This was a gorgeous gem. The makers followed a year of swimming at the Hampstead Ponds, talking to the stalwarts and it made for a marvellously moving and entertaining experience. To many, in many different ways, this place was, [perhaps literally ins some cases, a life-saver and a common thread that many had was how the experience of coming to the place and swimming helped put them all their experiences in life into perspective - and even the few talking about the spiritual effect it had on them came across as powerfully moving and sincere which such expressions rarely do - in my experience anyway.
Everyone seemed very appreciative of how lucky they were to be able to have the place on their doorstep but I think that almost all of them must have been at least reasonably comfortably off, given the cost of living in London and general and that part of the city in particular. I think too quite a large number must have been retired - many looked like it - as daily visits are very time consuming but it did make for a sense of a real community and far more important, and better, than one would get at a gym with the minimal communication that characterises those space. Everyone there (or at least the ones who spoke) seemed to have a genuine human concern for the others and this illustration of the power and importance of friendships was one of the most powerful aspects of this lovely film.