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2000s: Meet Rosemary, 86, and Kate, 26: dreamers, campaigners, outdoor swimmers…
The Lido
What you need to know before your trail
Rosemary has lived in Brixton all her life, but everything she knows is changing. Only the local lido, where she swims every day, remains a constant reminder of the past and her beloved husband George.
Kate has just moved and feels adrift in a city that is too big for her. She’s on the bottom rung of her career as a local journalist, and is determined to make something of it.
So when the lido is threatened with closure, Kate knows this story could be her chance to shine. But for Rosemary, it could be the end of everything. Together they are determined to make a stand, and to prove that the pool is more than just a place to swim – it is the heart of the community.
The Lido is an uplifting novel about the importance of friendship, the value of community, and how
ordinary people can protect the things they love.
Locations
Reset- England - London
- A: Brixton Tube
- B: Electric Ave
- C: Brockwell Park
- D: Herne Hill
- E: Waterstone's
Travel Guide
Brockwell Park
Brixton Village and Electric Avenue
Brixton is where this novel is set and it opens at the tube station which introduces you to the steel drums and background noise. Brixton Village used to be Granville ARcade and is still the place where Hope could find the Caribbean foods she missed when she first moved to Brixton.
Behind this is Electric Avenue where there’s some great shops and an exciting vibe. Maybe you’ll meet Rosemary with her golden receiver Sprout? She’s lived here all her life. She is eighty-six “ But in the water “she is ageless”
The Hills
Tulse Hill, Brixton Hill, Streatham Hill, Herne Hill and the villages such as Dulwich, West Norwood, Tooting. These places taste as familiar as toothpaste in her mouth and she knows the bus numbers by their shape adnd the road names by their sound
Brockwell Park – The Lido (Brockwell Lido)
This is the Lido where Rosemary has been coming for years, it’s her place, her life and history and where she grew up, where she swims. Losing the Lido would be to loose everything she has.
A swimming pool loose lost without its swimmers. It is early and the lifeguard is rolling back the cover, sleepy and silent…”
“The swimming club children are fearless. Rosemary watches the wriggling like tadpoles up and down the lanes”
Streetview Maps
C) London - Brockwell Lido
C) London - Brockwell Lido/Park
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
This book is like a hug! Kate, is on the brink of a journalist career and feels more comfortable in her books than she does in real life. Rosemary aged 86, is upset to think the lido might be closing and wants to try everything she can to save it. Kate starts to write a story about it and their joint friendships and campaign begins in earnest.
The story, history, look and essence of the Lido reflects the lives and loves of the two women. They have highs and lows, problems and worries and realise what is important to them and their lives. Its also a story about community and community spirit. But it’s also a nice tale of how swimming can soothe the mind, be a way to escape the cityIt’s a gentle read but one I really enjoyed. Sometimes, it;s nice to have a story which warms your heart, makes you smile and leaves you with a glow inside. A female friendship and how young and old can gain in their own way through joining forces over a joint concern. The realisation that the lido is symbolic of so much in their lives.
I really enjoyed this. It just makes you wonder how much of our past with the closure of so many parks, libraries etc are so woven into the very fabric of us and how, if people came together, more good could be done.
I also now want to go for a swim and adopt a dog called Sprout.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Lido
Destination : London Author/Guide: Libby Page Departure Time: 2000s
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