Brockwell Lido - chat, news and more

[TopCat]

I could understand if the historical and current lack of maintenance and shit condition of the facilities meant the plastic liner was being forced through as a cure but is it?
It will help them spend less on maintenance of the pool and water which I would hope being third sector (they are aren't they?) means more budget for tasks elsewhere. I suggest a defect check, and deep clean as a start.

 

[TopCat]

I havent been to Tooting for a few years now. They called the police on me after some Clapham type objected to me smoking a spliff on the grass. Something I have done often over the last thirty years. It seems society has moved whilst I stood still.

 

[TopCat]

Brockwell staff frisked me like a good 'un for booze the last time I went and upon noticing the hugely stinky joint just politely pointed to where it might be better to smoke it.

25 years ago we used to go with 30-40 people, loaded up as if for Woodstock.

 

[TopCat]

The Brockwell Swimmer doesn't like his questionable practices being talked about. He doesn't want people to know why he was banned for life from BLU, why his water polo team tried to vote him out, why he had to fill his personal club with cronies to stop him being kicked out, why he's been silenced at Tooting..

Well to be fair he has denied your claims. So instead of just repeating them, provide evidence.

 

[shakespearegirl]

There have been so many mangers of the years that I’ve been a member. Some start off great, fired up with enthusiasm and seem to want to fix all the issues and communicate with members. A few months later they are rarely seen and the cycle of finding a new manager begins.

 

[shakespearegirl]

25 years ago we used to go with 30-40 people, loaded up as if for Woodstock. [/QUOTE]

I spent A very hot summer there about 18 years ago with a group of equally underemployed friends. It was a real party atmosphere and great mix of people. This was in the BYO drink and drugs days.

Times certainly have changed

 

[timothysutton1]

Bla Bla Bla

Haven't a clue who you are, but you are talking absolute rubbish. Please stop.

 

[gaijingirl]

There have been so many mangers of the years that I’ve been a member. Some start off great, fired up with enthusiasm and seem to want to fix all the issues and communicate with members. A few months later they are rarely seen and the cycle of finding a new manager begins.

exactly. When I spoke to one of the instructors yesterday they exclaimed... "oh the new manager is lovely and really wants to put it all right". I heard this same story only very recently about the last manager who didn't last long and the one before that.

 

[Tomas Smith]

Quote:

Club secretary: "Until last month I was Secretary of Brockwell Swimmers but resigned due to the Chair’s unprofessional and aggressive handling of stakeholders including Fusion and Lambeth Council. The petition is based entirely on mis-information as the club has not banned from the lido at all. Indeed they will willingly accept bookings from Jason and I on behalf of Brockwell Swimmers, just not the Chair due to numerous issues with his conduct. Furthermore the people in the photos including myself have decided to discontinue their Brockwell Swimmers membership and find more appropriate and productive ways of operating the water polo."

Some guy: "Tim Sutton is not supported by the majority of the waterpolo players at Brockwell swimmers"

Water polo captain "It’s also worth noting that Tim Sutton May not be a reliable source as he is facing a no-confidence vote raised by 15 members of the club in part due to this petition and other disinformation he has spread as part of an activist agenda against Fusion."

 

[Tomas Smith]

Of course he's denied it.

It's common knowledge The Brockwell Swimmer is banned from BLU and why. The hissy fits were mentioned in the Buzz's report on the last AGM and took place in public in front of other people and it wasn't the first time - his stooges never get voted on.

Brockwell Lido looks set for new pool lining as lively Users AGM hears about record breaking year

His own club members were openly fighting him in this thread below. They've all left. He hasn't disputed putting his husband as secretary of his mate as treasurer.

https://brixtonblog.com/2019/05/petition-urges-brockwell-lido-to-lift-ban-on-local-swimming-club

 

[timothysutton1]

...Brockwell Swimmers banned from BLU...

You seem to be saying that all our club members are banned, which is completely wrong.

...never get voted...

Isn't this the point of elections, that people are allowed to stand and the members vote?

They've all left

Again you are wrong. Our current membership is 104.

We still regularly swim at JAGs Sports Club on Tuesday evenings and play Water Polo at Alleyn's School. You are welcome to a FREE trial session.

More details at https://www.brockwellswimmers.com/first-session-free/

...secretary...treasurer...

We are currently lacking a permanent secretary, which we are trying to sort out. Our Treasurer is a member who volunteered for the role.

 

[timothysutton1]

Club secretary...

This is all water under the bridge. Contact me direct if you have any more question.

 

[Tomas Smith]

You seem to be saying that all our club members are banned, which is completely wrong.

For someone that likes to talk about liable (sic) you should quote people accurately. You, The Brockwell Swimmer, are banned from BLU.

The people who replied in the comments of that Brixton Blog article have all left. Fact. Your water polo team left and went to play under Tooting. Fact. You were going to be voted out by your own members. Fact. Your husband is the secretary. Fact. Your mate is the treasurer. Fact. You have hissy fits and make a scene in public at the AGM. Fact.

