Roller-skate rink revives 1970s cool
HER father, Ian ‘Flipper’ Ross, opened a roller-skating rink in West Hollywood in the 1970s that attracted a bohemian mix, from drag queens and punks to Cher, Elton John and Jane Fonda.
Now, aristocratic model Liberty Ross, 44, is launching a rink of the same name in West London, Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace.
It’s a joint venture with her husband, the U.S. billionaire tycoon Jimmy Iovine, who’s 25 years her senior. He was joined by his business partner, the rapper Dr Dre, with whom he cofounded trendy headphones company Beats Electronics. ‘We will be the home to London’s roller-skating set,’ Liberty, the granddaughter of Lord Killearn, tells me. ‘I was born into the roller-skating culture.’
She divorced Hollywood director Rupert Sanders, 51, after he enjoyed a ‘momentary indiscretion’ with the now 32-year-old Twilight actress Kristen Stewart.
■ KING Charles’s charity has called in a former crisis and police hostage negotiator to teach students the art of haggling. The Prince’s Foundation, based at Dumfries House in Ayrshire, turned to Colin Harper, who has 16 years of experience in negotiating and advising in high-risk situations. Students on its arts and craft programmes take part in a series of workshops and seminars to prepare them to run their own businesses. ‘In business, not all conversations run smoothly,’ it explains. ‘Colin is an ex-hostage negotiator, who now focuses on teaching people how to manage difficult conversations and appreciate the emotions and thought processes between both parties in any negotiation.’