You Know You're a Figure Skating Fan When...

[Diana Delafield]

Could someone please help me out and tell me what @elektra blue's local language is?

I don't know, but her flag is Italian. Sardinian, maybe? I'd be interested to know myself!

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Could someone please help me out and tell me what @elektra blue's local language is?

I don't know, but her flag is Italian. Sardinian, maybe? I'd be interested to know myself!

Funnily enough, Sardinian was one of the languages I was specifically looking for, and was disappointed to find it wasn't there.

She didn't use to say publically, but over the past year or so, elektra has started mentioning during chats in the competition threads that she is from Sicily.

Hence why I included a Sicilian flag in the last batch of flags that I bought!

(...as well as Corsican, Sardinian, and Maltese flags. I'm all flagged up and ready now if any skaters emerge from any of the islands in that part of the Mediterranean! )

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Diana Delafield]

Funnily enough, Sardinian was one of the languages I was specifically looking for, and was disappointed to find it wasn't there.

She didn't use to say publically, but over the past year or so, elektra has started mentioning during chats in the competition threads that she is from Sicily.

Hence why I included a Sicilian flag in the last batch of flags that I bought!

(...as well as Corsican, Sardinian, and Maltese flags. I'm all flagged up and ready now if any skaters emerge from any of the islands in that part of the Mediterranean! )

CaroLiza_fan

OK, you mentioned Corsican came up, and I tend to think of Sardinian and Corsican together, but Sicilian would also fit the region. Do you have a San Marino flag? Karen and Rod Garossino, the former Canadian ice dancers, had immigrant grandparents from there. Rod would get quite annoyed if people assumed his ancestry was Italian .

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OK, you mentioned Corsican came up, and I tend to think of Sardinian and Corsican together, but Sicilian would also fit the region. Do you have a San Marino flag? Karen and Rod Garossino, the former Canadian ice dancers, had immigrant grandparents from there. Rod would get quite annoyed if people assumed his ancestry was Italian .

Now that is very interesting to know! I would have assumed the same.

I just looked them up, and was shocked to find out that the singer known as Grimes is their niece!

Just for the benefit of those that are unfamiliar with San Marino, it is a very small country in the mountains about a third of the way down the Italian Peninsula. Unlike the other places I mentioned which are islands, San Marino is completely landlocked.

I haven't bought a flag for San Marino (maybe in the future) but, with being a motorsports fan, I am very familiar with the country. The part of the peninsula in which it is located is a motorsports heartland. Three of the top 4 circuits in Italy are located near San Marino (Imola, Misano, and Mugello), and all three of them have at some stage or another hosted a Formula 1 and / or MotoGP race under the "San Marino Grand Prix" name (although, when the pandemic came along, the San Marino tourist board cut it's funding, so the races are now held under the "Emilia-Romagna" Grand Prix name). And if I had a penny for every time the commentators reminded us that we were actually in Italy because San Marino is far too small to fit in a circuit...

But I understand how the confusion can get frustrating for people from San Marino.

A few years ago (well, more like 15 to 20 years ago), there were three motorbike riders from San Marino competing at World Championship level: Manuel Poggiali; and brothers Alex and William de Angelis. Poggi was a regular race winner in the smaller bike classes, and even won two World Championships. Alex, meanwhile, was a regular podium finisher in the smaller bike classes, and a regular Top 10 finisher in MotoGP. William didn't quite achieve the success of his slightly younger compatriots, but he did have a respectable number of points finishes. And all three of them were so proud to put their wee country on the map.

Thank you for letting us know this about the Garossinos. I am always fascinated to find out about people's ancestry.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Diana Delafield]

Now that is very interesting to know! I would have assumed the same.

I just looked them up, and was shocked to find out that the singer known as Grimes is their niece!

Just for the benefit of those that are unfamiliar with San Marino, it is a very small country in the mountains about a third of the way down the Italian Peninsula. Unlike the other places I mentioned which are islands, San Marino is completely landlocked.

I haven't bought a flag for San Marino (maybe in the future) but, with being a motorsports fan, I am very familiar with the country. The part of the peninsula in which it is located is a motorsports heartland. Three of the top 4 circuits in Italy are located near San Marino (Imola, Misano, and Mugello), and all three of them have at some stage or another hosted a Formula 1 and / or MotoGP race under the "San Marino Grand Prix" name (although, when the pandemic came along, the San Marino tourist board cut it's funding, so the races are now held under the "Emilia-Romagna" Grand Prix name). And if I had a penny for every time the commentators reminded us that we were actually in Italy because San Marino is far too small to fit in a circuit...

But I understand how the confusion can get frustrating for people from San Marino.

A few years ago (well, more like 15 to 20 years ago), there were three motorbike riders from San Marino competing at World Championship level: Manuel Poggiali; and brothers Alex and William de Angelis. Poggi was a regular race winner in the smaller bike classes, and even won two World Championships. Alex, meanwhile, was a regular podium finisher in the smaller bike classes, and a regular Top 10 finisher in MotoGP. William didn't quite achieve the success of his slightly younger compatriots, but he did have a respectable number of points finishes. And all three of them were so proud to put their wee country on the map.