Your "club" has only ever had one chair, you, The Brockwell Swimmer aka Tim Sutton. It has patsies in the two other roles. You control the bank account. You control the website. You control the social media accounts. You personally funded the club for years but none of your members know how much or whether the funding was a loan or not.

 

[Tomas Smith]

This is all water under the bridge. Contact me direct if you have any more question.

Water under the bridge = the person left because of your "unprofessional and aggressive" behaviour and you installed your husband.

 

[Dan U]

Proper urbanz this

 

[timothysutton1]

Bla Bla Bla

All I can say is we have 104 members who enjoy all the club activities; Swim Sessions, Water Polo, Swim/Walks and everything else we do. That is what a swimming club does and long may it continue. You are more than welcome to try a FREE trial session any time.

 

[Tomas Smith]

All I can say is we have 104 members who enjoy all the club activities; Swim Sessions, Water Polo, Swim/Walks and everything else we do. That is what a swimming club does and long may it continue. You are more than welcome to try a FREE trial session any time.

Glad you're not denying your behaviour, cronyism, ban from BLU, total and opaque control of your personal "community club" etc etc. It's *not* what a swimming club is.

 

[timothysutton1]

Bla Bla Bla

Best we agree to disagree and I'll leave you with some pictures of happy club members.

More on our web site www.brockwellswimmers.com

 

[Tomas Smith]

Still good you’re not denying your behaviour, cronyism, ban etc

The first picture looks like Tooting races so most or all of the people aren’t in your “club”.

The other pictures aren’t worth bothering with. You are known for advertising your “club” with pictures of people who aren’t members so for all anyone knows these people could be anyone or no-one.

 

[timothysutton1]

Bla Bla Bla

More than welcome to join us...

 

[Tomas Smith]

More than welcome to join us...

Might pass because you’re creepy af. Nobody who has come across you a few times buys the smiley avuncular act. Neither do most of the people in these pictures I bet.

 

[MartinH]

Lido petition
Campaigners say no to a plastic pool lining at Brockwell Lido

It’s true I swim at both Tooting and Brockwell. Chalk and cheese. Tooting is far better in many respects including the lining. I’ve actually grazed my knee and foot swimming in the shallow end at Brockwell.
In addition it does seem entirely likely that holes and cracks in the pool mean it leaks.
The only reason I use Brockwell is I’ve been a member of the gym for 10 years.
And yes it’s true Fusion are hopeless. They couldn’t organise a drinks party in a brewery.

 

[MartinH]

Well I'm completely and utterly pissed off with the lido - it's just one problem after another. Today it's closed because the water visibility is so bad because it's FILTHY. I pay membership to use it and instead I've had to go and pay to use Tooting who, tellingly, had 2 lifeguards down on their knees with scrubbing brushes cleaning the area around one of the ladders and a cafe where you can buy a normal cup of tea - not a quinoa and kale version at 3x the price that tries to stop swimmers coming in. Yesterday at Brockwell the outdoor showers were broken - there's always some showers broken. Their piece of shit app has 2x broken this week so I can't actually book anything anyway and despite calling 8 times last week and leaving 2 messages on their answerphone I couldn't actually speak to anyone until I went down there. Got there, there were 3 of us queuing with the same issue and a growing queue of people wanting to get in for a swim behind us having to wait whilst the receptionist tried to sort it out. Meanwhile tons of classes are being covered by alternative instructors which means you get there and it's not what you signed up for - but there's no advance warning of this. The whole place is filthy - after the really hot period last week they just didn't bother to clean it, there was all kinds of disgusting crap all over the place. Winter was just as bad - you never knew if it would be open or not with random opening hours that saw the pool closing 4 or 5 times during the daytime for up to an hour at a time (because they didn't have enough lifeguards). Why they didn't just close down half the pool I don't know. I've never come across a more badly managed sports centre - no wonder they lost all their branches in Southwark. I really wish that some other group would take it over frankly. I would defect to Tooting like a shot if it wasn't for the fact that Brockwell is incredibly convenient for me and on my way to work.

 

[MartinH]

Hi, I’ve been a member at Brockwell Lido for over ten years and I agree with everything you said. Thank you for highlighting how bad it really is.
I use the Lido because I use the gym. If Tooting only had a gym......

Fusion are a joke. This is a belief held by many users I’ve spoken to over the years and why they’ve lost so many contracts.
They can’t fix anything. Equipment is broken for weeks or even months. The steam room was out of order for 3 or 4 months one year etc etc etc.
It took literally months of complaining that the sauna was 20 to 25C colder than recommended for them to increase it by 5C.
It appears to them everything is rocket science. It’s not!!

I really do believe that Lambeth have a case to cancel their contract with Fusion due to gross negligence and incompetence.

And Finally yes, surely the Cafe should be run mainly, or for the sole purpose of, serving the users of Brockwell Lido not the Uber rich of Herne Hill.
I live in hope that something changes for the better
Rant over with for now.

 

[ShelleyS]

The chair of the Brockwell Lido Steering Committee is a Trustee of Fusion and I have been told the chair of the Brockwell Lido User group BLU does not use the pool.

