The Lido

This morning I was back at the gym for Zumba, but decided to go and use the Power Plate and those rubber band things beforehand, but that was a big mistake! My legs were like jelly by the time I was doing Zumba, so note to self - don't do it again, at least not before a class.

I met a nice lady who was there for the first time and we had a chat after the class - it turns out she moved here a week ago with her family, and they're living at the Marina. Like me, she's getting used to the area and isn't working at the moment, so she said she might join me for Wednesday's class, and she's also going to have a look at the midweek walking group that I've joined.

On my way home I stopped to take a photo of Saltdean Lido, but it was pouring with rain so I got soaked, and when I got home I wasn't very happy with the pictures as they were very dark. But after I'd had my lunch it stopped raining and the sun was trying to come out, so I took Louis for a walk back to the Lido to try and get a better shot. As you can see it was still very cloudy and I had to wait ages to get a break in the clouds so the sun would light up the Lido.

It was built in 1938 and after many years of being used by the local community it fell into disrepair and the lease holder at the time put in an application to knock the Lido down and build flats. However over the last few years a local campaign to "Save The Lido" has been successfully driven by local residents, and in 2012 the group succeeded in their mission to save the building and the Saltdean Lido is now on English Heritage's At Risk Register.

A group has been set up by local residents to raise funds to restore the iconic art deco Lido into an all year round community attraction. If successful, they plan to install heated water to the pool, a cafe/bar with regular events, an ice-skating rink during the winter months, and a gym. I really hope they're successful, as it's such a beautiful building and it's a shame to see it unused and in disrepair.

The Lido sits in the centre of Saltdean facing towards the sea, with the South Downs behind it - we live almost to the top of the hill on the left hand side, and a couple of weeks ago I blipped the view over the other side into Rottingdean. It's worth taking a closer look.

Anyway, I'd better get on with my cleaning and then my French homework ready for my lesson tomorrow night. I've no excuse as the text books I ordered have arrived!