View Full Version : Second childhood?
For years now, at around this time of the year, I go out to look for conkers. I don't play the game, just like the look of horse chestnuts; especially the colour when freshly fallen. I also look for one that is bigger than usual - don't keep a record on size, but these two could be candidates:
https://i.postimg.cc/1tXz9QvH/041.jpg
42.5mm
https://i.postimg.cc/kGhKnsNV/002.jpg
44.5mm
walpurgis
07-10-2021, 17:42
I like the look of the skins and pondered the idea of drying them flat and veneering cartridge bodies with them. Just thought it would look cool! :)
I like the look of the skins and pondered the idea of drying them flat and veneering cartridge bodies with them. Just thought it would look cool! :)
That would look cool, but only if you could maintain the lovely rich, deep sheen of a freshly fallen chestnut. Sell the idea to Koetsu - they could call the model the Koetsu 'Walpurgis'. ;)
Pigmy Pony
07-10-2021, 17:54
You big kid! :D But I am exactly the same - as a child I sought out the biggest ones. Then i used to take my daughters when they were growing up, then my grandson. Not for a couple of years now though, not since he discovered girls.
I'll have a go in the next few days, even though i'll be going on my own. But the place I remember having the biggest ones is now a private school, and they may not want me chucking sticks up at their trees.
Hard to be definitive about conker size, as varying shapes can be misleading. perhaps going by weight (digital kitchen scales that can weigh in grams) would be a better way.
If you don't want to look like a big kid when looking for horse chestnuts, if anyone challenges you tell them some practical uses: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/08/conkers-spiders-and-facts/
walpurgis
07-10-2021, 18:31
You can probably be arrested for collecting them these days, same as you can for walking off with a handful of sand or a stone from a beach
Pigmy Pony
07-10-2021, 18:50
You can probably be arrested for collecting them these days, same as you can for walking off with a handful of sand or a stone from a beach
I'd deny it of course, tell em I'm collecting mushrooms :)
Barry, I've just read that there is no Guinness record for the largest conker. That surprises me.
Shovel_Knight
07-10-2021, 18:51
I have always loved horse chestnuts.
As they say: 'Happiness is a nice pair of conkers!':eyebrows:
But yes, Barry, we also do the same! Del loves collecting them, among other things she forages, for making things from, during our walks to the local park. Collecting conkers is one of the best things about autumn, and why we love this season:)
However, the idea of anyone 'arresting' you for collecting them, other than within the crazy environs of London, is laughable! No way would that happen here, as a) no-one would be the slightest but interested, and b) most of the time the park is empty:D
Marco.
You can probably be arrested for collecting them these days, same as you can for walking off with a handful of sand or a stone from a beach
Only from the Royal Parks where the removal is discouraged. But horse chestnut trees are in danger of dying out (possibly by 2030), due to a fungal investation:
https://askinglot.com/why-are-the-horse-chestnut-trees-dying-in-uk
Pigmy Pony
07-10-2021, 19:30
As they say: 'Happiness is a nice pair of conkers!':eyebrows:
But yes, Barry, we also do the same! Del loves collecting them, among other things she forages, for making things from, during our walks to the local park. Collecting conkers is one of the best things about autumn, and why we love this season:)
However, the idea of anyone 'arresting' you for collecting them, other than within the crazy environs of London, is laughable! No way would that happen here, as a) no-one would be the slightest but interested, and b) most of the time the park is empty:D
Marco.
They were good ammunition in our Milbro catapults. That could probably get you arrested, depending on what you hit with them.
I'd deny it of course, tell em I'm collecting mushrooms :)
Barry, I've just read that there is no Guinness record for the largest conker. That surprises me.
Now that is a challenge! The largest of those I picked up a few days ago now weighs 30.4g (probably lost a litte due to partial desiccation).
Heck - I'm going to have to go out again to see if I can find a larger/heavier one!
They were good ammunition in our Milbro catapults. That could probably get you arrested, depending on what you hit with them.
Tee-hee... Happy days! Think I had a Black Widow:)
Personally though, I preferred ball-bearings;)
Marco.
The best conkers ever when I was a kid were from Norwich Cemetery. No idea if that’s a factor, but still, soaking in vinegar or roasting in the oven didn’t seem to improve their resilience.
