One point

During my childhood, I remember my Grandad as a playful soul, who always retained something of his childhood. He used to involve us in a simple game whereby we had to guess the number of paces to a certain point, and then walk it out and see how close we were. I like to think I still have a little of that in me.

So, in his spirit, here are the rules, first recorded here, of the Canal Game, to be played whilst walking between Bathampton and Sydney Gardens on the Kennet and Avon Canal:

Points are awarded for:

Crossing the path of a cyclist: 1 point
Crossing the path of a jogger: 1 point
Neither of the above, throughout the journey: 40 points

Bonus points:

A dog: 2 points
Overtaking someone on the towpath: 2 points per person
Overtaking a moving canal boat: 5 points
A reader: 2 points
An artist at work: 4 points
Someone taking pictures (other than myself): 2 points
Someone sat on the bench by the wooden bridge: 2 points per person.

Subtract 2 points for every minute over 25 for the journey.

Today's score: 49

It passes the time, but I may not be in the right frame of mind for this every day!