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therese.spruhan@bigpond.com

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Swimming Pool Stories

swimmingpoolstories

This was fun and relaxing and amazing: Poseidon Th

This was fun and relaxing and amazing: Poseidon Thermal Gardens on the island of Ischia.

Ischia is full of thermal spas and pools so there are many places you can take to the healing waters but there’s nothing quite like Poseidon. It’s the largest thermal complex on the island with more than 20 pools in different shapes, sizes and temperatures including three seawater pools and a private beach.

The pools are set in lush gardens of oleander, hibiscus, olive trees, lemon-scented geraniums, plumbago, rosemary and towering conifers by the beautiful Bay of Citara. I had a wonderful afternoon plunging into all the different pools, mostly named after Greek gods and goddesses. I’d wander round a path and come upon Aphrodite, a 32 C pool with jacuzzis and a revitalising waterfall or climb steps and discover Artemis and its curvy hot (40C) and cold (15 C) pools. I also walked the hot and cold pebbles in the Japanese bath and swam in the rectangular Adriano, at 28C, the coldest of the thermal pools where water gymnastics are held most days.

It was like being at a pool theme park but there was nothing tacky about the place started by a German fellow around 1960. Another German fellow took over in the 70s and then another, Anton Stuadinger, in the 80s. Since 2007, Stuadinger’s daughter Lucia Maria Veroniker Beringer, an architect has continued to develop and renew the complex.

To complete my aquatic afternoon, I plunged into the sea as the sun started to set. In finale perfetto per un’esperienza unica e bellissima!

#poseidongardensischia #poseidonthermalgardens #giardiniposeidonterme #giardiniposeidon #ischia #ischiaterme #thermalbaths @giardini.poseidon.terme

Swapping piscinas for the streets of Napoli! #napl

Swapping piscinas for the streets of Napoli! #naples #napoli #streetscenes #streetlife #lovenapoli

The lifeguard lap! . #leichhardtpool #leichhardt

The lifeguard lap!

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#leichhardtpool #leichhardtparkaquaticcentre #mondayswim #innerwestsydney #walkonby

Immersed in memories at Parap Pool When I was in

Immersed in memories at Parap Pool

When I was in Darwin recently it was great to revisit Parap Pool, featured in my book, The Memory Pool, with rich recollections from author and academic Tess Lea. The previous time I swam there in 2015, the circa 1960 complex was largely in its original state, complete with diving boards, old-school gutters and 55-yard length. Following a 2017 redevelopment those retro features are gone. In their place are new shaded 50 and 25 metre pools, a cafe, and a spectacular art installation at the entrance called ‘Under the Surface by Jill Chism depicting the interplay of water, light and movement.

Another nice addition is a ‘memory wall’ inviting visitors to contemplate the colourful history of Parap and the pool. As I walked along the wall, I was reminded of Tess Lea’s vivid memories, in particular, training in the pool with the Darwin Swimming Club, the afternoon before Cyclone Tracy arrived as if everything was normal.

As she recalled in The Memory Pool: ‘…I remember stopping training for a few minutes to listen to the manager’s announcement over the PA about a cyclone coming tonight. He was having some me kind of Christmas party and he got onto the microphone and spoke in a very sloshed and slurred voice. After that we kept on with our training. That night the roof blew off our house and a bit of wall smashed into my finger as I lay in bed. I spent the rest of the night bunkered down in our kitchen with my family and some neighbours; I sat on my brother’s knee with the cat on my lap as the adults passed around a bottle of Tia Maria. The next day everything was flattened. You could see about 20 kilometres across Darwin and Parap Pool was filled with car bodies and palm trees. It was a complete dump site.’

Fortunately the pool was cleaned up after the devastation but over the years it battled many threats of closure. When Tess Lea returned to Darwin for Christmas 2018, she was pleased to see it hadn’t been turned into townhouses. And as she swam, she thought about what she would record if she could post a memory on that wall!
#parappool #darwin #larrakiacountry #thememorypool

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