Swimming And Traffic Lights

I took G for a day trip today. We went over the Snake Pass and into Derbyshire to visit Hathersage, mainly because all the fine weather had put me in the mood to go for some outdoor swimming and I think the pool at Hathersage might be the nearest lido to where we live. The website also promised that it would be heated, which seemed like a particularly good idea when I started driving and the sun promptly disappeared behind some rain clouds.

We stopped off for lunch then got to the pool just as a group of schoolkids were arriving. A couple of the teachers offered to help me get G and the pram up the steps. While the female teacher held G and I carried our bags, I folded up the pram for the male teacher to carry, imagining that being a man he'd be good at lifting stuff. He strode off confidently, then missed a step and fell straight on his face. I think I did a reasonable job of sounding concerned, although I was laughing very hard indeed inside.

The water was heated, although the overcast weather meant it wasn't really all that much warmer in there than your standard council baths. The pool's in a beautiful setting though, and you can get a view of the Peak District hills all around as you swim up and down. G is too young to appreciate that sort of thing, but she enjoyed showing off to all of the other people in the pool, as she waved and smiled winningly at anyone who came by.

We had a bit of time spare before I wanted to drive home (that is, when G was next due for a nap) so I followed the signs to the edge of the village to see Hathersedge's other main attraction, the David Mellor cutlery workshop and museum. That's this David Mellor, not that one. Turns out that as well as doing all kinds of cutlery and homeware, David Mellor also designed the traffic lights that you see across the country. To illustrate the point, there was a giant working set of lights in the middle of the museum cafe, where I had a coffee while G got her little fingerprints all over the previously immaculate windows. I had plenty of opportunity to ponder this design classic on the way home, as I drove past dozens more sets of lights. In fact, I found it so interesting it almost got that image of the other David Mellor having sex in a Chelsea shirt out of my head. Almost.