Sunday, October 26, 2008

Ice Skating

This is the Spectrum in Guildford, the closest town of any size to where my daughter lives. When I picked her up early yesterday morning I was delighted when she announced :
"I want to go ice skating".
Having grown up in Canada, I felt a sense of serene confidence.
I'd "wow" my little girl with daddy's amazing skills. This was the one thing I was sure I could do better than most Brits.
Pride before the fall.
First off, complete with pink helmet, my kid teetered around and around clutching my hand giggling and whooping with delight.
She didn't fall once and confidently stated " By the end of coming here next Saturday, I'll be going backwards daddy and you can watch from over there."
She's a fearless little soul.
It was at this point, succumbing to the urge to show off to my eight year old that the problems began:
"Wanna see daddy skate?"
Excited clapping of hands and a huge smile.........
Now its time for excuses/sour grapes/middle aged man explaining the desertion of previously taken for granted skills........
The rink rented out big sturdy skates designed for longevity rather than nimbleness. No real problem except bizarrely, they were figure skates.
This means that they had those stupid little three tiered pics on the front of the blade.
For someone who grew up wearing hockey skates (which lack this ridiculous feature), this was a problem.
Leaning forward and "sitting for power" ( my dad's voice echoing down the years in my head) the little pic dug into the ice and stayed dug in.
I unfortunately carried on forward.
Face plant.
Red faced, brush down...off again.....face plant.
Delighted laughter from the cherub in the pink helmet.
Despite the bruised ego ( and knees and wrists) it was a great day.
I was supposed to see her today, but as a result of rather mean spirited planning, was unable to compete with the arrival of "the new horse".
Ah well the Saturday was memorable anyway.
I really hate to admit it but I'm stiff and sore.
I really need to get back in shape.
Love to all
T

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

LOL - it is always good to see a grown up doing it all wrong!

I HATE ice-skating. May have something to do with forced school trips, the cold, the ice and those arrogant yobs in hockey skates that used to spray us with ice while trying to impress the girls with their fancy stops/turns. Bet you were one of those in your misspent youth!

Anonymous said...

Ah...takes me back to 23 December 2007, Baron confident that hs adolescent Richmond rink skating skills were intact (a self-admitted fancy turn stopper, plus ca change...). Miss Mini-Baron stayed upright, Daddy Baron, wearing hockey skates, not figure ones as previously, had several falls best described as "gymnastic", or perhaps "ice-breaking".

I have action shots...

& *Horse*....Holy schmoly. Hardly the drawing in of the horns we expect in these times.

Pack pack pack pack chuck chuck chuck chuck: repeat as necessary.

TR-HW

Anonymous said...

btw, clock's out: Fall: back.

Terry said...

Everyone has emailed to tell me the clock on the blog is wrong. Its a major pain in the ass of cut and paste code to do....I'll change it when I get to HK then you can all see I'm living in tomorrow time (figuratively and literally).

Anonymous said...

Well Terry, I think you have an excuse. As someone who also grew up playing hockey in Canada and still skating on the neighbourhood outdoor rink with my son in the winter, I am quite proficient with hockey skates. Figure skates surely would be a different story, although I have never tried them.

They must play hockey on that rink. I see it is fully equiped with the proper goalie crease and red and blue lines. Cool!

By the way, Toronto beat Ottawa last night.

Cheers!

David

Terry said...

Toronto beat Ottawa last night? Well at least they didn't wait for Ottawa to have a season at the top of the standings (with TO at the bottom) then eliminate them in the first round of the play-offs.
That's the way it usually plays out.
I'm glad you've avoided the indignity of dealing with girl's skates.
Believe me its humbling.
Especially given the fact that girls seem to have no trouble with em.
T

Anonymous said...

Why not just change the label on the clock to UK time+1hr!

TR-HW

Anonymous said...

We are planning the Stanley Cup parade for the streets of Toronto already. Well, I'm not, but believe me that some of the crazy fans of Toronto are doing just that. You know how it is after over 40 years.

Take it easy buddy!

David

Terry said...

Hey Dave, the rink is set up for hockey and is home to the "Guildford Flames" whose uniforms are the same as the Calgary Flames.
70% of the team is made up of Canadians as is most of the professional ( yes you read that right, professional)league here.
There's even a team in Belfast.
The stands were pretty small with seating for no more than 150.

Anonymous said...

Re the last pic in the post, they may be doing it right, depends on what they're supposed to be doing... If it's the sado-masochistic on ice oral pairs, then possibly it's a winning performance...

TR-HW

Terry said...

God...who would have thought that an ice skating post would have brought so much comment.....

Anonymous said...

We're just all very bored at work?!

TR-HW

Anonymous said...

Clearly I am bored with my job and wished I was a professional hockey player.

David

Anonymous said...

Hey David, I bet it's never too late to join the Guilford Flames...

TR-HW

Anonymous said...

TR-HW-There's a thought. I still think I'm dreaming.

David

Anonymous said...

There's a corking confuddled quote from GW Bush:
"...where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."

And yessir, I am still bored at work.

But only in their dreams can men be truly free. 'Twas always thus, and always thus will be.

TR-HW

Anonymous said...

OK! I will keep dreaming about a lot of things.

David

Anonymous said...

What if you slept, and what if in your sleep you dreamed, and what if in your dream you went to heaven and there you picked a strange and beautiful flower, and what if when you awoke you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then?
(Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

Quite (mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, but that's another story).

TR-HW

Terry said...

Did someone put acid in the water supply in Cambridge?
If so is this the first indication ?
The day I've had would indicate that the city and my life is slightly off kilter.

Anonymous said...

Nope, a surfeit of Soave, then port; surprisingly no hangover.

All OK? Come round and tell the doctor later.

TR-HW

Anonymous said...

I don't really have anything to say/to add. I just want to make it 20 comments to an "ice skating post. As you said Terry, "who would have thought..." And that was 8 comments ago.

Hope you are having a better day.

Take care!

David