麻豆社

A picture of life in 1930鈥檚 Hoylake has emerged in archive film footage of the coastal town鈥檚 outdoor lido.

The old home movies uncovered as part of Hoylake Amateur Swimming Club鈥檚 75th anniversary celebrations show images of activities at the Hoylake lido in the 1930鈥檚 and 1960鈥檚. The lido closed in 1981 and the club now make use of West Kirkby Concourse Leisure Centre.

Diving in to the lido

Kay Morgan who was Women鈥檚 Captain in 1931 can still recall the lido鈥檚 time at the centre of the early years of the club鈥檚 life 鈥淲e used to wear woollen swimsuits but that was just all there was. There was no lycra.鈥�

The footage, which forms part of a new exhibition, shows the crowds that would flock to the Lido in the summer months to swim and use the diving boards and slides that used to sit around the edge of the pool.

Kay Morgan remembers starting early for training, 鈥淲e went about 7 o鈥檆lock in the morning before we went to school. The temperature was about 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 centigrade). There was usually quite a crowd of us and we were pretty tough.鈥�

Dancing at the Lido

'Heart of a lion'

Pinky Stabback competed in synchronised swimming at the club in the 1960鈥檚, 鈥淚n the summer they used to have what they called Aqua ballets in all the outdoor pools that were still going strong in the 1960鈥檚.

鈥淏ut then gradually it became more serious. To be a good synchronised swimmer these days you need the stamina of a middle distance runner, the agility of a gymnast, the grace of a ballet dancer and a decent ear for music because you鈥檝e got to have a good sense of rythym. And the heart of a lion because it is very very hard work.鈥�

Hoylake Amateur Swimming Club has put together an exhibition which includes photographs, memorabilia, and historic cine footage of the pool, filmed in the 1930's and 40's at West Kirkby Concourse Leisure Centre from 23 October 2006.