Violet Hunter

I’ve been thinking about writing a derby blog for a long time. Ever since I had the good fortune to meet the Romsey Town Rollerbillies at the Pink Festival in Cambridge last summer, I’ve been clogging up my already overburdened livejournal with all shades of derby wank. ‘Should I take up a new sport when I already cycle on Sundays?’ ‘Will the derby sisterhood accept me even though I haven’t owned a pair of fishnets since I was eighteen?’ and ‘Is it appropriate to take a minor character from Sherlock Holmes as your derby name?’.

The answers to these questions are obviously and retrospectively ‘Rollerskate wheels don’t go out of true, give up the cycling’, ‘Fishnets pale in comparison to green leopard print’, and of course ‘Abso-fucking-lutely’. But, be this as it may, it’s becoming abundantly obvious that sticking all my derby wank under an LJ-cut is… well, not cutting it anymore. I need to get involved with the roller derby community, not the multiple community, and Holmes and Jeeves & Wooster fandoms on eljay. Absolutely wonderful supportive darlings they have been, but I need advice from skaters. And there’s nothing that convinces you to read your fellow (wo)man’s words than to write a few yourself. ^.~

So, welcome to my blog! I’m Violet Hunter. No idea what kind of person would actually want to read the gripes and moans which are no doubt going to be posted here, but still it will be a cathartic experience for me. I’m one of those idiots who, when faced with a keyboard, can think through typing and come out with all sorts of (semi) eloquent stuff. But get me irl, and all I usually say is irrelevant crap in the hopes of getting a cheap laugh. And most times I don’t get a laugh. I’m pretty bad at explaining my usually erratic trail of thought…

I have a few ideas though about what I would like to get out of this blog, at least in the beginning. I would quite like a place where I can post about my thoughts and fears about roller derby, and some of the not-so-glamourous tmi aspects of training (like pooing your pants after doing squats)! I know when I was first thinking about doing roller derby (I sound like an old hand, but really it was only about eight months ago) I was put off because I thought the girls would be too ‘hard’ (they skated at a squat), and then when I finally met them, I was intimidated because their stall was amazing, and they all seemed like incredibly well-dressed artisty types.

My point is, that if a complete book-nerd geek, with zero fashion-sense, an aversion to exercise, a mortal fear of parties and alcohol, and the co-ordination of a small elephant can do it*, so can you. Probably the only people who will read this will be my derby mates when I pester and annoy them enough about it, but if just maybe one other person who is struggling with confidence & derby comes across this blog, and realises that hell, everyone else is scared too - well. Job done.

* My co-ordination. Imagine the baby elephant from the Jungle Book, and then cross it with the leggy mess of baby Bambi. That sick chimeric mutant would be pretty much what I look like on skates.