Swimming Pools.
Went swimming today with my son and was thinking how much new swimming pools have changed since we were kids in the 80's and 70's.
Odd details I remember about old pools that are not there anymore:
Odd details I remember about old pools that are not there anymore:
- Pools of yesteryear always had an unavoidable foot bath from the changing room to the pool. Pools don't have them these days, I wonder why?
- Pools used to have an inbuilt gutter running around the edge.
- Pools are generally a lot warmer than than I remember them being as a kid.
- I remember them having massive (sometimes rusty) scary looking grates at the centre of the deep end. Pools have small less scary ones now.
- Pools, particularly outdoor ones used to have white boxes with a cat flap on them spaced evenly around the pool.
- Pools used to stink strongly of chlorine and when you'd been you come away stinking of it.
- The warnings about 'no heavy petting' seem to have gone.
- Sports centres no longer have arcade machines.
- Some pools had a hand rail.
Post edited by Scottie_uk on
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Comments
When I saw the 'Swimming Pools' title that was immediately what I thought about :grin: 'no running', 'no bombing', 'no heavy petting'.
I remember as a kid you would get a basket thing with a coat-hanger on a stand that you would put your clothes in/on that you would hand over to the staff and get a band with a number on it. There were no lockers then I don't think.
I've not been to a pool for years.
By the way, the smell is not chlorine. Chlorine itself is odourless. What you're smelling is the chlorine, having reacted with bacteria, sweat and urine in the pool forming chemical salts. Modern pools are better at cleaning and filtering that stuff out of the water.
Foot baths were meant to wash your feet on the way in, but all they did was spread infections and verrucas. Now they try to persuade you to shower completely before you get in, which makes for cleaner pool water.
Same with going on holiday - it's not the Med's saltwater that gives you an ear infection. It's the tan lotion, sweat, sand, dust and caustic chemicals in the titchy hotel pools when people just jump in after an afternoon at the beach. Keep your head above water in the hotel pool and you'll be fine to go snorkelling in the sea.
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
about 10 years ago I fell into a swimming pool that had a dead badger in it. had the worst sore throat I've ever had for about a week afterwards, I'm sure that's what caused it
there is that fast show sketch , the "reeet I'll get me coat then" where the bloke does something in the pool.. and the water changes colour..
arcades are no where except a cafe in walford.. they had the same issue of computer music on the shelf in the minute mart for about 5 years.. nice free advert
maybe the verruca pool isn't there in case folk slip.. I do remember going thru that as a kid.
my local pool as a kid (willesden sports centre) and the stadium were used in the Ali g film, just before it was knocked down / rebuilt.. the storm of 87? did all the windows in the place and it was all glass, and was shut for ages.
I do remember going copthall in barnet for some sponsored thing, thats turned up in a few films also :)
Now you're just being inane!
Everyone knows you can't swim in a dead bird!!
YOU'RE A NINNY AND I'M GLAD YE WERE BANNED!!!
:mad:
Was she hot?
Scottie when you move to America you can have your own pool.
I know.. lets all have a wind up.. pretend mile is banned.. but really he's about to become a mod and join the darkside ;) with a new account..
if he's banned.. it's a bit like fight club.. ya don't talk about it :) hehe
time will tell I guess...
Waiter! There is a mile in my pool!
This is just redundant:
Goodness, no!
So..chicken is good in the fridge for days.
Mile can take the cold for only so long.
However I'm going to leave this here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0162023/
watch it if you haven't ;)
Also missing were those manky floating plasters that have come off some grotty kid and assorted "floats" that just get in the way ;-)
Another thing of note was that the pool was freezing. Normally when a pool is cold, you adjust to it and warm up, but the longer I was in that one, the colder it seemed to get!
I only went once though because two weeks after my visit, they underwent an extensive revamp and the price went up from ?4 to ?10 because it had a "relaxation and contemplation lounge" and complementary use of fluffy towels. I'm not paying ?10 to swim no matter how fluffy the towels are ;-)
what if you just wanted to relax, and not contemplate? Didn't think of that did they
You see, from that angle Mile looks pretty doable...but when he turns round it's like an Aphex Twin video! :smile:
That'll be news to chemists the planet over!
and
I've been in the US 5 years and all I have is a small paddling pool. You lied, or maybe I've been doing America wrong.
Haven't been to a pool for over 15 years now.
Sheaf Valley Baths
The diving pool you can just see on the left.
now its changed to Ponds Forge and moved a bit further down yonder
never been in there tho
Maybe there has been a mass improvement over the years?
https://mm.aiircdn.com/120/591dad36a52ab.jpg
It was in a leisure center that shared the grounds with our school. Back in those days it was the outer most building, now it's been completely encircled by a Gym and Spa.
I quite liked it, I definitely concentrated better in class after a nice swim. In the 80s it used to have two arcade machines and a pinball table upstairs in the viewing gallery. I remember one of them was the Kiss Pinball table, and I remember it being quite elaborate. One of the arcades was Arkanoid.
Our pool didn't have tattooed pool attendants, but it did have some leery teachers (of both genders). Mind you some of our more developed girls were pretty damn hot, I could imagine it was hard not to look.
The one our primary school took us too was part of the middle school in Thrapston. That was one of those with an arched aluminium frame over the top and translucent plastic panels, and the pool was pretty grotty with dirt and grit at the bottom. We had two pools on the Loughborough campus and one was like that.
As a family we went to the bigger baths at Wellingborough which had a 3m deep end with a 3m diving board and a separate kiddies pool. All gone now. I presume Farnborough, where I am now, had a diving board once as it's an odd 33m pool with a deep trench across the middle. But there's no sign of a board now and the underwater window is boarded up on the other side.
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
Walmart is where everyone around here gets their pools from. Not cheap exactly but much cheaper than any other options. Although I think my daughter got hers from Home Depot for around $200. Its pretty big, deep enough to swim, aluminium frame holds a plastic pool up, about 15ft diameter and 4ft deep so kids don't get out of depth.
I couldn't survive on Soc.Sec. without Walmart, got everything there when we bought our first home, furnishings, house wares, the lot. Walmart haters say they drive out other businesses but the price differences are amazing and thats comparing the same goods not their own brand stuff.
https://mb.boardhost.com/BikerMike/index.html?1593001131
It's also a concert venue and supposedly where the Gallaghers got the name for their band!