Ice Capades - Skating In London!

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So I went skating at the Natural History Museum yesterday for the first time in about 20 years.

I had forgotten how much FUN it is!

Where else is good to skate?

I've got mine own skates now (hand me downs from my sisX0r) - where I can I try them out?!?!?!?

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:22 (seventeen years ago) link

Apparently the best skating rink in England is down the road from my house and I've never even been in.

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:25 (seventeen years ago) link

if I could overcome my skate ph34r I might want to give the Ally Pally one a go.

MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:28 (seventeen years ago) link

I think to be honest I would be equally worried about collisions with other skaters (speshly big heavy ones). I know. Me wuss.
-- MarkH (mark.heste...), December 13th, 2006 11:26 AM. (MarkH) (later)


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They're made by "Toxic Teddies" like those little "porny/chainsawy/smoking/rude" ones you see around.
-- M Grout (mark.grou...), December 13th, 2006 11:27 AM. (Mark Grout) (later)


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Ice Skating:
We did this last year, Dawn and Alice were like giraffes on, well, ice skates. I was OK with Amber, we had a couple tumbles but it was OK.

-- M Grout (mark.grou...), December 13th, 2006 11:28 AM. (Mark Grout) (later)

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:29 (seventeen years ago) link

Just to clarify: Toxic Teddies do not make Ice skates, new reader.

M Grout (Mark Grout), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:31 (seventeen years ago) link

Honestly, most people are too scared of colliding with *you* to go anywhere near you.

The rink last night was really crowded, but the only problem was this little kid who kept winging around deliberately cutting in front of people, slamming into his friends and stuff, trying to make them crash. After about his third or fourth time nearly colliding with me - slamming into a mate about three feet in front of me, I literally collared him and told him very firmly "Dude, you want to be more careful of other people!"

I don't understand why he wasn't kicked off the rink, but still.

It's not something you can really pick up in one go, though.

(Sorry, I meant to cut out the Toxic Teddies post)

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:32 (seventeen years ago) link

I could be up for some next week.

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:33 (seventeen years ago) link

We were strolling past the one in Windsor, a large outdoor one with a big marquee/cafe next to it.

Very busy, two wheelchair skaters and one five year old that was way too good!


There's a very small one in Reading Oracle, don't bother it's rub.

M Grout (Mark Grout), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:35 (seventeen years ago) link

Has anyone been to the Tower of London one? Dare and I went to look, but it appeared to be closed.

I don't think I could ever get my mum on the ice, but she might like all the Xmassy stuff around - Natural History Museum had a market around the rink with a brass band doing carols and everything.

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:35 (seventeen years ago) link

Back in the day, Dawn and I went to NY, avoiding doing too many cliche'd tourist things (like the horsecarriage in central park) that we didn't actually really want to do.

We would have done the ice skating by (ach, oh close to Trump Towers, forget for the second) but it was wayyyyyyyyy too busy at all times!

M Grout (Mark Grout), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:39 (seventeen years ago) link

I still can't visualise an ice rink at the NHM. Did they have to pension off some dinos to make room?

MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:40 (seventeen years ago) link

It's outside - on that corner where the modern stuff is. It would have been WAY cool if we could have skated in the big hall with the dinosaurs.

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 11:43 (seventeen years ago) link

The one at Somerset House is probably the best but its very very popular and usually solidly booked up - you might be able to make it in January though.

Essentially though, they're whacking an ice rink underneath anything in a picturesque London setting these days. The one at the bottom of Greenwich Park is lovely as well.

http://static.flickr.com/112/305867200_5952ba85d3.jpg?v=0

Matt DC (Matt DC), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 12:00 (seventeen years ago) link

Thing is, when you're skating, you're very rarely looking up at the picturesque buildings! You're looking down at the ice for obstacles (the ice at the NHM was in bad shape, holes and melted patches and odd speedbump ridges everywhere) or at the other skaters to see what the heck they are doing so they don't crash into you.

That ice in that photo looks a bit cut up. But hey, I learned to skate on a freaking pond.

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 12:02 (seventeen years ago) link

They have been having trouble this year because it is too warm. In theory I disapprove of outdoor ice rinks as almost as bad a patio heaters; however they are fun.

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 12:09 (seventeen years ago) link

I was trying to explain that to Dare, that it was global warming and all, and the Thames hadn't frozen over since the 17th Century.

