A familiar northern-hemisphere activity makes aberrant appearance in South African suburb
Over the last year and a bit I have blogged about the Irene Village Mall, the closest mall to my current home, several times. It has a lot more character than most malls in our city – with water fountains in a central square the main attraction for children.
Loving the water (November 2011)
Even in winter (ours being relatively mild) one would often find children daring to play in the water, albeit more gingerly than in the above photo.
Only a toe in the water (August 2011)
But on Saturday I was met by an anomalous sight where the fountains were meant to be – a skating rink on a warm Highveld winters’ day, where temperatures were hovering in the 20s (above 70°F). Wondering how they could have constructed an outdoor ice rink, I strolled over to take a closer look. Turns out it was made from thick plastic sheets – no ice involved.
I doubt whether the plastic guaranteed a softer landing for any of the children who fell, but it was at least warmer than ice. There were a few brave souls who ventured out to the middle of the tiny rink, but most just shuffled along the sides, with their doting parents enthusiastically capturing the moment on their cellphones. Ice skating isn’t exactly big in Africa. Just strapping on a pair of skates was already a proud moment for many of the youngsters …
Wide stance, wide arms. This is how we creep along.
Finally made it to the other side.
Beautiful skates waiting to be checked out
Doing it alone, but still close enough to the side to grab on if necessary.
One’s arms really do help to balance!
And the wall is there to help drag oneself up after a tumble.
Only confident enough to cross the width of the rink for now.
Skates and shoes
5 Comments on “A familiar northern-hemisphere activity makes aberrant appearance in South African suburb”
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They called me weed
I have been blogging here since around April 2011 - my little place on the blogosphere to express myself creatively. As a teenager I used to write a diary - in fact, as a 17-year-old living in Belgium, I wrote religiously every day. Fortunately the Internet didn't exist back then because my ramblings as a teenager were ever-so-slightly dark, cynical and depressing. You won't find much of that here. Also, mostly, I try not to get too deep or philosophical in this forum - I'd like my photography to uplift and inspire, and, where I can, I try to bring a bit of humour into my writing too. I've been fortunate enough to travel extensively and have made many friends across the globe. This is my spot to keep in touch with them.
Hey, no fair!
They get to go at least fake ice skaiting
what’s your real name?
Stop commenting from wierd names!
I’ve heard so many times about this lovely mall that I really feel like making some time to go and visit it one day
I am going ice skating on Friday with my daughter and my niece. We have a big (real) ice-rink here in Cape Town, at GrandWest. It is of course inside and is quite popular
Irene, my hometown, but my fond memories sadly do not include a Mall or fake ice rink. In those days there were Hack’s Store, a post office and the railway station which often won the prize for best in the country (or was it province?)!