There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere of Pohela Boishakh. Glad I could be there to capture and celebrate the Bengali New Year

I’d give zero if I could….they don’t man the phones so it’s impossible to get hold of them - when questioned they haven’t deem it an operational necessity until (conveniently) recently so are currently recruiting. It’s total bs. Possessions taken from beside pool, staff ‘lie’ saying disposed within 3 days, then narrative changes to ‘we don’t have’…make your mind up!

I wanted to leave a really positive review for one of the lifeguards at Mile End Park Leisure Centre (Be Well). I visited with my two daughters, and the lifeguard—who I believe said his name was Reehan (or Rayan)—was absolutely fantastic. He was very polite, approachable, and genuinely friendly with the kids, which made a big difference to their confidence and enjoyment. He went out of his way to make sure they had toys to play with and even created little games and challenges for them, which they loved. It wasn’t just about supervision—he really engaged with them and made the experience fun. On top of that, he was very supportive when they had to do their swimming test to access the deep end. He encouraged them and made them feel at ease throughout, which helped them pass confidently. It’s rare to see that level of care and effort—he truly went the extra mile. A real credit to the team!

I usual go another soft play spot but today took the girls here for a change as they’ve been here with their mum before. I paid for them to go soft play and told we have an hour which was fine soon as I got down to the soft play area the Muslim lady comes up to me and say “Ticket” I handed it over and she says “Your kids one! hour” I said yes I’ve been told. I usually go in with them in my usual spot I go to but I had my backpack and their food bag with me I was told I can just leave it on the sofas but it isn’t exactly a secluded area where as my other spot the soft play is in its own room with toilets. So I sat on sofa with our bags while my kids played and I watched over the space of an hour the same lady that told me I had “ONE ! Hour” was on her phone talking at least 4 times or a few times txting away. Only looked up to take tickets or once stopped two kids going in without any socks on which is fair enough but then 10 mins later let a man and his kid going in bare foot. Eventually took my youngest daughter to the toilet and no toilet roll for her so had to go into the next cubical and slowly pull it out because it wasn’t spinning around as it should. The girls enjoyed it for what it offered but honestly I don’t think I’ll be coming back here again. On my way out I did report my experience to “Jane” who was sat at desk the lovely lady who gave us a warm welcoming soon as we got here and said I could put my bag behind her at desk but then that gives them the responsibility for our possessions. I’d recommend building a room around the soft play area and training some staff to be more friendly and not just answer calls 4 times in space of an hour. And says there’s a cafe but it’s literally just a room with chairs and windows

This review is solely about Mile End Tennis Courts, part of the Leisure Centre. The tennis courts have been recently renovated and after several months of waiting, the result is worse than before. The surface is not suitable for tennis and certainly not for intermediate or advanced players to rally. The surface is for multi sport and not specifically for tennis, even though that’s the only tennis court of the centre. The balls are not bouncing on the court and after one bounce they just fall dead. It gets worse with the current U.K. weather where the surface soaks water and makes it almost impossible to play. The nets have been replaced by wheelie ones which can be moved about, but don’t work properly. The tension on the nets are not kept and keep sliding down, making the net lower than normal. The courts also seem to be always in an unkept manner, with a lot of leaves and sometimes garbage around. This was a massive waste of money from the Council in attempt to renovate the courts but making it worse than what it was before. I won’t be returning to play there.