Golden days of Silver Blades

Michael Siddall is appealing for others who miss the Queens Road venue to share their memories, souvenirs and photographs.

Maybe as a youngster you wobbled on your skates for the first time, hanging on to the sides to keep your balance.

Later as a teenager you might have glided towards someone you fancied on the ice and nervously tried to chat them up during the DJ sessions.

Or did you try to show off during the speed skate and come a cropper?

Others will remember training there to skate competitively or play ice hockey or other sports.

Whatever your stories, Michael is keen to hear them.

Silver Blades was opened by Mecca in 1965 and became the Skate Central roller skating arena in 2005.

Michael said: “I skate at Ice Sheffield now, and have done so since its beginnings in 2003, but only because the old rink in Queens Road closed its doors for the final time just after Ice Sheffield opened.

“However, in all honesty, the new rink in Attercliffe is no match for the old rink. Yes it’s modern, nicely painted, better equipped, bigger and brighter, but Silver Blades had a life of its own - character, ambience, better ice, friendlier staff and a massive, almost religious-like following of faithful and devoted skaters. Why, I hear you ask yourselves? And the simple answer is, because it was a fun place to visit and be seen.

“Steve Scott, the manager of the old Silver Blades, asked me to write this book and I had no hesitation in saying yes because I’d spent most of my waking life there, and so had my son Ben and my daughter Olivia. But that’s not the reason I wrote the book. It’s because I had so many great friends there and have so many fond memories of those past days.”

Contact Michael by email at [email protected], writing Silver Blades in the subject line.