TUESDAY 22 JUNE, 2010

Twistin’ by the Pool
The restored 1930s Marshall Street swimming baths lead the pool pack

The gym is too sweaty and serious… Your local pool all urinating infants and floating plasters. And the great British seaside – well, let’s just settle on it not being all that great… So where do you go for a dip?

The mahoosive indoor pool at the new-ish £31m Hillingdon Leisure Centre isn’t a bad start for ‘real’ swimmers. But with its cute café and plenty of space to stretch out in the sun with a schlocky paperback, the restored 1930s outdoor pool is even better. (Albeit out in Uxbridge.)

Head a little further out still and the folks at Cowley Manor have their über-chic Pool.Side at C.Side. Sun loungers, waiter service, chilled music, cocktails, the whole shebang – you can even hire it for midweek private parties (did someone say pool partay?). And if the water gets too much, why not book a little blanket-time amidst their 55 acres for a private picnic hamper (from £45).

Back in the heart of Soho, meanwhile, the stunning Marshall Street swimming baths are at last due to open after an £11m restoration. Closed since ’97, the 1931 Grade II listed building is an elegant marvel to behold – all Sicilian and Swedish marble, bronze fountains and vaulted roofs – and is finally, finally ready to bring a touch of glamour and convenience to our escapist dips.

So if there’s no answer when you call us next month, we shouldn’t be too far away…

Info
Marshall Street Leisure Centre is set to open 3rd week of July
Sign up now to receive two months free membership
15 Marshall Street, WC1F 7EL

Pool.Side at C.Side
Cowley Manor, Cowley, GL53 9NL

Hillingdon Sports Leisure Complex
Gatting Way, Uxbridge, UB8 1ES

On|Off SHOP
UJ Subscriber Offer

For fashion folk, June is the Sahara of style – smack bang between the February and September Fashion Weeks, it offers little catwalk candy for the hungry eye. So if you’re feeling parched we have the answer: an On|Off Oasis of designer pieces. The independent fashion showcase has pulled in clothes from LFW favourites including PPQ, Todd Lynn, Christopher Raeburn and Bora Aksu – plus, quote UJ at the till and get an extra fiver off AND if you spend over £30 you'll get another £5 off. Enough for a well–earned frappuccino. Done and done.

The On|Off Pop–Up Store is open until the 28th June
at 10 Newburgh Street, W1F 7RL, Daily: 11am-7pm. www.onoff.tv

THC100 - VOTE NOW FOR TEAM UJ!

For the last few years, The Hospital Club and The Independent have teamed up for the THC100 – the search for the 100 most influential people across the creative industries.

The emphasis has always been on current contribution rather than celebrity status, reflecting both established and emerging talent in everything from film to marketing. And whaddya know? This year, UJ has made the grade in no less than two categories. So drum roll please...

In the Digital section (under Established) is our very own Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Taryn Ross. And in Publishing and Writing (under Emerging) is our Editor-at-Large, Addie Chinn.

The competition is stiff, but the final round of voting is done by the public and takes all of 2 minutes. So, if you like what we do and fancy throwing your say-so into the ring, click through to the THC100 site and select UJ’s Taryn Ross and Addie Chinn from their relevant drop-down lists.

We can't guarantee a blubbing speech or a cuss-word filled performance should we win. But we can promise to keep your inboxes cheery and your events diaries packed. We may even throw a party, with balloons and everything – surely that's worth a vote anyway?

Thanks for your support and for loving us …even with our shameless self-promotion.

– Team UJ xx

PS. Voting ends this Friday, June 25. So get clicking now! 

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SEE – New fine art portraits by some of today's best-known artists. In the Company of Alice. 10am-6pm, Victoria Miro Gallery, 16 Wharf Road, W1K 9LB. Free.

TASTE – The delights of Glastonbury Mud Pie and Umbrella Cookies in Fes-Tea-Val Delight. 2pm-6pm until 9th August. Met Bar, 19 Old Park Lane, W1K 1LB. £25 per person.

HEAR – Sting's other offspring, Joe Sumner and his band Fiction Plane indie-rock it out. 8pm, The Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, 2 Hoxton Square, N1 6NU. £10.

REBEL – Get involved in the swearing and obscenely rude art at Modern Toss's next show. Until 4th July, Mon-Fri: 11am-7pm, Sat&Sun: 12pm-4pm, Maverick Showrooms, 68-72 Redchurch Street, E2 7DP. Free.