Get your skates on: A day at Wimbledon's very own ice rink
Plus: Your festive recommendations for the week
Hello Wimblers — good morning! I hope that everyone is getting ready for Christmas (I haven’t bought a single present yet). This is the penultimate edition this year and I’d like to take a second to thank everyone who has supported us this far. Please keep sharing our newsletter so we can hit that 4,000 subscriber mark.
This week, we’ve got your usual news snippets, a property of the week that is unlike any other home I’ve seen in SW19, a full list of recommendations for the festive week ahead and a feature segment about my day at Wimbledon Quarter’s ice rink (spoiler: I’m terrible at ice skating).
Please keep sending in your photos of the week. Pop over any ideas, feedback, comments or thoughts here. Also, please feel free to comment down below! We love reader engagement here at The Wimble.
I think that’s probably enough with the preliminaries for now. Happy reading!
News snippets 🗞
🎓 The Sunday Times has ranked KCS Wimbledon in the top three schools in the UK. It was also named Independent International Baccalaureate School of the Year by The Parent Power Guide in Sunday’s paper. In response to the great news, King’s head Dr Anne Cotton has said “It is the pursuit of passion, character and community spirit, running alongside scholarship we celebrate today." Read more about KCS’s triumphs on their website.
🎾 Wimbledon’s AELTC is going to court after opponents of the expansion plan claim that the site may be subject to statutory trust, which could see the plans for the new courts overturned. The AELTC has been advised by three KCs that a statutory trust does not apply to their site, but they have decided to go to court nonetheless in a bid to resolve the matter once and for all. Read more about the new developments here.
🚔 Two Romanian nationals have been charged over the stabbing of Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati outside of his Wimbledon home. Nandito Badea, 19, and George Stana, 23, were arrested last Thursday in Romania and are expected to be extradited to the UK for criminal proceedings to go ahead. Zeraati, who was stabbed in his leg, returned to work a week after the attack, declaring “the show must go on”. Read more here.
❤️ Dad reunites with the Wimbledon paramedics who saved his life at Christmas. Patrick Mann, who lives in Southfields, was playing with his three-year-old son Oliver when his heart stopped. His wife Tash performed CPR until the paramedics arrived and it took five shocks from the defibrillator before Patrick’s heart restarted. And this year Patrick got the chance to say thank you. "Thank you so much for saving my life – as trite as that sounds. How do you thank someone for that?" he said. Read more about the emotional day here.
Property of the week 🏡
This property intrigues me. It’s unique. It’s highly modern. It looks like the house from the six-part Scandinavian crime drama that your mum can’t stop streaming. The show is probably called Labyrinten (which translates to “the maze”) or something like that. The house has eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, CCTV, a cinema room, a huge garden and an attached garage. For £7.65 million, it’s a steal. Well, not really, but it’s still a decent price when you take a look at some of the other similar-sized properties in Wimbledon. Side note: I just searched up Labyrinten on Google and it turns out there is actually a Swedish crime drama from 2000 with the same name — Scandinavian TV, hire me! Check out more photos here.
The Wimble’s to do list 🎭
❄️ The Night Before Christmas: Woody and Milly get ready for bed, eagerly awaiting Santa’s arrival. This magical Christmas story is being performed at the Studio at New Wimbledon Theatre. The age range is 3-8 and tickets range from £17.60 to £19.25. Buy them here.
Where: Studio at New Wimbledon Theatre
When: Wednesday 11 December - Tuesday 24 December
🎶 Carols at the Windmill: Get yourself to the Wimbledon Windmill for this year’s carol singing. The event is free but donations are welcome. All proceeds will go to the upkeep of the Commons.
Where: Wimbledon Windmill, SW19 5NR
When: Saturday 14 December, 4:00 PM - onwards.
🏌️♂️ Swing & Skate with The Golf Groove: Here’s a bit of a deal if ever I’ve seen one. If you book your ice skating tickets as well as a simulator bay at The Golf Groove, you’ll enjoy a 25% discount on both activities. Not a bad bargain if you ask me. You’ll have to book via this page here if you want the discount — go on, what are you waiting for?
Where: Wimbledon Quarter
When: Until Sunday 5 January
🎅🏻 Meet Santa at Cannizaro House: Santa touches down in Wimbledon a little early this year. Head on over to Cannizaro House with your little ones to enjoy an afternoon of festivities, treats, crafts and a chance to meet St. Nicholas himself. Each ticket is £12.50 and you can book them here.
Where: Cannizaro House
When: Sunday 15 December, 1:00PM - 3:00 PM
🎋 “Jack and the Beanstalk”: It’s panto season, and we’ve got a great one in Wimbledon this year. Prepare for a wild ride as Alexandra Burke takes on the evil role of Mrs. Blunderbore in “Jack and the Beanstalk” at New Wimbledon Theatre. Expect plenty of people shouting “she’s behind you!”, laughs and boos for the villain. Ticket prices range, so check those out here.
Where: New Wimbledon Theatre
When: Saturday 7 December - Sunday 5 January
🎸 An Evening of Music and Conversation with the Swell Maps and Willie Christie: Wimbledon Library welcomes post-punk band the Swell Maps and famed British photographer Willie Christie this weekend for a night of music, reflection and a discussion of Willie’s new book, Then and Now. The event is also completely free. That’s right, FREE. You just need to book a spot here.
