Visit to Bradford Ice Rink

I went ice skating today for the first time since I was about 16. I learnt to ice skate with school, at Bradford Silver Blades Ice Rink, and I hadn't been back until today. I expected the place - if it was still there - to be refurbished, updated and unrecognisable. It wasn't.

As soon as we started going up this staircase to the rink, I remembered queueing here in a crocodile of school kids when I was 10. The wall design is totally 70s. Not retro, but genuine article. To be honest the place was minging.

Here are Joel and Emma exchanging their hired boots back for their shoes at the end. Shabbiness had been covered over in the main part of the rink by horrid blue gloss paint over every wall.

But the ice skating was great. I couldn't do it any more - it's not like riding a bike, it is apparently a skill that you lose. But by the end I got so that I was skating round the rink slowly but surely. The kids were fine when holding my hand, but I wasn't confident enough to go for long stretches supporting them.

This was a quick snap I took of the rink on the way out. I got immediately told off for it, hee hee! This evening I feel like a right old git - I have back ache from trying to keep my balance on the ice.