Smashing Conkers

I was taking my son to a riding lesson at the weekend and to my great delight I saw a familiar part of my childhood on the grassy ground and under a horsechesnut tree - a polished, shiny brown conker gleaming from inside its prickly and spiky shell.   This year’s long, hot and dry summer has led to a cracking crop of bigger and shinier conkers.  I have memories as a child climbing up the trees at the local park and shaking the braches until the conkers came crashing to the ground.  I am sure many people remember the same experience?

For kids who adore this traditional game to play in the playground at school, its good news for them!  The game is played by two players, each with their own conker threaded onto a longish piece of string, they take turns hitting each other's conker until one breaks.  The hardest conkers usually win.  Hardening conkers is often done by keeping them for up to a year, by briefly baking them, soaking or boiling them in vinegar, or even painting them with clear nail polish.  It is incredible the lengths some people go to in order to win a simple conker game!!!  There is some uncertainty of the origins of the name. The name may come from the dialect word conker, meaning "hard nut" (perhaps related to French 'conque’ meaning a conch, as the game was originally played using snail shells and small bits of string.  The name may also be influenced by the verb conquer, as earlier games involving shells and hazelnuts has also been called 'conquerors'.

Due to the incredibly dry summer, the Horse Chesnut tree has clearly enjoyed these perfect weather conditions.  This time last year was wet and miserable and the conkers from memory were poor to say the least.  The conkers were shrivelled up and not as large as in previous years.  Many trees were also damaged last year with the leaves attacked by leaf eating larvae and bacteria and as a result the trees became damaged and the crop not as big, shiny or good looking.

The game grew in popularity in the 20th century, and spread beyond England.  The first recorded game of Conkers using Horse Chestnuts was on the Isle of Wight as far back as 1848.  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 each year. In 2004, an audience of 5,000 turned up to watch more than 500 competitors from all over the world.  This year’s world conker  championships will go ahead at the Shuckburgh Arms in Southwick, near Oundle, Peterborough in Britain.  Let's see what this year's championships bring?

 

 

 

Autumn Conker Picks great for Autumnal Decoration ideas this Autumn

 

 

There are some fabulous Autumnal decoration ideas on the market today, Garlands to enhance your Autumn displays, decorative leaves and fruit picks to add a touch of colour to your creations.

 



Fabric Autumn Leaves to enhance Autumn Displays

Autumn Leaf Garlands and Autumn Sprays

Autumnal Foliage is wonderful this time of year.  Its great to select some colourful tones such as oranges, reds and yellows and mix it with decorative foliage such as Lonicera with its beautiful terracotta leaf foliage.

Terracotta Lonicera Foliage Spray to add a 'touch of Autumn' to oyur home or garden this Autumn.