AS has been widely reported in recent months, Rollerworld shut its doors for good in November, signalling the end of a 32 year love affair with Colchester.

To say the legendary, iconic, and historic skating rink, considered by many to be one of the best in Europe, will be sorely missed would be an understatement.

Following owners Jason and Anne Khan’s announcement of the venue’s impending closure last year, the community was left dumbfounded and in disbelief.

In their eyes, Rollerworld was an irremovable staple bedded into the fabric of Colchester’s legacy and landscape, never to be pried away.

Gazette:

Despite endless and desperate efforts to save and preserve the time capsule, which could provide almost any city residents with a nostalgia trip, the complex closed.

On the night of Rollerworld’s emotional farewell hundreds of skaters took to the Canadian hardwood flooring for one final time in a show of solidarity.

Many attended for the memories, after all, over the years, it had provided the backdrop to the likes of proposals, first dates, school trips and celebrity visits.

Gareth Oliver, 27, manager and resident DJ, had worked at Rollerworld for seven years, and even met his now fiancé at the legendary rink.

Speaking previously He said: “This is a place where I thought I would bring my children one day but that is not going to happen now, sadly.

“The customers here become your family - they have a genuine care for you and they want to know how you are. You don’t get that anywhere else.”

Others felt obliged to say goodbye properly out of respect to the sense of self, acceptance and inclusiveness Rollerworld had given them.

Frankie Moll, 26, for example, said: “I was really lucky because I do have a lot of special needs, quirks and differences.

“But everyone here, both staff and the people who come here, accepted me instantly and worked with me and now I don’t want to give up how accepted I have become.

“I don’t want to lose any of the friendships and the family I have made here.”

Rollerworld as a physical entity may be gone, if only for now, but the moments forged by so many over three decades are only ever a skate down memory lane away.