can anyone sadvise of a good shampoo which  will remove the chlorine but not strip the hair? I tried a swimming cap, but it wouldn't stay on....

This is what I do.

Wet hair with tap water
Put conditioner in.
Ponytail at nape with hair-safe band
Bend head down and pull pony up vertically across back of head
With the largest swim cap availible from a pool specialty store, put cap on from the back first, then as you pull the cap over, bend the ends into the cap, then pull your hand out.

I have waist-length hair, and this works fine. If you really don't like caps, conditioner is not bad for pools, the pool owner just needs to run the filter more and add a product called clarifier. (I work at a pool care hotline)

A lot of people don't do the upkeep and maintence they should on a pool.

Conditioner will just cloud the water a bit, just like sunscreen will. If the filter is adequate for the pool (a common problem in those blow-up pools), and the pool is shocked and chlorinated correctly, any extra cloudiness can be taken care of by clarifier. (it helps the particles clump better to be taken out by the filter, it's not too expensive, and a little does the job if the chlorine and filter are fine)

Don't let someone tell you it's your conditioner, when they haven't kept their pool up.