The Campaign for Real Conkers
Media Release. Contact Keith Flett 07803 167266
27th September
Storm Agnes brings peak conker collecting moment
The Campaign for Real Conkers, that opposes bans on conker playing and unnecessary rules and regulations in games has said that while Storm Agnes currently hitting many areas of the UK is not good news for many it also provides an excellent opportunity to collect conkers
The 2023 conker season opened as usual post August Bank Holiday Monday and will run until mid-October.
The high winds associated with Agnes will bring down large numbers of ripe conkers, ready to be collected, and used in conker games
The campaigners they are maintaining their usual ‘anything goes’ approach to conker games, to encourage people to play without arbitrary rules.
Campaign Organiser Keith Flett said, Storm Agnes is a windfall for conker players
Guide on how to play real conkers safely in 2023
1] Select your conker. Do this yourself. DO NOT use a conker provided by someone else who may give you a poor specimen.
2] There is no specific kind of conker that makes a good game winner. Large conkers may more easily splinter for example. Some prefer conkers with flat and sharp edges
3] You may use the conker ‘as is’ known as ‘organic’. Alternatively you may seek to harden it by baking it, soaking it in vinegar etc. There is no guarantee that an artificially enhanced conker will perform any better than an organic one.
4] Drill a small hole through the conker. A nail will often achieve this. Again you must do this yourself
5] Thread the conker through the hole you have drilled. A strong chord, perhaps a shoelace is best
6] You are now ready to play.
7] Make sure that the chord is long enough to allow you to stand at least 1 metre plus away from your opponent. This would generally be the case as space is required for the conker swing.
8] Players take alternate turns to try and hit and destroy their opponent’s conker
9] Those with poor aim may hit the knuckles of their opponent more often than the conker so you may wish to wear gloves.
10] The winner is the player who determines their opponents conker unusable in further rounds, usually by causing it to splinter into two or more pieces
Play safely and enjoy!
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