IN gowns which skimmed the polished maple wood floor and to the rousing oompah of a brass band, Edwardian ladies and their smart-suited companions rolled in neverending circles around the room on their skates. Trying to maintain their dignity and dodging wobbly learners in former mills and empty halls cheerfully decorated with Union flags, bunting and Chinese lanterns, they indulged in what was billed “this most healthful and exhilarating” of sports. It was 1909 and Scots were gripped by a roller-skating frenzy that saw rinks spring up in towns and cities in their dozens, hastily constructed to meet the astonishing demand for four wheels that was sweeping the nation.