Virginia McFadden, Mary Cane, Peter Cuming and Robert Sutherland-Smith toast the ponds’ opening

CHAMPAGNE but not music greeted the opening of the mixed pond at Hampstead Heath on Saturday morning.
The pond is closed between September and May and swimmers had hoped to take their first dip of the year to the strains of traditional jazz played by Dartmouth Park clarinettist Wally Fawkes and his band.
But Heath bosses The Corporation of London scuppered the plan on Friday night when they warned the soothing sounds of Mr Fawkes – better known as the cartoonist Trog – would be illegal without a public entertainment licence.
A small but committed band of swimmers, wary of Corporation bureaucrats after their recent High Court battle to secure unsupervised swimming rights, made do with a glass of bubbly and a bracing swim in the 15 degrees celsius water.
Swimmer Peter Cuming said: “You need a licence and a lawyer to do anything these days.”
A Corporation of London spokesman said: “We weren’t told about this event until the day before.
“We can’t just have events like this without warning – we need to let our staff know and make preparations.
“There are procedures that have to be followed.”
The band will return for an officially sanctioned party on May 28.