A Conker Tree

Horse-chestnuts arriving is another of those events inextricably linked with autumn for me, especially because of memories of games of conkers as a boy. I think I remember having a six-er once - but of course, everything depended on how you prepared your conker. It was understood that baking them in the oven to harden them was definitely cheating.

Looking on Wikipedia to see whether the game is still popular, I was intrigued to find that the Isle of Wight has strong associations with it. According to Wikipedia, the first recorded game of Conkers was on the Isle of Wight in 1848, and the British Junior Conkers Championships took place on the island in October 2005. I will be seeing my friend Sue Curd at Woodbrooke on Tuesday - must ask her if she has any local knowledge that can validate this.