I wanted to get back into shape. I had been rather lazy and inactive and needed to do some exercise.

In addition, I had seen other people, young people and old people skating in the local park, so I was quite envious, envious of their freedom, their energy, I coveted their skates, they were really groovy.

I think deep down I just wanted to be cool and hip like them.

So, I nipped down to the shops. I browsed a few different sports shops, and as usual when you buy something for the first time, you need to educate yourself. 

I wanted to find out why some skates were so expensive, so much more expensive than others, what made good-quality, what I needed to look out for when buying roller skates.

I was on a bit of a tight budget, so in the end, I opted for an affordable pair of nice, black skates.

Of course, the salesman also convinced me to buy the protective gear; the helmet and that. 

That was in Autumn, then November came and it was windy and rainy. Then winter set in and it started snowing, and I just didn’t go out.

So the skates sat on the shelf and gathered dust.

I don’t feel bad about it. I am hopeful that one day I will get round to using them.

That’s my story of something I bought and never used – yet!