Terry Prone: Four wheels on each foot was a child’s rite of passage to freedom

Roller-skating led to rollerblading which is one of those exhilarating sports that gives the skater a sense of lone power 

British ice skating pair Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean: When ice-skating visited Dublin for Christmas, us comic-consumers expected to be Torvill and Dean or at least one of them, instantly. File picture: Amel Emric/ AP

I won’t be downloading Heated Rivalry, the new hit serial drama. Just in case you’ve missed the buzz, it’s about two gorgeous guys leading competing ice hockey teams while energetically having a bit of the other with each other. 

Nothing against any of that, but I have promised to watch  Downfall, which is about Hitler, and  Wolf Hall, which is about Henry the Eighth, and they’re going to take me some time.