Hot stuff on ice at Somerset House
Somerset House ice rink is one of the most Christmassy places to visit in London, all trees, lights, mulled wine and that seasonal joy that is lots of tipsy people thinking they’re the next Torvill and Dean. For this festive season Somerset House are holding a series of club/skate nights, with a range of top djs on the ones and twos. On the night that I went along, there were four dudes from the Ministry of Sound in a little makeshift booth in the corner of the rink. A varied assortment of would-be skaters, ranging from a hen party, to loved-up couples, to tourists passing through, mostly looking slightly apprehensive whilst lacing up their hired skates. And two professional looking girls pulling pirouhettes across the middle of the ice.
I was down for the third session of the night, having nervously spectated the previous two. After my first cautious lap at a snail’s pace, just trying to find my skate legs (well it had been a while), I ‘Bambi-ed on ice’ over to the booth to ask the djs perspective on the club/skate combination. The speakers sounded like they’d been turned down a touch for the third and final session of the evening, which was a pity. I asked how the mix of skating and dancing to club tunes was working out … apparently most people focus on “staying upright 90% of the way round then give a little wiggle when they pass the booth”. Having watched for a while I can confirm that is exactly the case!
I can also confirm that ice skating is a great leveller, it only took a couple of laps for everyone to become the best of friends, and when the djs dropped a remix of ‘Hot Stuff’ the dancing/skating/smiling really got going. It was pretty hard not to get friendly with people actually, as they mostly adopted my own trademark style of whooshing round, seemingly all accomplished, but then not knowing how to stop the skates without it turning into a four-person pile up. Which helped to (ahem) break the ice … The ice-marshalls (i.e. the ones dressed in blue who do know how to skate, and also stop) were fantastic, any time there was the slightest mishap they popped up immediately with a helping hand and some reassuring words.
At the end of the night, this was a very entertaining experience, with some top tunes, but in the main, it wasn’t about the music. It was more about being in the moment, living life, making connections, oh and trying desperately hard to finish the hour with no broken bones. Highly recommended!