I did hear on local radio today someone had injected theirs with superglue- genius idea, but not really in the spirit of the (knuckle bruising) game?
Pigmy Pony
08-10-2021, 06:43
The best conkers ever when I was a kid were from Norwich Cemetery. No idea if that’s a factor, but still, soaking in vinegar or roasting in the oven didn’t seem to improve their resilience.
I did hear on local radio today someone had injected theirs with superglue- genius idea, but not really in the spirit of the (knuckle bruising) game?
I assume you're talking about the conkers, because grieving relatives would not be best pleased ...
Pigmy Pony
08-10-2021, 06:47
Tee-hee... Happy days! Think I had a Black Widow:)
Personally though, I preferred ball-bearings;)
Marco.
So posh...
Where did you get the ball bearings? Serious question - I want a couple, about 8mm diameter, to try to improve the performance of a customer's weather vane. Your post just reminded me:)
Firebottle
08-10-2021, 06:58
There you go Steve:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185092997092?hash=item2b1866ffe4:g:n1kAAOSwnO9hXqU v
So posh...
Where did you get the ball bearings? Serious question - I want a couple, about 8mm diameter, to try to improve the performance of a customer's weather vane. Your post just reminded me:)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=8mm+ballbearings&_sacat=0
walpurgis
08-10-2021, 07:38
Balls! :)
I assume you're talking about the conkers, because grieving relatives would not be best pleased ...
:lol:
willbewill
08-10-2021, 11:49
Tee-hee... Happy days! Think I had a Black Widow:)
Personally though, I preferred ball-bearings;)
Marco.
Yep ball bearings were good, but the best was a 30" arrow:D
So posh...
Where did you get the ball bearings? Serious question - I want a couple, about 8mm diameter, to try to improve the performance of a customer's weather vane. Your post just reminded me:)
Lol.. My old man had them in his garage. I think he used them in wheels of some sort. Used to kill rabbits with them up on the local farm Pretty deadly if you were close-ish and landed a head shot:)
Great for smashing windows, too...:eyebrows:
Marco.
Pigmy Pony
08-10-2021, 16:47
Balls! :)
My thoughts exactly - I immediately bought a ten pack of the ones Firebottle linked to, before seeing the ones Grant posted, where you get 100 for similar money :( I suppose it's some consolation that my balls will be stainless.
I initially asked Marco because I knew he'd have some - I'm always hearing folk say to him "You've got some balls" :D Anyway, they're rolling their way to me, so the weather vane is in for a treat, a cockerel will always perform better with some balls under it.
Pigmy Pony
08-10-2021, 16:51
Yep ball bearings were good, but the best was a 30" arrow:D
Brilliant with arrows! We certainly had some lethal stuff as kids, much more fun than today's snowflakes with their PS3 virtual death machines :)
Pigmy Pony
08-10-2021, 16:57
Lol.. My old man had them in his garage. I think he used them in wheels of some sort. Used to kill rabbits with them up on the local farm Pretty deadly if you were close-ish and landed a head shot:)
Great for smashing windows, too...:eyebrows:
Marco.
If ever we found ourselves 'between catapults' due to confiscation, an alternative was a hand catapult using thumb and forefinger, and a thick elastic band, firing netting staples. You'd never kill a rabbit with one, but they bloody hurt. I got one in the back of my head from about five feet. That was unforgettable.
willbewill
08-10-2021, 18:55
If ever we found ourselves 'between catapults' due to confiscation, an alternative was a hand catapult using thumb and forefinger, and a thick elastic band, firing netting staples. You'd never kill a rabbit with one, but they bloody hurt. I got one in the back of my head from about five feet. That was unforgettable.
Reminds me of a craze we had in school in the 60s of tying a needle to a matchstick plus a feather on the other end and throwing them at each other, man they hurt.
Sounds quaintly kinky, especially naked!:eyebrows:
Marco.
If ever we found ourselves 'between catapults' due to confiscation, an alternative was a hand catapult using thumb and forefinger, and a thick elastic band, firing netting staples. You'd never kill a rabbit with one, but they bloody hurt. I got one in the back of my head from about five feet. That was unforgettable.
