A Roller-skating jam named “flippin’ insane”
Spotted over the past five days:
- A young man roller-skating down a main street near our house, loaf of bread in one hand, shopping bag of groceries in the other.
- A young woman roller-skating down Bethnal Green High Street clutching a briefcase.
- A middle aged man inspecting the different ranges of compost available at our local Homebase – yes, on roller-skates.
Although I proudly passed my level 1 roller-skating certificate at age 9 (ripping round the rink to our local roller-skating classic ‘(Are You Ready) Do the Bus-stop’ by the Fatback Band without crashing even once), I cannot possibly conceive roller-skating down a busy London street with both hands full not expecting to die.
So what’s going on? Are we in the midst of some kind of roller-skating revival at the moment? Is this the new, trendy alternative to bicycles? Do people just like dicing with death? And more importantly, are any of you closet roller-skaters?
Tags: annoying people, mindless minutiae
July 8th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I was given a pair of roller skates for my ninth birthday, but when I discovered they don’t work very well on grass, I lost interest.
There used to be lots of very posey-poncey rollerbladers around Hove, but you don’t see that many any more, so they must all have been killed. Perhaps the revival has begun?
July 8th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
there’s an annoying sk8ter boi in stokey who goes to pub in them it’s obviously his thing but well honestly, you know me I’m mr sushine normally but any form of “Xtreme sport” has me reaching for my…..
July 8th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I got a pair for Christmas (aged 8 I think) took one trip around the block with both legs up in the air for most of it came home and canned them off..
Sunday morning I drove past a lady walking towards Petticoat Lane with a family sized suitcase balanced atop sher noggin. Not on roller skate mind, but a moment of randomness all the same..
And why did Bodyform use a roller skater as a motif – never quite got that one – possibly the last great ad’ song too
July 8th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
must be a London thing, no sign of it in Essex… although in our local Tescos a couple of years back they did have, rather randomly, an old guy (easy in his 70s) who was permanently on roller skates. he used to hang round the checkouts and when there was a price query, or slit bag or somat, ‘ol wheely was called over and he’d scoot off at double quick speed to get a replacement… that was a bit mad
P
July 8th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
8-9 years old is clearly the peak age for roller-skating (that or being a Stokey tosser or working for Tesco in Southend). Perhaps the skating people are just having some kind of delayed childhood – roller-skating in the street, space-hopping around the home, yes?
I’m sorry, Mondo, but your Bodyform ad is lost on me. That IS a ‘feminine hygiene product’ isn’t it? I thought that a surfboard would have been a more apt metaphor in any case.
Piley, are you sure that’s not some kind of sitcom rather than real life? Sounds completely and utterly bizarre.
And Piley and Mondo, while I think of it ,you could include the Fatback Band on the bus themed episode of your fab podcast…
July 9th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Ah yes! the lesser spotted UAS (Urban Attention Seeker)
It used to be unicycles.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:16 am
I’ve never actually used roller skates, a skateboard, or anything of the like before. I’ve always been scared of busting my behind.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Ill Man, I’d be truly impressed by anyone who could unicycle down our cracked and potholed pavements without dying. Not that that would be a problem obviously…
Keith, some would say that life has passed you by, that you should rush out and get yourself a pair of skates now. Not me though. You’re a sensible man indeed.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
There was a brief period in about 1979 when we’d queue round the block to get into the roller rink, and zip round to Sister Sledge and other disco greats of the time. Not been on them since. I wouldn’t mind but the people who use them as adults look plain daft. I love it when they fall over, but then I would.
July 9th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I hope your roller-skating disco greats included the mighty Xanadu F-C. Although that’s a teeny bit later isn’t it?
July 10th, 2009 at 8:20 am
i seem to have a natural aversion to anything with wheels. apart from busses. i can just about manage a bus.
were leg warmers evident at all ? and if so why ?
July 10th, 2009 at 10:08 am
No leg warmers thankfully Ally. Not yet anyway.
Although I used to have a lovely electric blue pair…