Both committees have failed to published any minutes this year. After the recent death of the last BLU chair, new members were co-opted onto the committee on a seemingly "friends of friends" basis. Neither of the Lidos two sports clubs have official representation on any of these committees.

A few years back I disclosed that one of BLU's members had only attended one meeting all year, blocking other members joining. I was then banned and the member was promoted to Treasurer.

Lambeth Council and local councillors are fully aware of the situation yet do nothing. The only Tweet I have seen was from Councillor Mary Atkins who was upset she missed her Pilates class.

There are other questionable practices going on. The whole thing needs taking apart and putting back together again.

Dear Mr Sutton, as a member of the Lido and a BLU committee member, I find it astonishing that your request for minutes comes before any real acknowledgement of the death of our Chair, other than "after the recent death of'. The co oped members were actually in place while CJ was alive, he was instrumental in this. As a committee we are trying to organise ourselves as best we can while dealing with the loss of a friend. Minutes will be posted. The other matter is your irritation that our acting deputy chair does not use the pool. So what? She uses the other facilities, is at the Lido almost every day and it is vital that we have representation for the dry side as well as the wet side, which is very much represented by committee members. I have no idea what these 'questionable practices' are that you talk of. One of our past Deputy Chairs was also Chair of the BLSC - it didn't stop her from remaining passionate about all things Lido and working hard to ensure the place was the best it could be. Please stop creating chaos wherever you go and allow us all some peace in a place we love and care about.

 

[nigelduffy678]

Another fact Tim is that you have a restraining order placed on you by other members of the Lido community. Your disruptive behaviour to users has led them to ask the Fusion management team to warn you not to approach them whilst at the Lido.

It is so sad that you have escalated your petty vendettas to the level that requires this response. You have left some people in tears in the manner in which you harass and bully them at the Lido. For many users this is a special place in London. It is our escape and our safe location. You have done your best to spoil this for the past seven years or so.

No one knows quite what your motivation is, but I suspect that it is something quite deep. It would benefit everyone - yourself included - if you addressed your issues.

The way that you play the victim each time whilst destroying the Lido enjoyment of others is embarrassing to watch. The 104 members that you boast for your private club have largely bought into your sob story that Fusion and BLU are out to get you. The exact opposite is true.

How many of your Twitter followers are fake accounts that were bought? It was very disingenuous of you when you started to gain traction for your 'local swimmers not allowed to use the Lido' petition on the back of this account.

The actual story here was that one bitter and disruptive swimmer was given the cold shoulder by Fusion. The reason is because you spread poison and lies around the Lido.

This all started back in the early days of the very informal Brockwell Icicles group. It was the first season of winter swimming. You touted the idea of a gala. You have made no secret of wanting to import the Tooting SLSC model to Brockwell.

This works well in Tooting, but most Brockwell swimmers just want to... swim. The lack of enthusiasm to organise a gala led to your first hissy fit. It has been a downhill slide for you ever since. Your only motivation it seems is to grab power and control at the Lido to prove a point. Meanwhile others around you just get on with swimming.

To actually then start trying to sell the story that 'local swimmers are not allowed to use the Lido' is nothing but fake news. I am a local swimmer. I have never had any issues in using the Lido. It is only you as a lone Brockwell Swimmer that has the problem.

If you insist on using the Lido then please respect the needs of other users. Don't use our very special place as your playground in your stupid power grabbing game. No one is interested in your agenda. No one is interested in you.

I will give you personal credit for Urban Art. This is a fantastic community event which does you proud. You can achieve so much more when you channel your energy into positive action. Please don't allow your dark thoughts to continue to ruin the Lido experience for everyone else.

 

[timothysutton1]

...restraining order...people in tears...false Twitter followers

...all fake news I'm afraid.

...what your motivation is...Tooting SLSC model...respect the needs of other users...

I admit that I find the Tooting club a total inspiration and so it should be. That pool has never closed. Their membership works hard to bring new people to the pool and the members' fees has paid for their new pavilion and will also help save their crumbling plant room, which again threatens to close the pool.

With falling funds from Lambeth Council, and rising running costs for the pool, any initiative that promotes Brockwell Lido should be encouraged.

The small number of events the club have run at the Lido have always been outside public opening hours so do not interfere with anyone else. The pool is under utilised with it being left empty and closed because of 'political' reasons, rather than letting the local community enjoy it. That is wrong.

We have an olympic size pool with plenty of room for everyone. Can we please just learn to get along, as they do at the other pools we use.

 

[nigelduffy678]

Tim, you are like Comical Ali trying to bat away your bullying tactics that have been so destructive to the Lido community over the years. You know very well that restraining orders are in place to prevent you from harassing other users each morning.

Please seek some help for your issues.

 

[timothysutton1]

...Minutes will be posted...questionable practices

Thanks for the comments. When will the minutes be posted, both for the BLU Committee and the BLSG Committee?

Also I would again like to request that the Brockwell Swimmers club are allowed to make representation at the next BLU Committee meeting. This has been requested many times before, as you know.

At the moment we are being judged on idle rumour and malicious gossip which is helping nobody.

 

[timothysutton1]

Bla Bla Bla

Thanks for your concern.