‘Asking me why I swim is like asking me why I get up in the morning. The answer is the same.’ – Rosemary
Set in Brixton, Libby Page’s debut novel, The Lido, brings to light an on going problem of community centres facing closure as local councils struggle to raise sufficient finance. 26 year old Kate, who works at the local newspaper, has moved from her friends and family to the ‘big city’ but is finding the lack of community difficult and the loneliness of flat sharing creating anxiety. 86 year old Rosemary is a widower, daily Lido swimmer, who can view the pool from her balcony flat and her most pivotal memories are entwined within it’s history. Making an offer to the local council they seemingly can’t refuse, developers are set to acquire the local community space and refurbish it into a private club.