Oh but it was cold!: A memory of Colchester

Oh But It Was Cold!

A Memory of Colchester.

Yes, I can remember some happy sunny afternoons on the lookout for boys around the mid 1970s, we used to pool hop between the new indoor and the old outdoor,

A less happy memory was doing my 50m Preliminary 2 with Heathlands Primary, as we travelled there on the coach the sky was black and we were all sure it would be cancelled, it was a FREEZING cold day. But no, we all got lined up at the edge of the pool and I have a memory literally being pushed in to do it, although it could be the product of an overactive and outraged imagination. Anyway, we did it and when I got out I literally couldn't feel my legs and waddled back to those dark dank changing rooms under the bridge, to be rasped dry by Elizabeth Gooden's mum...

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Added 16 May 2010

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Do you remember that the water temperature was displayed just after the pay booth so you didn't know quite how cold it was until you'd paid and it was too late !
My other memory was the sheer thrill of have a changing hut as a special treat ! My sister was taught to swim by Mr Smith. I too had lessons at the grammar school and also at the girl's county high . This pool was cold too and. We shared it with frogs!!

By suegibson_63 on Sat May 9th 2015, at 7:43 pm

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I remember those coach trips and those swims. I was clearing out a few weeks back and I came across the certificates. I can't believe I kept them. The summer of '76 was the best time in that outdoor pool though. The time between leaving Heathlands and going to the 'big school'. I remember coming back on the bus one day with a couple of girls, I can't remember their first names but Mayhew was one of the surnames. Anyway, it was the day after Mr. Edmund had died. (heathland headmaster). A mum of one of my friends was on the bus and she asked us how we felt about it. We all shrugged our shoulders, not really caring. Sad. (still, he did wield that slipper too much!) - Andrew Clarke

By apcgig on Sat Jan 28th 2017, at 11:45 pm

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