I got a tip from a friend in England about a game there they use conker/ the horse-chestnut.I really don’t understand it yet, I don’t understand how it’s possible to break the conker or even hit them. I have to try next autumn! So I can figure out by myself…
But I like the idea of doing “prices” of the same material that are used in these games, to use the conker into necklaces for the winner. I add some of the text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, so you can read by yourself.
I also like the idea of doing games of what’s coming out of the nature. It’s creative I think…
Conker
Conker is the name used in Britain, Ireland and some former British colonies for the nuts of the Common Horse-chestnut tree, when used in a game traditionally played by children, Conkers. The name comes from the nineteenth-century dialectal word conker meaning snail-shell (related to French conque meaning a conch), as the game was originally played using snail shells. The name may also be influenced by the verb conquer, as the game was also called conquerors. Conkers are also known regionally as "obblyonkers", "cheggies" or "cheesers". In America they are simply known as chestnuts or as buckeyes.
Take a large, hard conker and drill a hole through it using a nail, gimlet, or small screwdriver. (This may be done by an adult on behalf of the contestant.) Thread a piece of string through it about 25 cm (10 inches) long. Often a shoelace is used. Tie a large knot at one or both ends of the string, so that the conker will not slide off when swung hard.
-Find an opponent. It is to your advantage if you can find an opponent with a conker smaller and softer than yours (beware of people who bake conkers to make them harder!).
-Take turns hitting each other's conker using your own. If you break your opponent's conker, you gain a point. To do this one player lets the conker dangle on the full length of the string while the other player hits. To hit, hold the string in one hand with the conker held above it in the other hand, then swipe at the opponent's conker, letting go of your own nut but keeping hold of the string.
-To beat your opponent you smash their conker so it falls off the shoelace/string. So for example, if two none-ers play, the surviving conker will become a one-er. But if a two-er plays a three-er, the surviving conker will become a six-er. In short, the winning conker assimilates the losing conker's victories, and is credited with one additional victory.
History of Conkers
The first recorded game of Conkers using horse chestnuts was on the Isle of Wight in 1848. Until then, children used snail shells or hazelnuts.
In 1965 the World Conker Championships were set up in Ashton (near Oundle) Northamptonshire, England, and still take place on the second Sunday of October every year. In 2004, an audience of 5,000 turned up to watch more than 500 competitors from all over the world slug it out.
1976 was the first time that a non-British contestant won the Men's World Conker Championship. The Mexican Jorge R. Ramirez took the place of a contestant that was unable to arrive on time at Ashton, and defeated the 1975 champion at the Finals. The Men's champion has been British in every other year except 1998 when German player Helmut Kern from Nauort won.
In 1993 ex-Python Michael Palin was disqualified from a Conker Championships in the United Kingdom for baking his conker and soaking it in vinegar.
In 1999, the British charity ActionAid applied for a patent on hardening conkers, in protest at the patenting of life forms by large companies.
2000 saw the first ladies champion from outside the UK. Selma Becker originally from Austria took the title. Again the queen of conkers has stayed in the UK except in 2001 when French lady Celine Parachou was the winner.
In 2000 a survey of British schools showed that many were not allowing children to play Conkers as head teachers were afraid of the legal consequences if children were injured while playing the game. In 2004 a headmaster was reported to be outfitting pupils with goggles to play the game. This in turn prompted DJs on BBC Radio 1 to start their own Radio 1 Conker Championships. Top Gear later did a show where they played a game of conkers using cranes instead of string, and mobile homes instead of conkers. After putting on safety goggles, presenter James May commented "I now feel perfectly happy about being hit in the face by a caravan."
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conker
http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/kids/conkers.shtml
http://www.worldconkerchampionships.com/
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