Canary Wharf


Anyone anywhere can skate and that’s part of the fun – everyone is welcome.


So here is a guide to some of the places to skate in London this sea- son.


Somerset House 13 November – 12 January


Celebrating 20 years of skating at Somerset House, this year the rink will be open 24/7.


Ice skating on the Serpentine


Tower of London 16 November – 6 January


Set beside the castle walls, the Tower of London rink is a scenic piece of history.


Natural History Museum 19 October – 12 January


Celebrating the arrival of the winter season, the rink at the Natural History Museum is always the first to open.


Hyde Park 21 November – 5 January


introduced to Streatham Ice Arena by her supervisor at the Ministry of Agriculture. A keen ballroom dancer, she visited the ice rink almost every week,” Beatrice Behlen, senior creator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London, tells us. “At first she hired her skates until her then- boyfriend presented her with a pair of skat- ing boots. She treasured her skates so much that when she once hurt herself during a fall, she was more concerned about staining her boots than the injury.” As a whole, ice skating encompasses the


contrasts of the season. In hockey, for ex- ample, there’s the clicking of sticks and puck combined with the whoosh of skid- ding skates as well as the gracefulness of the movements combined with the aggression of the game. Overall it’s romanticised, as it’s an easy reference when depicting winter scenes, but the actual skating is challenging and often clumsy. An illustration from 1926 by Henry Fournier for La Vie Parisienne highlights this well. Featuring a variety of poses, such as arrogant arms out wide, uncertain hands on the ice in an un- expected downward dog-style position, sliding on the stomach, and sitting with desperation with a hat on the floor, it’s something anyone, whatever city they’re in, can relate to.


www.focus-info.org By 1896, London had three electrically


refrigerated rinks: one on York Street near St James’ Park, one in Knightsbridge, and another on Argyll Street near Oxford Circus. Writing in his book Figure and Fancy Skating, Canadian George A. Meagher argues, “nature never intended that France and England should be skating countries. Tat ever-busy and intellectual being, man, has cheated nature by the in- vention of artificial ice, and has lengthened their skating seasons from a period of a few weeks to seven months or more”. It’s this that has come to define ice skating as we know it today. Each year, London opens up its popular


array of outdoor ice rinks. Tere’s the cosi- ness of the courtyard at Somerset House with its giant Fortnum & Mason tree and a Christmas shop and bar situated on either side. Tere’s the Natural History Museum with its fairy lights, scraggly trees and grandness; and there’s Hyde Park Winter Wonderland with its commercial festivities but happy familiarities. Due to it being such an accessible and everyday activity, style and glamour is less central to ice skat- ing than it was in the past and is now about the season, imagination and having a good time, no matter how clumsy one may be.


A rink with a real park feel: a band- stand in the centre and fairy lights strung overhead. It takes place as part of the annual Winter Wonderland event.


The unexpected Last year saw ice rinks appear on rooftops of John Lewis on Oxford Street and Tobacco Dock in east London. Always keep an eye out on social media and local websites be- cause there’s bound to be some kind of fun being introduced in the season.


Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace holds an ice rink that’s opened all year round, ideal for those wanting to learn the activity or perfect their gracefulness. The rink also offers courses and one-to- one sessions.


Francesca Rose is a freelance writer who has a fascination with early 20th century sportswear. Her musings can be found on Instagram @knotjournal.


FOCUS The Magazine 27


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