London

Ice skating evening at Westfield London

November 27, 2015
ice skating

When Winter arrives, ice rinks start popping up here and there. I was invited to go and try the one over at Westfield London in Shepherd’s Bush (Shey Bu for short) and make a romantic evening out of it, so I dragged Solaris100 along and there we went. Blogger Douchebag Crew is in da house, boy!

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I have to say that I was a little apprehensive at first – this was only the second time I had ever been ice skating in my life because although some places will occasionally have ice rinks in Portugal, it’s not something I had ever really had a habit of doing back in the day. Skating has always been rollerskating for me, i.e. with some wheels under my feet. Also, the first time I had ever done ice skating was back in Nottingham and I have to say that I wasn’t too impressed, mainly because the rink was too full and with me not being very experienced, I was too afraid of falling over, of not being able to stop in time and had more experienced people constantly cutting in front of me in high speeds.

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Anyway, we got there and got our skates. Putting them on is always a bit of an adventure, because as an inexperienced skater, I’m never too sure if I’m doing things right – you can’t have them too loose, otherwise you risk not having enough stability but you also need to make sure you don’t make them so tight that blood will stop reaching your feet. But after a few trial and error situations, we went in! I was happy to see that it was mostly parents with their children and most people behaved in a civil way. I was dreading having a similar experience to last time but fortunately, there weren’t too many people which I think makes the experience a lot safer and more enjoyable. Also, if there are any accidents or you fall on your bum, there are always what they call “ice marshalls” to hand.

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We had a bit of a laugh, took each other’s photos and then had a bit of skating time together around the car on a pedestal in the centre and it was fun.




Due to some hosting issues I will have to look into, I couldn’t make these GIFs larger. What a shame, I think they’re pretty funny – spot the distressed look frame on both of them!

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“I’m always this stylish, I just didn’t think anyone was looking!”

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IMG_9502.jpg Growing up is overrated, anyway… And that’s why you do silly photos on the way out because wall of fairy lights. IMG_9510.jpg IMG_9522.jpg As we were getting a little bit peckish (read famished), we made our way to the restaurants outside. As this was supposed to be a nice romantic evening, somehow the usual food court wasn’t appropriate. We ended up picking The Bull, as they had some appetizing Sunday roasts, with different varieties of meat, which were a good change from the usual chicken or beef. IMG_9527.jpg We had duck and partridge roast, along with a generous serving of vegetables, potatoes and gravy, right after some delicious squid rings with parmesan crumbs. I tried to do some nice photos but at one point people were staring a bit too much… the hard life of a food critic! (I wish). The presentation was interesting – all of the items were laid out on a wooden board, which gave it an extra rustic charm, most appropriate when you are eating game. Although we are in London, sometimes some good old countryside charm doesn’t go amiss. What I liked the most visually were the purple carrots, as we don’t get to see them all that often and along with the rest of the greens, made the whole dish look interesting colourwise. IMG_9531.jpg IMG_9534.jpg After we polished off the food there was still room for sharing a small dessert. The chosen one was chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream.

In the end, we ended up having a glass of prosecco rose’ and it was a very nice way of completing the meal. I had been to The Bull before but only had a light meal and drinks at the time. I was well impressed with the quality and taste of the food, as well as the staff, being really nice and attentive. Certainly a great way to finish a Sunday evening and get ready for a new working week.

Thank you Westfield, for the invite!

Westfield Ice Rink
10 am – 9 pm
19 Nov – 3rd January

Check out Westfield’s page for details on this and other events.

(We were Westfield’s guests however, words and opinions are my own).

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4 Comments

  • Reply Melanie November 29, 2015 at 20:29

    What a fun outing!! I love the little animals you can push or ride on around the rink. Heh. And I didn’t realize skates don’t have laces anymore. Gulp.

    • Reply Mrs. D December 3, 2015 at 11:21

      They’re awesome! We had such a great time.
      The old school skates look really cool on photos but I’ve never tried them. Not sure if they’re better than these ones but they were alright – and didn’t hurt my princess feet 🙂

  • Reply indjagar December 9, 2015 at 00:37

    Gosh I could just visualize me breaking a few legs there.

    But the food looks great!

    • Reply Mrs. D December 13, 2015 at 14:39

      I was afraid of the same but it was great fun!
      the food was lovely, I’m aiming for better photos next time!

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