The big one in Streatham is covered. But I'm always scared of the crowds of YOOFS hanging around outside it. Apparently they have an "adult skate" though.

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 12:12 (seventeen years ago) link

thing is it isn't just that it has got warmer on average. There was also the fact that they hadn't built the embankments then so the Thames was actually wider, ergo greater surface area and faster cooling.

MarkH (MarkH), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 12:13 (seventeen years ago) link

Streatham Ice Arena is much cheaper and you get longer on the ice:

http://www.streathamicearena.co.uk/admissio.htm

Looks like Tuesdays and Thursdays might be adult skate - at least that's when they do the adult lessons.

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 12:15 (seventeen years ago) link

In theory I disapprove of outdoor ice rinks as almost as bad a patio heaters

Except that ice rinks require the removal of heat/energy - couldn't that energy be captured and re-used somehow? (Something I've always wondered about fridges/freezers as well.)

ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 12:16 (seventeen years ago) link

I guess the 2nd law of thermodynamics is probably the stumbling block for my magical self-powering freezer.

ledge (ledge), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 12:29 (seventeen years ago) link

Except that ice rinks require the removal of heat/energy - couldn't that energy be captured and re-used somehow? (Something I've always wondered about fridges/freezers as well.)

It is never reused though. It's one of the things that makes supermarkets so apallingly ineffiecient. hundreds of fridges push cold air out one end and hot out the other, sucking in energy to do it.

Then the same palava with the Air conditioning to move that heat out.

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 13:51 (seventeen years ago) link

i went to the rink in queensway about 5 years ago, it was good enough. they have bowling lanes there too. i wanna go to the lea valley one.

emsk ( emsk ), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 14:00 (seventeen years ago) link

Dare went there (Queensway) last time and said it was bizarre!

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 14:03 (seventeen years ago) link

suddenly i am going skating at somerset house this eve hurrah!

emsk ( emsk ), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 16:42 (seventeen years ago) link

Jealous!

Except I am going to the ballet.

masonic boom (kate), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 16:43 (seventeen years ago) link

I am jealous and not going anywhere.

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 13 December 2006 16:54 (seventeen years ago) link

OK, are we going to do this thing next week?

Ed (dali), Thursday, 14 December 2006 11:22 (seventeen years ago) link

Yes, we should! That would be awesome. OK, we have to go somewhere that has somewhere to park my mum where she can be amused as she can not skate (and probably shouldn't with her back problems).

masonic boom (kate), Thursday, 14 December 2006 11:24 (seventeen years ago) link

On Sportsround just now (sports news for kids, like Newsround is for news) they've got some dudes playing cricket on ice at the Natural History Museum ice rink. It looks like really good fun, and actually looks like it could make cricket watchable.

I want to go skating in Glasgow! I think we might do that next week sometime.

ailsa_xx (ailsa_xx), Saturday, 16 December 2006 11:58 (seventeen years ago) link

Ice Skating was "healthy thing of the week" in the Guardian Magazine. Dammit. Which means rinks will be flooded with pashmina wearing yuppies for the next week. And the silly woman in the photo was wearing NOTHING ON HER LEGS and even with the airbrushing she looked so cold.

masonic boom (kate), Monday, 18 December 2006 12:05 (seventeen years ago) link

i looked on the somerset house booking thing and it's not as booked up as you think

ken c (ken c), Monday, 18 December 2006 12:31 (seventeen years ago) link

Went to the Streatham Ice Arena last night.

HUGE rink - proper hockey game size rink. And the ice in good condition, too, not melted and full of holes like the outdoor rinks.

Plus, £6 for a 3 hour session. (Though honestly, my feet were cramping so badly after an hour that I had to stop.)

It's open on Boxing Day! Anyone fancy skating on Boxing Day?

masonic boom (kate), Thursday, 21 December 2006 10:31 (seventeen years ago) link

Yes, I could combine this with my resolution to go for a decent length bike ride on boxing day.

Ed (dali), Thursday, 21 December 2006 10:35 (seventeen years ago) link

I think it is open 10 to 4 on Boxing Day. The trains are not running at all, so bike (or bus) would be the way to get there.

masonic boom (kate), Thursday, 21 December 2006 10:36 (seventeen years ago) link


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