Sunday was the best day of the week growing up thanks to the Aquadrome. As an 10 year old getting dropped off and running up those steps was like visiting another world. The smell of chlorine was intoxicating to us as we got nearer the pool.

Even the changing rooms were something exciting with the modern plastic cubicles and hanging baskets for your shoes and clothes to be stored in.

Even before leaving there was a final treat to be had in the form of cold pineapple juice, a packet of space raiders followed by a nice hot chocolate.

The weeks would then drag until we got back to the Aquadrome the following Sunday and did it all again.

Once changed and through the verruca pool we would spend hours in that large pool, jumping off the boards dozens of times until it was closing time. We would fire our elastic banded tags up to the ceiling or let them sink to the bottom of the deep end where a lung full of air made it difficult to get to the 14′ bottom.

Toward closing time we had gotten so cold that we used to go in the cold showers before jumping back in the pool to feel warm for a few seconds. Once out we would use the 2p hair dryers which looked like alien arms to try and get some warmth and feeling back into wet heads and cold fingers.