Lol... You sound as if you were as much of a nightmare as me when I was a kid, and often up to no good!:eyebrows:
Did you ever use spud guns? They were a giggle, especially when illegally 'uprated';)
Marco.
All while at primary school:
Catapaults, bows and arrows, five ply boomerangs (my mate needed stitches above his eye after we had been playing catch with one :eek:), crow scares, air rifles, my favourite memory is "Dan Dare" rockets.
They were small enough to fit in a piece of TV arial. I used to put two pegs on the arial and aim it at a neighbours pigeon coops, my elder brother would insert the rocket in the rear of the tube and light the fuse - Brilliant fun, I used to imagine that it was a bazooka :)
Edit; mustn't forget sheath knifes - although we wouldn't have dreamt of stabbing any one, all the fun was whittling/sharpening points of dowel for home made arrows.
i was an angel of a child;) prove otherwise:ner:
walpurgis
09-10-2021, 09:03
I won't say what I and my mates used to get up to. They're still looking for the perpetrators of various 'incidents'. :eek:
i was an angel of a child;) prove otherwise:ner:
Lol... Del *certainly* was, but boy, she's making up for it now!!:doh::D
A right wee scamp. I blame the influence of her younger pals!
Marco.
I won't say what I and my mates used to get up to. They're still looking for the perpetrators of various 'incidents'. :eek:
Were any of the bodies ever found?;)
Marco.
I won't say what I and my mates used to get up to. They're still looking for the perpetrators of various 'incidents'. :eek:
A friend of mine destroyed a local landmark with home-made explosives, the blast was heard over a mile away. He still has a cutting from the regional newspaper that expresses outrage at the incident and demands that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
Needless to say he's now a wealthy man and a pillar of the establishment.
walpurgis
09-10-2021, 09:27
Were any of the bodies ever found?;)
Marco.
Only the odd bone or two. :lol:
Pigmy Pony
09-10-2021, 13:05
Only the odd bone or two. :lol:
See, I still remember that picture you posted a couple of years ago, the one that looks like it should have a row of numbers under it. Only kidding! Btw, did you ever get to be an extra in Z Cars? :)
Pigmy Pony
09-10-2021, 13:15
Lol... You sound as if you were as much of a nightmare as me when I was a kid, and often up to no good!:eyebrows:
Did you ever use spud guns? They were a giggle, especially when illegally 'uprated';)
Marco.
No, I was a good boy me. Whenever i wasn't setting fire to stuff. As for spud guns, no that must have passed me by.
These days spud guns are an entirely different thing. Anita's son and his mate made one, (spud cannon would be a better word for it). Using a length of plastic drainpipe firmly sealed at one end, and with a piezo electric cooker lighter attached. Spray an aerosol spray (any will do) into the pipe, drop a whole spud into the pipe and ignite.
Banged like a shotgun and propelled the spud about quarter of a mile (four football pitches) I kid you not :eek: I suppose it would also work well with tins of beans or soup if the calibre was right. Potential there to make a right mess.
I like the sound of that spud cannon! That sounds a lot of fun! I remember me and my mate having a bonfire in his dad’s metal incinerator, we put an almost empty aerosol in it and put the lid on. When it blew the lid must have gone 100ft in the air and ended up 4 gardens away!
Another “genius” idea we had was to put a sealed tin of beans in a campfire with the Scouts... when it blew the top flew out and embedded itself about an inch deep into a tree trunk. You can only imagine what would have happened if it had hit anyone! :eek:
Now that is a challenge! The largest of those I picked up a few days ago now weighs 30.4g (probably lost a little due to partial desiccation).
Heck - I'm going to have to go out again to see if I can find a larger/heavier one!
Found a heavier one, 33.7g - but not sure if it is a candidate for the record.
https://i.postimg.cc/cJF7JrrP/003.jpg
BTW Marco, did you cook and eat those rabbits you killed, or was it just blood lust?
Pigmy Pony
10-10-2021, 12:57
[QUOTE=Barry;1294664]Found a heavier one, 33.7g - but not sure if it is a candidate for the record.
But as there is no official world record right now, anything you have will be a record size. At least for now. I don't know who you'd contact though, I'm pretty sure Norris McWhirter is brown bread.
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