Conkers !

mikey4444 | 06:53 Wed 08th Oct 2014 | ChatterBank

28 Answers

When I was a boy in the 50's and 60's, the streets were awash at this time of year, with boys on the hunt for the best conkers in the world. But none of the youth wing of my family have a clue what I am on about !

We seem to have a bumper crop this year, but do boys still play Conkers these days ?

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HansUrbancka

Some children do play 'conkers'. H & S has never stopped the pastime.

http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/september.pdf

Hans.

saintpeter48

conkers, marbles, hop scotch, scrumping apples, knock door and run, playing football on the green, playing cricket with a lampost for stumps, skipping, two balls, building dens in the woods .... ah the memories of just 'playing' outside, mum calling me to come in because its getting dark and me replying, '5 more minutes' and her reply was, 'the street will still be there tomorrow'!! Growing up in the 40s, 50s and 60s was the best!!

EcclesCake

I used to play conkers as a kid and now I collect them to put in the corners of rooms to keep the spiders at bay. I might have grown up but I still get excited when I find a really good conker and am tempted to soak it in vinegar and bake it in a low before stringing it :-)

mikey4444

Question Author

I can only speak from my own experience here but I suspect it would be the same for most adults in their late 50's or early 60's now. We were shoved outside to play by our Mums in all weathers, as long as there wasn't actually a blizzard or hurricane forecast ! And while it is true we didn't have any computers to play with, we did have Meccano, Airfix kits, etc to occupy us.

But our Mums quite rightly thought that we needed the fresh air, and thank God they did ! Its often said that kids these days are in the house far too much, and don't get enough exercise but this is down to the parents attitude, not just the availability of computer toys. I have a 14 year old nephew who comes out of his bedroom in the morning to go to school and promptly goes back upstairs again, as soon as he is home at 16:00. My sister-in-law actually texts him when his tea is ready ! My brother, who is far less indulgent, has been know to switch the WiFi router off at the mains, in the kitchen, in order to winkle the lad out of his bedroom. This has the desired effect as the aforesaid nephew beaks the world record for descending three flights of stairs in 30 seconds !

He has repetitive strain injury, although at his age, it may not all be down to playing with his Play Station !

mrs_overall

I collected some conkers last year and challenged my 14 year old son to a conker fight. He looked at me as if I was mad.
I ended up playing conkers with Mr O....and won, yay!

mikey4444

Question Author

Mrs O...you should have persevered with your lad...he doesn't know what he is missing !