London Open House at Haggerston Pool was a great success due to the hard work of so many of the pool campaigners - both those who were stewards on the day, and those who produced the exhibition and photographs. 700 people came to visit and many joined up for the campaign. We had a lot of visitors who had moved into Hackney in the last few years and really wanted to know why there was no local swimming pool. There were also visitors from all over the country - including a lady of 88 years old who had swam in the Albion Square Baths before they were bombed and whose father had swam at Haggerston. Our own living legends Wally and Tom recounted their memories of the baths over many years.

As many of you will know it nearly didn't happen. Despite having an agreement of many weeks standing with the Council for limited, stewarded access, we received a message just 10 days before the event saying that we could no longer go ahead on health and safety grounds. This in spite of the fact that there is a security guard living in the building - and that the Council rents the building out for pop videos. It took a lot of persuading - and we had to buy our own public liability insurance - to make it go ahead. So we'd also like to thank in particular the many council officers and councillors who helped to get this decision reversed and to make the event go ahead.

The next meeting of the Haggerston Pool Campaign is on THURSDAY OCTOBER 9TH at 7PM at FELLOWS COURT COMMUNITY CENTRE which is at the corner of Kent St and Hows St in the estate opposite Haggerston Pool in Whiston Road. We're in the downstairs room - which you get to through the street door on the side of the building nearest Whiston Road. Everyone welcome.

We are starting to set up small groups to look at different aspects of getting the pool open - like making the business case, the health case, gaining formal support from schools and youth clubs, tenants associations, criminal justice system, short-term uses, working on press and publicity and looking at environmentally friendly ways of running a pool. These groups are just starting and need more members! If you would like to help with these or any other aspects of the campaign - please come along -or just get in touch.

The Learning Trust (Hackney's separated Education Department) has been asked by the Council to look into the potential of incorporating part of Haggerston Pool in a possible new secondary school on the site of the old Laburnum primary school in Laburnum Street. There has been an initial viability study, but no consultation with pool campaigners.

So far 400 people and organisations have joined. Membership will help us demonstrate the degree of local support for having a swimming facility back at Haggerston. We are especially interested in organisations joining as we can print lists of groups who support us in newsletters and leaflets. Having individuals join is also useful though as we can publicise the number of people who have joined - though individual names will not be used.

If you'd like a form please get in touch and we'll email or post it to you, or you can download it here.

London Pools Campaign of which the Haggerston Campaign is a founder member, gave evidence to the GLA scrutiny committee chaired by Meg Hillier, looking into what Londoners could expect back in return for paying for the Olympics. We asked for a fund of £100 million for London's crumbing pools. This was backed up with evidence that the cost to London's sporting projects of funds being diverted to the Olympics would be £44 million of lottery money, of this £9 million could be expected to be spent on swimming. There is also evidence from Manchester showing that the Commonwealth Games drew money away from local sports facilities, and was involved in the closure of 2 local swimming pools.

You can read the whole submission at http://londonpoolscampaign.ground-level.org/glasubmission or get in touch for a copy.

Diana Johnson's office from the GLA have since been in touch to say they are looking into providing free swimming for children in London - as was done in Glasgow last summer.

Plans for the re-opening of London Fields Lido continue. There is an opportunity to see the plans for the new development and hear the proposals for many new features. Open evening at the London Fields Junior School 7th of October from 7 to 8.30 where you can speak to the architect and others, ask questions and give your views on the plans and sign up to support the campaign.

A campaign is also starting to get the Victoria Park Bathing Lakes re-opened. These lakes were traditionally used for open air bathing (like the lakes on Hampstead Heath) and were only closed for use when the Victoria Park Lido (now covered over for a car park) was opened in the 1930's. Ellen Fletcher is co-ordinating the campaign - and you can get in touch with her on ellen.fletcher@virgin.net or through the Haggerston Pool campaign - either by phone or at the meetings.