Blog: Stratford Express

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For the past few weeks round our way there has been a new FAD amongst The Young People. It isn't LOOKING AT PHONES or BEING GRUMPY or TAKING DRUGS but rather something rather delightful and wholesome: ROLLER SKATING!

Everywhere you go round The Olympic Park (which is where I live, have I mentioned that before?) you see TEENAGERS zooming around with various levels of skill on ROLLER SKATES. It first started happening a few months ago when the area around the new UCL East campus opened. The buildings themselves are all well and good, but the main thing is that they are in the middle of a vast expanse of EXTREMELY SMOOTH pedestrian surface, which is PERFECT for zooming around on roller skates. Every time you go for a walk in the park there are YOUTHS everywhere, all WHIZZING past in the general direction of UCL so they can mill around on wheels.

It is LOVELY, especially when you see a couple of kids who have CLEARLY just got new skates and are a) REALLY EXCITED and b) clinging onto each other for dear life to stop falling over. However, I do have to keep reminding myself that it IS lovely as it is VERY EASY to slip into Miserable Old Git mode and think "HARUMPH! They're going to bump into somebody, they should show more consideration" etc etc etc. I mean, sometimes it IS a bit scary when there's loads of them, especially when they do the Skating Backwards thing which SURELY is dangerouns and ... and as you can see, Grumpiness is a constant battle! THUS I try to look at it and think "This is something that could have happened 50 or more years ago and is filled with the same joy of JOINING IN and GOING OUTSIDE". Indeed, when I was growing up there was a pair of old roller skates in THE SHED that had belonged to my MUM when her school had had the exact same FAD.

Actually, previous East London FADS that I have been aware of have ALSO been pretty WHOLESOME. For the past couple of years you haven't been able to MOVE for smmall groups of teeangers doing synchronised Tik Tok dances, and before that we had the sudden wave of kids on HIRE BIKES whizzing around looking for ADVENTURE during COVID, so maybe The Kids really ARE All Right. Come on everybody, let's get some wheels of our own and go join them, I am sure they will be DELIGHTED!

posted 1/7/2024 by MJ Hibbett

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Comments:

see also: Lou Sadres' instagram boring addendum: possible typo (but might be deliberate and I've missed the joke) - "dangerouns"
posted 1/7/2024 by Tim

Addendum to the Addendum: I can't write Lou Sanders properly
posted 1/7/2024 by Tim

It's a pig isn't it? Pigs go oink.
posted 1/7/2024 by Tim

Oh, it's an owl
posted 1/7/2024 by Tim

What do you mean "have I got too much time on my hands"?
posted 1/7/2024 by Tim

They're the greatest, they're fantastic / Wherever there is danger they'll be there / They take verbs, they're amazing / They're the subject they're the object they're the best / Danger Nouns / Danger Nouns / DANGER NOUNS!
posted 2/7/2024 by dog

UCL? UEL? UAL? This is very confusing.
posted 2/7/2024 by so, if I leave this blank it just fills in my spambot answer as my name?

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