for a long time afterwards very private. A grass path led to a wooden plank with a couple of primitive huts for changing and a bench for clothes. There were a few moor-fowl, plenty of pike and small fry which used to terrify the women when they swam down their cleavages’.
| Please find attached here, the Autumn Newsletter. Unfortunately we cannot bring you the usual news of tea parties and New Year’s Day swims but hope that you will find the news items both interesting and entertaining. There is news of the KLPA Archive launch, more health benefits of cold-water swimming, a competition to design a KLPA logo and much more. We are now just over one week into a national lockdown to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus which has led to a second closure of the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds and Lido this year. This newsletter will hopefully provide an uplift whilst we are all unable to swim, and we look forward to seeing you all again when it is possible to gather safely. Thank you to the KLPA members who have offered to provide assistance to any swimmers in difficulty during the lockdown. Please do let us know if you are in need of any practical support or a friendly phone call and we will aim to put you in touch with a fellow swimmer. |
We are sorry to have to confirm that the bathing ponds on Hampstead Heath, and Parliament Hill Lido, will be closed with effect from Thursday 5 November 2020. This is due to the start of the Coronavirus national lockdown in England announced on 31 October 2020. The lockdown will last until at least Wednesday 2 December 2020. Indoor and outdoor swimming venues must close during this period.
Many members have communicated to the City of London and the KLPA their sincere hope that outdoor swimming could be exempted. We are all aware of the benefits to our physical and mental health of this activity, as well as the sense of community at the bathing ponds and lido. However, the decision to close both indoor and outdoor swimming venues in England has now been taken at government level.
We urge all KLPA members to resume their adherence to the terms of the national lockdown and to continue to respect the closure of the bathing ponds. This is in order to protect frontline staff on the Heath and avoid putting any additional strain on the NHS and emergency services.
The continued restrictions connected to the Coronavirus pandemic and the risks to health are placing a strain on us all. The KLPA intends to maintain a sense of community through communications with members. If you are facing practical difficulties, feel isolated, or are aware of other swimmers who may be in that situation, please let us know. We will do our best to match up swimmers who can provide assistance. If you are in any position to assist with practical tasks or by lending a friendly ear please do let us know as well.
We hope to be able to swim together before too long and hope that you will all stay safe and well in the meantime.
The Kenwood Ladies Pond Association
Many of you may already have seen and signed the petition launched last week, calling on the UK government to allow open-air swimming to continue under any new lockdown. Now that a second lockdown has been announced, and is due to commence on 5 November 2020, we are waiting to hear if open-air swimming can continue.
If you would like to sign the petition, which has received enough signatures to receive a formal response from the government, you can do so below.
We have seen many heartfelt pleas from members for swimming to be allowed to continue given the clear benefits to mental and physical health at such a difficult time for all of us. The open-air nature of our activity does avoid many of the hazards of poorly ventilated enclosed areas, as well as helping to maintain our sense of community.
The City of London’s next steps in managing the bathing ponds and Lido will be based primarily on government decisions in the next two days, subject to a parliamentary vote. However, if swimming is still permitted, this will also need to take into account safe working practices for frontline staff on the Heath, in particular the lifeguards. Each one of us can support that process by following safe distancing instructions whilst swimming on the Heath.
On Saturday night the Prime Minister announced a second lockdown in England with effect from 00.01 hours on Thursday 5 November 2020, lasting until at least Wednesday 2 December 2020. Further details are awaited and it is not yet clear what the impact will be on the Hampstead Heath bathing ponds. Yesterday the City of London tweeted a holding announcement here.
The current government guidance is here, setting out a broad outline of which businesses and activities can remain open or must close. Outdoor swimming, whether in open water or lidos, is not specifically mentioned and more information is to follow. The gov.uk website goes on to say that “a full list of the business closures will be published and set out in law.”
We understand that Heath managers will be considering that more detailed information in the next day or two before making any announcements. As soon as we know more, KLPA members will be informed.
Access to swimming is important to us all, and if the ponds have to close again many of us will miss the benefits of swimming outdoors during such a difficult time. However, the bathing ponds are also a workplace and we must be mindful of the health, safety and welfare of frontline Heath staff.
As soon as any more news becomes available KLPA members will be updated.