I HAVE recently decided to start looking after myself, and thought that I would begin by going swimming a few times a week.

As a full-time worker, often working late into the evening, my availability is limited. I thought I would visit The Quays as it is central to my home and place of work.

This was nothing but bother.

You are expected to pay to park as the facility is in the middle of Southampton, which is understandable. What is not understandable is why none of the parking ticket machines accept payment by card.

It is 2018, no one carries cash anymore, you can walk in a shop and buy a bag of crisps using your mobile phone but you can't use forward-thinking technology to fund the council's greed and pay for your parking ticket.

Second to this was the alarming fact that a swimming session at The Quays will cost you more than £6. That is absolutely ridiculous and I am starting to see why the statistics of obese people in Southampton is so high.

After being alarmed by the whole venue, I decided to try Bitterne Leisure Centre. There's adequate free parking, which was a great start. What isn't so great is unless you are a pensioner, a child having swimming lessons, attending an aqua fit class, a lady or unemployed with lots of time on your hands, this pool is damned near impossible to get into.

It runs such a packed timetable, which is great for all those mentioned above, but if you are an average Joe like myself who just wants to swim away the stresses of the day then you have no hope.

On the very rare days you do manage to swim, you have to make do with bratty kids bombing in the pool and a Jeremy Kyle mother shouting at her seven kids in the changing rooms.

You may as well spend your time and money on chips and a beer, it's a lot easier and cheaper.

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