So three of us went on a major minus temperature skate last night.
I was sitting at home thinking whether I should do Playstation or not so I phoned Milo who was just arriving at 5.45 on the nose, on time and inline with his precise calculations.

“I got to go its an emergency” he says, “I have the whole park to myself, they are not sure whether they are staying open but they are letting me skate for ten, got to go, got to go.”

I then call Snowstation and ask if they will stay open and they say they will. The fellow behind the counter goes onto the course and finds Milo, explains they are staying open and takes 6 pounds off him.
Milo phones me up and says “Listen, they are staying open but you got to let me go, I got the whole park to myself, can’t talk can’t talk.”

I said I would see him in a bit and made my way there.

Dave R comes along and puts on the best matching shoe, board and coat outfit I have seen for a while. We attempt to skate, the bones are rickety, and the toes are cold…the last thing you want to do is take a tumble.

Within minutes I hear a crash and Dave is rolling in agony. One of the first pops of the day and his wheel landed in a deep hole in the wood. I didn’t see this one but Milo said in order to avoid crashing his face into a corner of a block Dave managed to skip and scurry out of the way on his knees. A kind of hop and skip across wood and metal to dodge the oncoming obstacle but only on his kness. At minus temperatures…not fun.

We do get a skate in.

Then I think the cold begins to break Milo. We take it to the pub and Milo and Dave order some burgers and chips and steak. Milo can’t seem to get warm, he is constantly complaining about a draft and he is shivering. So we move to another table where there is a candle in a glass. Milo starts getting really into this candle, clasping his hands around it. While the couple at the next table are out having a smoke he steals their candle. They are left in darkness on their return. He then books a cab home, repeating the phrase “door to door” a couple of times “can’t face that platform”.

Broken by the cold.

Westborne Park to Hackney please. We join him as he promises to pay 70 percent of the fare. And I leave my hat in the pub.

By Jacob Brown