Go West

Last weeks Homeless Itinerant Bathing Society (Edinburgh branch) visit took us outside of Edinburgh (P.)Leisure's stable of pools to Wester Hailes Education Centre - a leisure pool run by, wait for it, City of Edinburgh Council! Crikey! Below is that report in full!:

WHEC

And if you thought last week's destination was far out, then check this:

This Sunday (26th Feb) the Society - at least those spirited enough to travel over the County Line - will convene at the Dunbar Pool in East Lothian at 10.30 am!

It seems as though our appetite for leisure pool pursuits has been well and truly re-whetted!

New Members, as always,  welcome!

It ain't half hot, mum

Expectations were high prior to last week's Homeless Itinerant Bathing Society visit to Ainslie Park - at last a non Victorian pool - surely our municipalist forebears would not tolerate the draughts and cold blasts that our Victorian citizens positively revelled in?! Read on to find out...

This week, in line with the development of a community bid, the Society feels its time to look outwith the Edinburgh Leisure portfolio - we will be visiting Wester Hailes Education Centre, which is run by an independent body... 10.30 on Sunday morn as usual!
ainslie pk 2

Splashback Blues

children in Fort Street, Leith - 1957 from www.edinphoto.org.uk

“There should always be an element of protest in music, as much as it should be about celebrating the good things in life.”- Leith musician, Wounded Knee, gets into his groove, with the really rather fantastic 'Splashback Blues' - Cheers Drew!
'Splashback Blues' written and performed by Drew Wright AKA Wounded Knee. Assisted by Johnny Gailey. The "Oh dear me" refrain and the first two lines of the third verse are taken from the "Jute Mill Song" by Dundee poet and activist Mary Brooksbank. You can listen to Mary at Tobar an Dualchais: http://www.tobarandualchais.co.uk/en/fullrecord/24693/3

From the West to the East

Oh dear me, indeed!

With all the excitement of having to go and present in front of the heidie and full staff last week, The Homeless Itinerant Bathing Society (Edinburgh branch) omitted to post Dalry's report card from our visit the weekend before.  Dalry might have thought she'd got away with it, and indeed preferred it that way - however I'm afraid the truth will always out... The full report card is as follows...

dalry

Meanwhile, the following weekend, a bumper turnout of the Society made the trip along the Forth to Portobello Baths.  This weekend, the Society is making the leap from the 1890's to the 1970's with a visit to the all-new Ainslie Park Leisure Centre! As usual, all welcome - photo at front at 10.30am on Sunday morning...  Porty's full report card is as follows:

porty

a springboard?

Dear friends and supporters

Yesterday Splashback! handed in the petition with 6200 signatures to Lord Provost George Grubb, following our deputation in support of the Green's motion to delay the sale of Leith Waterworld for six months to allow a potential credible community bid to be developed.

The petition was addressed to the Council , and asked: 
 

We, the undersigned, are dismayed by the decision to close Leith Waterworld. We believe this would be a hammerblow to Leith, and to children, families and people with disabilities from across the whole of Edinburgh. We believe the £300,000 required to keep the pool open each year is an investment in the health and wellbeing, confidence and future of our community.

We demand the Council reviews the 2005 decision to close the unique facility and investigate all possible avenues for retaining the amenity and keeping the pool open for the Edinburgh public for the future.

The motion was carried with a minor amendment by the administration by 45 votes to 11.  Finally after two months of campaigning, here (in the pic) are the Councillors standing up for Leith, as they make their decision to support the possibility of a community bid.  NB the Big Society Tories sitting down in the top left!

Splashback is delighted that the pool has a reprieve for six months.  A community bid was never our first choice for the pool, but we believe it is one of the options that could safeguard the future of the pool for our community and city...

'Delay to Leith Waterworld a success but not a result' STV article


'Stay of execution for Waterworld' Edinburgh Evening News article

'Campaigners hope to break down 'brick wall' to save Leith Waterworld'  STV article

Petition D-day

Green MSP for Lothian, Alison Johnstone, will support Splashback! campaigners tomorrow, Thursday 2 February, as they hand in the petition of over 6,200 signatures to the City of Edinburgh Council. 

The petition, which calls for the Council to “investigate all possible avenues for retaining the amenity and keeping the pool open for the Edinburgh public for the future”, demonstrates overwhelming public support for the campaign to save Leith Waterworld. Over 5,000 signatures were added in person outside Leith Waterworld before it closed on 8 January, with over 1,100 added online.

The pool might have closed on 8 January, but we continue to fight for its future as an amenity for Leith and the whole of Edinburgh. Though Councillors voted, on 22 December, to uphold the decision to close, we feel the demand made by the petition is still current, and ask Councillors to consider the options.

We are handing in the petition at the Full Council Meeting, where Green councillor Steve Burgess is tabling a motion to delay the sale of the Waterworld site (closing date 8 February) to allow the possibility of a community purchase.  

Splashback! supports this motion, and the possibility of having time for a credible community bid to develop. The campaign will be presenting a deputation at the Full Council Meeting saying so. There are 11 community-run swimming pools in Scotland; we believe every chance should be given to this potential outcome for the Leith Waterworld site.