As we roll into autumn, the 45th World Conker Championship will soon be upon us. Contestants from all four corners of the globe will gather on the 10th October in the ancient market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire for the annual clash of the titans.
Like Morris dancing and Gurning, it’s a wonder that this most English pursuit has made it to the twenty first century. Could an Xbox ever possibly deliver the schoolboy adrenaline rush of being a newly crowned conker warrior king with an invincible vinegar-hardened cheesecutter?
OMG...I so remember playing this as a kid when we lived at the Canadian Forces bse in Lahr, West Germany. Collecting the chesnuts and preparing them for battle. It was like prehistoric Pokemon.
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3 comments:
I love roasted chestnuts. Especially at Christmastime. In Vancouver there was a street vendor who sold them in paper bags. I thought they were magical but my friends said they tasted like brussel sprouts.
Also the conkers, I have heard, discourage spiders if you put them in the corners of your house. I don't know if it actually works or is just some neo-pagan mumbo jumbo, but there you go.
And yes, it hurts like a bugger when one of them hits you in the head, either from falling from the branch or being whipped at you by an assailant.
Hey I was at Lahr in 75, born there actually. We lived on the base as well. I remember seeing the remains of these things in the school yard in Chilliwack in the late 70s...
Do they still do this? I thought by now there would be a plastic non-injuring version that came with safety glasses and matching helmet...
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