In the UK, the 2006 summer was late in coming and winter has also been delayed, but as the end of the year approaches, seasonal holiday activities are coming into their own. Ice skating is an increasingly popular activity and temporary ice skating rinks are now open throughout the UK.
Ticketmaster have a list of ice skating rinks where you can buy tickets in advance.
The picture is The Skating Minister, by Henry Raeburn; painted in the 1790s it now hangs in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The skater is Reverend Robert Walker, pictured on a frozen Duddingston Loch in Scotland. He was minister of the Canongate Kirk (Canongate Church) as well as being a member of the Edinburgh Skating Society, which is said to be the oldest skating club in Britain.
