On his 60th birthday, Maurice Newman caught the train from his home in Kent to London and bought himself a pair of inline skates. He wanted “a new challenge – something that would not cost too much and be a good all-body workout”.
He was not fazed by the wheels beneath his boots – he had previously ice skated, and besides he has a high risk threshold – so he headed straight for Hyde Park. At 8pm, the park thickened with skaters, and Newman was swept along on an eight-mile street skate. “I only just survived it,” he says. “I was so tired when I walked back to Victoria station.” Ever since, he has regarded his skates as “a passport”.
