ETIQUETTE ON ICE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 927, 21 March 1930, Page 15

ETIQUETTE ON ICE

GENTLEMEN ALWAYS GET UP < CORNERING ON EAR Mankind, unlike champagne, does not improve on ice. Test t 1 London ir-e rink, and the general impression I gathered was that too many

devotees of this now popular method of spending half-a-crown are ignorant of rink-deportment and the* finer points of skating etiquette, writes “Phipps” in a recent issue of the London “Daily Mail.” For skating has its etiquette as much as dancing or asparagus-eat-I ing. I am therefore going to make some i | comments for the benefit of those who ! suffer from lack of poise and ice i gaucherie generally. ; Tlie correct procedure for beginners is as follows: Don’t “linger shivering by the rink and fear to launch away • . .” but slide gently on to tlie ice and punt yourself along by making periodic connection with the balustrade round the edge. Should you find yourself clutching, in lieu of the balustrade, another beginner, a professional, or a passing waitress, don’t lose your head. Take a deep breath and count ten; and by then something will have happened (for better or for worse). You may find yourself back on the balustrade, embracing a pot of China tea, or you may have become entangled in an expert’s braces and be cornering at 35 on your left ear. The latter contingency, T am afraid, is not officially recognised by insur-

ance companies, so your dependents may not get anything. Those who have found tlieir ice-legs should be very, very careful, for now is the time when over-confidence may spell disaster. You will find that you are now part of a general stream, which at most rinks proceeds in an anti-clockwise direction. If you are male you should be dressed in either (a) plus-fours and sweater, or (b) grey flannel trousers and ditto; if female, in some sort of jumper suit, with . a skirt wide enough to permit the most improbable positions on the part of your legs. As regards soliciting the help of the professionals, skaters must be particularly cautious, for two reasons: First, you must make sure your man is a professional and not an R.A.F. officer. Tho uniforms are almost identical, and I fancy that wing-com-manders are a bit touchy when tendered some small change and asked for 20 minutes’ skating instruction. Secondly, you must be quite certain whether your professional is a tliree-and-sixpenny or a five shilling. (There

is a list of names and starting prices on view, so you have no excuse for not knowing.) You see, five-shilling men are most awfully sensitive about their status: if the shadow of a tliree-and-sixpenny falls on them they are supposed to lose caste. So that it’s really safer always to give five shillings, and hope for change. One final word: When a lady and a gentleman meet, the lady may remain sitting, but the gentleman should always try to get up.