A week or so ago, I talked about going to the Christmas events in Bournemouth: the Christmas Tree Wonderland and the market but also mentioned that I went ice skating. Well, this is that post.
A little background. First, inline skating was the thing to do when I was junior school age. Bikes took over in the second half of secondary school but from about seven to about thirteen, I spent a lot of time on eight wheels. We also had a permanent ice rink which was replaced with a bingo hall sometime in the mid-90s. You’ll find a lot of people around my age still mourning that. It wasn’t even as if we used it regularly. I definitely went once but I couldn’t say for certain that in the first ten years of my life I even went there twice. Nonetheless, it was evil to replace it with bingo! (But kind of entertaining, the one time I’ve been inside to see that they’ve kept the shape of the rink – you can see where there was once an outside lane and ramps down to a free-for-all in the middle). I’ve not done a lot of skating since – every couple of years, I used to take my Rangers or Guides to the seasonal rinks in Bournemouth but even that, we haven’t done since February 2019.
Bournemouth has two seasonal ice rinks these days. The one we used to go to is the one in a back room of the BIC conference centre but these days I prefer the open-air one in the Gardens. That’s partly because the open-air has gained a lot of appeal since March 2020 but also because it’s just more atmospheric. It’s outside! It’s surrounded by illuminated trees! It’s got an Alpine bar attached! Cool Coast, the indoor one, is better for rainy days and they’ve jazzed it up with banners and balls and coloured lights but ultimately, there are brick walls on three sides and scaffolding hanging from the ceiling and that’s just not as festive as the outdoor one.
So, you know I was in Bournemouth. I’d seen Christmas Tree Wonderland, I’d seen the market, I had a most unseasonal snack in Wetherspoons because I used to go to the one local to my office a couple of times a month for a lunch of a nice hot cheese panini and a pint of Coke and I haven’t done that for nearly three years, and then I went off to the Gardens again for my 8.30 skating booking.
I swapped my glittery trainers for a pair of ice skates. Top tip: size up. I went for my usual size 6, struggled to get the skates on and limped back ten minutes later with feet that were being so badly crushed I could hardly breathe to beg for a bigger pair and they made all the difference. But initially, I hobbled across the carpet out to the ice, held onto the side and stepped out.
As I’ve said, I can skate. Or at least, I used to be able to skate. My experience with taking my Guides skating is that I’ll hang onto the edge for ages and eventually muscle memory will kick in. I understand the theory – don’t try to heel-toe, you’re not walking. Try to push yourself forward – but when you’re scared of falling, it’s very hard to apply the theory. So I hung onto the edge and tried to slide as best I could while repeating over and over again “you can do this. You used to be able to do this!”. It doesn’t work very well. Maybe this is the year that the Fear blocks out my childhood ability. This is the moment I have to accept that I’m an adult, a proper middle-aged adult who can’t skate anymore.
Nah.
I was beginning to get a feel for it by the end of my first circuit. Not enough to let go of the side but enough that something in my legs was beginning to whisper that it thought it remembered this. I started a second circuit. If I could actually feel my feet, maybe I could do this. I let go and tentatively slid forward. Yes! It was awkward, it looked ridiculous and calling it ice skating was a stretch but I was moving under my own steam.
I thought I’d reset it by going to get new skates. In those five minutes, I’d forget what I’d just relearn, I’d have to figure it out all over again now my feet were slopping around inside the skates – well, they were compared to being clamped into place in the size 6s! But when I stepped out onto the ice in skates that actually fitted, with my memory of how to skate starting to return, some kind of alchemy happened. A rush of confidence and I skated off like an ice princess.
Oh, I’m not claiming to be Torville and Dean. I’m not going to be on Dancing on Ice any time soon. But I can skate in circles around a seasonal rink without clinging to the side, under my own steam and without falling over. I can’t stop, exactly, but I can slow myself down and I can hit the side in a controlled way, losing any remaining speed at the last second. I found a quiet corner and had a go at copying the people who were showing off by going backwards but I’ve never been able to do that, so there was no question of reawakening the muscle memory or the childhood ability. I just need to learn that and doing it by trying to copy someone doesn’t feel like the way to do it. But it doesn’t matter. I could go forwards and that’s the important bit.
In fact, I got out my camera and held it against my body while I did a circuit. The poor man at 0:26, I went behind him but I clearly startled him. He managed to stay upright. It’s all a bit messy but I was trying to stay upright and manhandle a camera at the same time. All you really have to notice is that I’m skating by myself and not holding onto the sides!
In a way, this post is less about ice skating and more about self-confidence. Trust in yourself. You know you can do the thing, so do the thing. I knew I could do the thing but I had to remember how to do it all over again. But it’s in there. Believe in yourself. Believe in your ability to find it again. And if you can do that, you can do something similar. I bought a pair of roller skates in the summer and have been too scared to put them on. As soon as I have some free time – so, in the New Year – I’m going to put them on because I now know I can remember how to skate. And if I can skate, maybe I can ski. And if I can ski, maybe I can snowboard. It’s all about having confidence in yourself.
I can ice skate.