• THE lifeguards at the ponds are the best I have seen at any swimming facility in my long life. There are three at all times watching us (one often roving in a boat).

In my 30 years swimming at the Ladies’ Pond there has been one death, and I doubt that was preventable, even with six lifeguards.

I am always happy to buy a season or annual pass if it means they are well paid for all their hard work as they also maintain the facility.

I’ve never been on the meadow; I go to swim and then go home, and that is becoming increasingly difficult due to numbers.

It is the films, TV programmes, books, countless newspaper articles and of course, social media that has made the ponds a place to say you’ve been with an Instagram, but a no-go area for swimmers in hot weather, and a stressful calculation of when to swim to avoid crowds in all other weather.

Perhaps now the crowds are such that another lifeguard is necessary. Of course everyone has a right to enjoy the ponds but, when everyone does, no one benefits. The Ladies’ Pond is beautiful and precious, but vulnerable. It’s a tiny body of flat, slowly moving water.

The layer of toxic chemicals from sun cream and hair products (very few people use caps) that float on the surface is as unpleasant for crawl and breast­stroke swimmers as pure chlorine. You can see and taste the products and chemicals.

The island Republic of Palau has set the ball rolling by banning all common sun creams because they are damaging coral reefs and sea life and Hawaii will follow in 2021.

The Corporation of London cannot control numbers, but they could start protecting their invaluable resource in this way and set a new standard.

JOYCE GLASSER
Savernake Road, NW3