Shades of Grey

David informed us that Conkers are NOT banned at his school last week and could he have some…

There is a Chestnut tree in the car park at Karen’s work so she harvested a few. But, what is the best way to treat them? We tried the BBC method- soak briefly in vinegar, then bake in a very hot oven for a very short time.

So, after stringing them, we took them outside for a practise. I haven’t played conkers for forty years and David has never done it, but my vague recollection was that you thrashed your opponent’s one until it smashed, then tied an extra knot in the string. If you missed, however, it gave the opponent a chance to smash yours. When I thought about it a bit more, I remembered you could have three goes, the hit it till it smahes was the school bully version! (The official rules are online.)

So, how did we do? We were both rubbish! David eventually managed to knock mine off the string (via snagging) so I conceded victory to him. 

It turns out that at school though, the craze for Conkers is waning, no-one else brought one in yesterday and it has been indoor playtime today because of the rain.

Today’s craze is helium balloons…