Where: Wimbledon Library
When: Saturday 14 December, 6:00 PM - 10:30 PM
Bambi on ice: My day at Wimbledon Quarter’s ice rink with Stephanie Day ⛸
For some, ice skating is a festive hobby, an activity done once a year in the freezing cold which may or may not result in a slip and an injury — which is usually soothed by a sickly sweet mulled wine. For others, ice skating is a career, a sport, a passion and a way of life. Stephanie Day started skating when she was five years old and by the time she was 12 she was skating for Australia internationally. But after years of competing at the highest level, Stephanie (Steph) hung up her skates and decided to take a break … until she moved to London. These days, Steph splits her time between Wimbledon Quarter’s ice rink and Queen’s ice rink. This week, I put on my own pair of skates and gave the ice a go — luckily for me, I had a professional to give me some pointers.
Let me make one thing clear: I am a terrible ice skater. I always have been. Before meeting Steph, I had last been on the ice some 15 years ago. Memory can be a kind thing, and I’d forgotten just how awful I was. I should have known, seeing as I’m also pretty lousy at rollerblading too, though Steph assures me that you can be good at one and not the other. She says she can’t really rollerblade either.
It’s a cold Monday afternoon in Wimbledon. I thank the heavens that the ice rink is actually inside The Quarter. I meet Steph at the ice rink’s reception and we take a seat nearby. I ask her how she got into skating.
“I was five when I started skating,” she begins. “I went to a public session in my home city of Adelaide, Australia. I fell in love with the ice straight away. And there was this coach there and she sort of just approached me and asked if I’d like lessons. She ended up training me for 18 years. In Australia, there aren’t too many coaches. In fact, there are not too many people doing the sport in general. Even now, there is only one ice rink in Adelaide.”
We speak a little bit about the intensity of the sport: the training sessions, the late nights, the early morning, the competitions. “Synchronised skating is not an Olympic sport, though it should be. That said, it’s taken very seriously. There were 16 of us in my team — plus the four reserves — and we travelled the world together. I was 12 when I did my first international competition,” she says.
I ask her what it was like seeing the world through a professional lens at such an early age. “I competed in Switzerland, Poland, Germany — I can’t even name all of the places. But at the time I was so young … I didn’t really see it as exciting. It was actually more annoying. It was sort of like ‘Ah, do I really have to go there?’.”
There’s a pause in the conversation before I ask Steph to explain how she found herself here in London, coaching in Wimbledon and living 10,000 miles from home. “I got burnt out from the sport when I was about 18 or 19,” she says. “By the end of it, I didn’t want to skate anymore. The sport and the lifestyle had begun to feel toxic. I was getting up to train at 4am. I was missing school. I basically lived in an ice rink. You know, you have to live this perfect lifestyle and as an 18-year-old, I just wanted to live a normal life. I wanted to go out with friends and do the things that a normal teenager does. So I pulled the plug on it and I quit …. I sort of lost myself after that because skating was all I knew.”
But you’re skating now, I add.
“I am. Years after I quit, I decided to move to London. I packed my skates and said to myself, ‘Right, I’m going to come here and I’m going to rediscover skating with fresh eyes.’ And then I started working at an ice rink in Westfield [Shepherd’s Bush] and it’s sort of gone from there.” We chat a little while longer, but I know my time on the ice is fast approaching. Steph takes me to the rink and gets me a pair of hockey skates. Hockey skates are the big clunky ones that most ice rinks provide. Steph, being a professional, wears figure skates — which look a little more like actual shoes as opposed to the bright orange blocks now squeezing my toes. “How much of a beginner are you?” asks Steph as I step in. I slip immediately and cling to the support railing. “Let’s pretend I’ve never been on the ice before,” I say.
I get the full “beginner treatment”. She starts by having me hold the railing and lift my feet as though I am marching on the spot. Even this proves difficult, but I try to pretend like I’m ready to move on to the next stage. “Alright,” she says, “now we’ll do the waddle. It’s sort of like a penguin’s waddle. Just try to shift your weight from side to side.” I like this part because I can actually do it. As I waddle along the barrier, a professional skater glides past and does a twirl in the air. I try not to blush with embarrassment.
Eventually, I am ready to “skate”. I spend the next half an hour learning how to “push off” with one leg and glide. It goes as smoothly as it can. I only crash into the barrier a handful of times which, in my book, is a roaring success. I tell Steph that she needn’t stay by my side. “If you want to actually skate, don’t let me hold you back.”
I watch as she glides, spins and jumps her way around the rink. Professionals make it look so easy. It’s as if people like Steph were born with it — though I know that it’s really all about devotion and incredibly hard work.
We come off the ice — miraculously, I am unscathed — and we sit down once more. I ask her what she plans on doing next with her talent. “I want to get into show skating,” she says. “Have you heard of Disney on Ice?” I nod. “They’re massive and they travel the world. I would love to do that. Right now, I’m not allowed to coach in the UK because of my visa but I’m trying to trust the process and believe that there will be a way for me to get to where I want to be.”
I thank Steph for her time and her patience with me. Yes, I may not be “gifted” when it comes to skating, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t buckets of fun. The Quarter’s ice rink is not only great because it’s indoors, it is great because of the people who work there — people like Steph — who make the whole thing feel fun, relaxed and accessible. Who needs an overcrowded and overpriced Winter Wonderland when we’ve got this on our doorsteps?
Book your tickets for The Quarter’s ice rink here before it closes on January 5.
Question of the week 🔍
Last week I asked you which famous presenter of Big Brother was born in Wimbledon. The answer: Davina McCall.
Q: What is the oldest building in Wimbledon? Bonus point if you know the year it was built.
You’re up to date 👋
Thank you to everyone who read this week’s newsletter. Please keep up the good work with your sharing, posting, subscribing and interacting. Do get in touch and comment below if you have anything to add. Catch you next week!
Lovely issue, festive fun, I appreciated the human touch of the interview with Steph at the ice rink. Wimbledon is so lucky to have a great ice rink like that, and what a lovely video of her 😊