Thank you for letting us know this about the Garossinos. I am always fascinated to find out about people's ancestry.

CaroLiza_fan

And I didn't know that about the motorsports in San Marino, so thank you in return

 

[Diana Delafield]

My flag collection in the off season…
View attachment 8163

Um, have your neighbours ever hinted to the police that you might have a few bodies buried in your garden? (A colourful display, though! Enhances the flowers.)

 

[labgoat]

Um, have your neighbours ever hinted to the police that you might have a few bodies buried in your garden? (A colourful display, though! Enhances the flowers.)

The statues were gifts from coworkers when each parent died. Both parents loved gardening and are fixtures in my quiet memory garden and happy place in the shade. There is also a mini beagle statue for my dog - hidden to the side of the lady in the daylillies. It hurts me that what you see are dead bodies in my pretty, peaceful place. It makes me sorry that I shared my peaceful place of refuge.

 

[Weathergal]

The statues were gifts from coworkers when each parent died. Both parents loved gardening and are fixtures in my quiet memory garden and happy place in the shade. There is also a mini beagle statue for my dog - hidden to the side of the lady in the daylillies. It hurts me that what you see are dead bodies in my pretty, peaceful place. It makes me sorry that I shared my peaceful place of refuge.

@labgoat I think your garden is beautiful. I also really like the colorfulness of the flags there.

 

[Diana Delafield]

The statues were gifts from coworkers when each parent died. Both parents loved gardening and are fixtures in my quiet memory garden and happy place in the shade. There is also a mini beagle statue for my dog - hidden to the side of the lady in the daylillies. It hurts me that what you see are dead bodies in my pretty, peaceful place. It makes me sorry that I shared my peaceful place of refuge.

Oh dear, I do apologize! What I meant was that the scene looked like a little private cemetery in your own yard with flags and statues and flowers, which would indeed be a peaceful place to sit and reflect. I obviously worded it badly .

 

[moonvine]

The statues were gifts from coworkers when each parent died. Both parents loved gardening and are fixtures in my quiet memory garden and happy place in the shade. There is also a mini beagle statue for my dog - hidden to the side of the lady in the daylillies. It hurts me that what you see are dead bodies in my pretty, peaceful place. It makes me sorry that I shared my peaceful place of refuge.

I can’t see it.

 

[labgoat]

I can’t see it.

That’s because I removed it.

 

[streams4dreams]

I just started reading Beartown by Fredik Backman, and came upon this sentence:

First to show up will be the figure skaters, in the most antisocial time-slots.

womp womp

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

...when you are watching an episode of "Pointless", and you do the proverbial double-take when one of the players says that he works for the ISU. But, it turns out that it isn't "our" ISU. His ISU is the Immigration Service Union, a trade union for immigration and customs officials.

Then later on in the same episode, Round 2 has the theme of "something and something else". And the guy playing alongside the ISU guy goes for question whose answer is Torvill and Dean! The clue was "In 1984, this pair shared the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Award (T and D)". They scored 51, which was enough for them to go through to the next round.

By sheer coincidence, earlier on in the day, I watched a 1989 episode of Granada TV comedy "Watching". A former classmate (Susan) of the main male character (Malcolm) had taken him to a concert of Revel music. And when they got home, Susan was telling Malcolm's Mum (Mrs. Stoneway) what they had been to, and she commented "Revel. Oh, very nice. It's not surprising they won with music like that, is it?" Susan is confused, and Mrs. Stoneway says "Torvill and Dean", to which Susan replies "Of course".

In a later scene, Mrs. Stoneway is sitting listening to "Boléro" on the record player. The record sleeve is sitting on the coffee table, and the picture on the cover is of Jayne and Chris doing their introductory section!

To see what I mean, here is a photo I have found of said record sleeve:

Now what about that for a whole pile of figure skating connections in one day?

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Diana Delafield]

...when you are watching an episode of "Pointless", and you do the proverbial double-take when one of the players says that he works for the ISU. But, it turns out that it isn't "our" ISU. His ISU is the Immigration Service Union, a trade union for immigration and customs officials.

Then later on in the same episode, Round 2 has the theme of "something and something else". And the guy playing alongside the ISU guy goes for question whose answer is Torvill and Dean! The clue was "In 1984, this pair shared the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Award (T and D)". They scored 51, which was enough for them to go through to the next round.

By sheer coincidence, earlier on in the day, I watched a 1989 episode of Granada TV comedy "Watching". A former classmate (Susan) of the main male character (Malcolm) had taken him to a concert of Revel music. And when they got home, Susan was telling Malcolm's Mum (Mrs. Stoneway) what they had been to, and she commented "Revel. Oh, very nice. It's not surprising they won with music like that, is it?" Susan is confused, and Mrs. Stoneway says "Torvill and Dean", to which Susan replies "Of course".

In a later scene, Mrs. Stoneway is sitting listening to "Boléro" on the record player. The record sleeve is sitting on the coffee table, and the picture on the cover is of Jayne and Chris doing their introductory section!

To see what I mean, here is a photo I have found of said record sleeve:

Now what about that for a whole pile of figure skating connections in one day?

