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4) The Libraries Committee makes a contribution to the National Library for the Blind
which supplies Braille books to the home for the blind maintained by Hammersmith
Borough Council at Wimbledon.
Baths and Laundries Services
The services provided by Baths and Laundries i.e. swimming baths, private warm baths
and public laundries, are closely associated with those of Health and Welfare.
There is little need to elaborate on the health-giving and recreational advantages of
swimming, facilities for which are provided at the Council's three bathing establishments at
North End Road and Lime Grove both summer and winter and at Bloemfontein Road open-air pool
during the summer months.
Every week-day from 9 a.m. till 4.30 p.m. as part of the school curriculum, children
from all the schools in the Borough attend the Baths in classes of approximately thirty for halfhourly
swimming lessons. They are taught by qualified instructors first to swim and then progress
to advanced swimming, diving and life-saving. 108,368 children from London County Council
and private schools attended the Baths for lessons in swimming during 1965.
Following the school periods the pools are available to the public and every evening
large numbers of adults, teenagers and children take advantage of the facilities. On any hot
evening during the summer the capacity is taxed to the utmost and queues wait to get into the
Baths for a swim.
An innovation which may be of interest is family swimming on Sunday morning when
onepool is allocated for family swimming only. It is surprising to see the large number of parents
who come with their children, from one year upwards, to teach them to swim and to enjoy this
health-giving recreation.
From 9—10 p.m. each evening the pools are allocated to various youth clubs, institutes
or local firms and associations for club swimming. These club hours are in great demand and are
fully booked months in advance.
Although the demand for private washing baths has slightly decreased during the past
few years due to many new and properly equipped housing developments, there is still a great
call for this service particularly on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Ordinary private baths
and showers are provided whilst towels and soap are also available. The shower baths are particularly
popular with the coloured residents in the Borough who attend regularly two or three
times a week, which has helped to keep the attendances high.
Approximately 160 baths or showers are provided at North End Road, Lime Grove and
Sands End and the average number using these on a Saturday is 2,000. The number of warm baths
given during 1965 was 327,715.
Laundry facilities are also provided at the North End Road, Sands End and Lime Grove
establishments, by which a full family wash as heavy as 20 lbs. can be washed, dried and ironed
at the very moderate cost of 2/6d. Full advantage is taken of these amenities, as proved by the
number of attendances which, during the year under review, was 137,343.
During the winter months the demand for swimming decreases and for many years it has
been the Council's policy at the week-ends to floor over one of the pools at each of the two
main establishments, thus providing suitable halls for indoor sports such as bowls, table-tennis
and badminton. Dances, boxing and other functions are held all of which are well attended.
Parks and Cemeteries Department.
The general health of the inhabitants of all urban areas can be greatly affected by the
services offered by the Public Parks Department, and the the extent to which they are used. In
a heavily built-up environment the beauty, peace and relaxation to be found in parks are real
necessities to city dwellers. These open spaces offer a welcome relief from the hustle and
bustle of modern living and those who frequent them can enjoy their tranquility. They are an
economical way of providing relaxation in those areas where buildings and roads predominate,
and their contribution to "Breathing space" is considerable indeed.
The Local Authority is very conscious of the benefits which accrue from a well-appoint-
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