Simon Inglis

Simon Inglis is a fan with a mission. Fed up with being labelled an anorak, yet repeatedly led astray by the glimpse of a grandstand accross a crowded city, he searches the world for a deeper meaning behind his fascination with stadiums. What is it, he asks en route from ancient Olympia to Sydney 2000, about men and neatly-edged turf? Why are there more football grounds in Buenos Aires than public libraries? Why do Auckland residents resent their local stadium while those in Chicago celebrate theirs? And what can we learn from the Indians, the Irish and a huckster from Huston? The perfect companion volume to his bestselling books on football grounds, Sightlines is full of insight, wit, anecdotes and characters from a world beyond that every sports fan will recognise. It is proof that he is not alone.

A Stadium Odyssey

Sightlines

Holacraft 1.0 follows the journeys of a pro surfer, Miguel, and an AI coder, Juan Hernandez. Each protagonist experiences the shock of loss and the resulting despair which causes them to look deeper inside of themselves for the answers to what it means to live purposeful lives. What transpires are 2 journeys that propel each protagonist to question their motivations, taking on higher forms of consciousness that transcend dark and light. Both protagonists use different forms of psychedelics to expand and grow their awareness, setting them on a new path of awareness, self discovery and abundance.

Transcending Duality

Holacraft 1.0

Britain's sporting heritage is unrivalled. Most of the sports played at international level today - including football, cricket, rugby, hockey, tennis, bowls and snooker - were developed and codified in this country. But what of sport's architectural heritage? Played in Manchester is the first of a series of titles celebrating this significant, yet often overlooked aspect of our social and cultural history. Over the last two hundred years the Manchester area has, at one time or another, been a leading centre for archery, athletics, cycling, lacrosse and water polo. The city can claim Britain's first purpose built ice rink, the first greyhound stadium and the earliest known examples of Lads' Clubs, the forerunners of today's youth centres. Until the 1960s Manchester was also the centre of the turnstile manufacturing industry. Adopting a completely new approach to the study of sporting and urban history, Played in Manchester leads readers along a trail of fascinating locations; a Victorian real tennis club hidden in the backstreets of Salford, an Edwardian billiard room, the training ground where Manchester United's Bobby Chariton and David Beckham honed their skills, a former racecourse grandstand now used as a student union and, not least, the opulent Victoria Baths, winner of 2003's BBC Restoration series.

The Architectural Heritage of a City at Play

Played in Manchester

Holacraft 2.0: the shaman and the thief

Janet Smith

Played in Britain is a groundbreaking series celebrating Britain’s diverse sporting heritage, from medieval cockpits and bowling greens to 20th century billiard halls, ice rinks and stadiums.In Liquid Assets, the third book of this much talked-about series, journalist Janet Smith, author of a history of Tooting Bec Lido and herself a keen swimmer, traces the development of Britain’s surprisingly rich stock of lidos, starting with their muddy beginnings in London’s parks, through their fashionable heyday in the Thirties, to their battle for survival today.Lavishly illustrated with both archive and contemporary photographs, Liquid Assets highlights some of the nation’s outstanding architectural examples. But if lidos were once to be found in virtually every town and city, since 1945 many have been closed, often despite the efforts of thousands of vociferous campaigners. Liquid Assets charts the best of these lost lidos, including one in Purley where the towering concrete and steel diving board now forms the curious centrepiece of a garden centre.The book also provides a unique listing of all lidos still open in Britain, with detailed case studies of the most impressive, including the Art Deco glories of the triangular-shaped Jubilee Pool, Penzance, Saltdean Lido, near Brighton and Tinside Lido, Plymouth, all opened in 1935 and recently renovated to popular acclaim. With our summers seemingly getting ever hotter, are we about to enter a second golden era for Britain’s much loved lidos?Never before has there been a comprehensive account of this, one of most popular forms of recreational architecture. Played in Britain invites readers to dip in and discover anew the best of the nation’s Liquid Assets.

The Lidos and Open Air Swimming Pools of Britain

Liquid Assets

Ian Gordon

Swimming is Britain's most popular participation sport. Nearly one in four people swim at least once a month, with around 80 million visits to swimming pools recorded every year. Surprisingly, although public baths have formed a vital part of community life since an 1846 Act of Parliament, their story has never been told in book form until now. Great Lengths , the eighth book in the acclaimed Played in Britain series, traces the development of indoor public baths and pools, from the earliest subscription baths of the Georgian period and the first municipal baths in Liverpool in 1829, to the current generation of leisure pools with their flumes and potted palm trees. In both the public and private sectors the golden era of pool design fell between the 1880s and 1914, when over 600 baths were constructed, many rich in architectural detail and technological innovation. The magnificent Victoria Baths in Manchester completed in 1906 (2003 winner of BBC2 Restoration series) set new standards for opulence. Birmingham's Balsall Heath Baths (1907), London's Haggerston Baths (1904) and similar establishments in Hull, Nottingham and Glasgow equally reflected the civic pride of their creators, as greater awareness of hygiene and physical fitness brought safe swimming and recreation to the urban masses. A further burst of activity between the wars saw a new generation of concrete and glass Art Deco baths and in the 1960s these were joined by classic Modern designs. Great Lengths is no mere exercise in nostalgia. Scores of Victorian and Edwardian baths have been allowed to deteriorate. Dozens remain closed and the subject of long running campaigns for restoration. Yet many modern baths built in the late 20th century have also been found wanting. For this reason, this book will serve as an important reference for anyone involved in the current debate, whether as swimmers or providers.

The Historic Indoor Swimming Pools of Britain

Great Lengths

From its first century Roman amphitheatre to the 21st century Olympic Stadium at Stratford, London has always been a city of spectacles and sporting fever. Profusely illustrated with detailed maps and in-depth research, Played in London is the most ambitious offering yet from the acclaimedPlayed in Britain series. Capital sport guaranteed.

Simon Inglis

About

Books

Join the club