CaroLiza_fan

Is that record available on CD?!

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Is that record available on CD?!

From what I can find searching, it doesn't look like it.

However, there are MP3 download and streaming options on the Amazon UK page for it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Torvill-Dean/dp/B004I8R0BW/

Unfortunately, these options are not on the Canadian version of the page.

While on there, I found out that there is a follow-up, called "The Music Of Torvill & Dean II":

But, it is also only available on vinyl.

There is another album, called "Torvill & Dean Face The Music", which is available on CD on Amazon Canada. And it includes most of the music on the two EP's, as well as other pieces they skated to:

Hope this helps

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Diana Delafield]

From what I can find searching, it doesn't look like it.

However, there are MP3 download and streaming options on the Amazon UK page for it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Music-Torvill-Dean/dp/B004I8R0BW/

Unfortunately, these options are not on the Canadian version of the page.

While on there, I found out that there is a follow-up, called "The Music Of Torvill & Dean II":

But, it is also only available on vinyl.

There is another album, called "Torvill & Dean Face The Music", which is available on CD on Amazon Canada. And it includes most of the music on the two EP's, as well as other pieces they skated to:

Hope this helps

CaroLiza_fan

I'm able to buy from Amazon UK as well (any country, really). Thanks!

 

[yuumagical]

...when you pass by a brand-new bb.q Chicken restaurant and you think, "Hey, that's the same place that sponsors the South Korean figure skaters!"

 

[FaustinaF]

...When you go shopping to buy some fresh summer dress and suddenly it comes to your mind the crazy idea to buy them like your favorite skaters's dresses look like, and when you incredibly find them, you think "oh man, this is just like Isabeau's white crow dress!! And this? I can't believe it, it is the same as Shcherbakova's one!!"
I do that, really, I am a bit crazy, I know

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

...when you are listening to Seán Coyle's programme on BBC Radio Foyle, and he gets a message from a listener in Canada. And he doesn't have a clue how to pronounce the place in Ontario where the guy is. So he spells it - M I S S I S S A U G A. And you think "I know how to pronounce that because it regularly hosts figure skating events!" But then you think, "Hang on, we know what the comentators are like when it comes to pronouncing things!"

Actually, there were a whole pile of things happening yesterday that made me think of figure skating.

Firstly, I watched the first half of the 1992 "Last Night Of The Proms", which was shown again a few nights ago. I have watched the Last Night every year for over 20 years, but this one was before my time, and I wanted to see how it compared to the more recent editions. And I was annoyed when they didn't show any of the second half. And I commented to my Mum about being annoyed that they didn't show it, because I wanted to see what Kiri Te Kanawa wore for the finale (the costumes worn in recent years have been rather flamboyant!). And she said jokingly "since when were you interested in seeing dresses?!" To which I replied "that's what comes with watching figure skating!"

(I should add, this morning I found a recording of the second half on YouTube. So, I might just watch it this afternoon! )

After that, I watched the first episode of a 1970's London Weekend Television period drama series that started being shown again a few days ago, "Love For Lydia". And I was delighted to find that much of the first episode revolved around skating. Basically, the main male character (played by Christopher Blake), a newspaper reporter called Edward, skived off work to go skating on the nearby frozen marsh, and fell and sprained his wrist. The title character (played by Mel Martin) had recently lost her Dad, so when Edward tells her elderly spinster Aunties what happened, they come up with the idea that he could try to cheer her up by taking her skating the next day. There is a funny moment when her uncle (played by Michael Aldridge) was preparing to go out shooting pigeons, and sees Edward with his skates and says dryly: "Oh, skating I believe with Lydia. Plum awful passtime, if you ask me. Still, takes all sorts!" And I thought "if only you knew!"

EDIT: Sorry, I meant to tell you the conversation when Aunt Juliana (played by Rachel Kempson) spotted the bandage on Edward's wrist.

Aunt Juliana: "What have you done to your hand?"
Edward: "I've sprained my wrist".
Aunt Juliana: "How?"
Edward: "Skating".
Aunt Juliana: "Don't you like that either?"
Edward: "Yes".
Aunt Juliana: "But no good. Is that it?"
Edward: "Very good, as a matter of fact. I just fell".​

And it just made me think: "You know, this must be what a lot of people think when they are watching a figure skating competition and see skaters falling a lot during their programmes. That they are no good. When in fact they are falling because they are trying to do things that are more difficult than the ones that are staying upright".​

Lydia had never skated before, so Edward was trying to teach her. It was so amusing. And it started me thinking "Taking a girl I like skating wouldn't work. She would end up having to teach me. And she would need the patience of a saint! So, maybe not a good idea for a first date!"

Then I watched an episode of "Pointless" while eating, and one of the players was a figure skater! (Her name is Veronica, but I don't think she's somebody that we would have come across). And it was so funny seeing Alexander Armstrong behind the pulpit trying to hold his foot up while asking her questions on what she could do!

It's amazing when you have a day like that!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[PaulE]

A little off topic but I love Mel Martin and remember her with Adam Dalgleish (Roy Marsden) in "Cover Her Face" as well as in "Game, Set, and Match" with Ian Holm.