Robin Hood

If you could be a character from a book or film, who would you be? Why?

I’m not sure when I decided I wanted to be Robin Hood but I was a small child and I used to make bows and arrows out of the mock orange bushes in the garden. The twigs are springy and bent well without breaking, you could also use the straight twigs as arrows. I got quite good at firing them at little targets in the garden.

I guess it all started when I used to watch Robin Hood a programme on the TV starting Richard Green I think. I used to sing along with the theme tune. I also loved the Hollywood films with Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks Junior playing Robin.

I wasn’t really interested in Maid Marion, she had to get Robin to help her escape when the Sherriff of Nottingham captured her. Or she was always doing embroidery or weaving… Boring! I didn’t want to be a boy, but my father used to encourage me to do woodwork and I loved climbing trees. I was good at sport and running when I was young, but I grew out of it and it wasn’t until I got into cycling while I was at college that I got fit again because I cycled everywhere.

So yes, I’d like to have been Robin Hood because there were no exciting female role models except for maybe Emma Peel in the Avengers… That’s another possibility…

Trifle and curling, a quiet afternoon

Have you ever seen curling? Curling 🥌 is a game on ice where two teams take it in turn to slide curling stones on an icy surface along to a target 🎯 area. The closest to the centre (button) wins its a game of strategy. Curling stones can be set to guard the target, preventing the other team from getting close to the centre. Curling stones can be sent gently down the ice, or hard, to knock the other teams stones out of the target area. Each team gets the ‘hammer’ in turn, which means going last in the end. An advantage as you may get a stone in the best position on the last curl of the end. There are different games using slightly different rules. I was watching the UK against Sweden at the Olympics today. And that’s where the trifle comes in. I had dome of it for lunch. Then noticed the bade of the dish has circles in it a bit like a curling target! Just a nice gentle lunch and bit of telly watching. X

Four years ago

This was from four years ago in 2015 when me and my hubby went and had a go at air rifle shooting. I’m not trained to use them, it was a one off. We maybe have a go once a year or less. They were not special guns just fairground ones. I think the distance we were shooting was probably four or five meters. The first picture is my hubby’s, the second is mine. I was slightly surprised at how I did. Just found this on Facebook memories.

I have also tried archery but don’t have the strength to shoot far with that.

X

Sliders.

Imagine a game like curling that you play with stones on ice, but on a normal floor. That’s sliders, a curling game where the stones have ball bearings underneath them to allow them to glide across the floor  You aim at a target with scores which go from 1 2 3 4 5 and 10.

Today I actually scored a 10, which is very unusual for us. Sometimes I can’t even reach the target as the bearings on the stones are starting to get worn out. We play a simple game where the highest score after an hour wins. Today there were 7 of us playing. It’s also good exercise as you are bending and stretching and walking backwards and forwards.

If you want a simple game to play at a community centre or village hall I would recommend it.

Archery today

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We started going to archery a few months ago, but had to stop because I got busy doing art, or visiting relatives, and Richards back has been playing up.

So we decided to go back today. It was overcast and a bit blustery but we were only shooting arrows over about 20 yards, which isn’t far, even with the junior 16 pound bows we were using. I managed to get a gold and so did my partner, but we were watching the other archers, who are more experienced, shoot 50 and 80 yards.

I decided to have a try at 50 yards, you have to elivate the bow more,  I ended up aiming at the roof of a house. I actually managed to hit the target after trying several shots that either went short or left of the target. As the morning passed we were both getting closer to the gold  (center of the target ).

It’s surprising how tiring it us pulling even a low poundage bow, some if the people there were pulling 40 pound bows. But looking back in history archers could pull far heavier bows than that. They started around age 4 and were given 4 arrows. They then has to practice every day. Archers ended up with massive muscles and deformed backs because of the strain they were putting on them.

At the end of the session we were shooting at the 80 yard target, I was getting tired and my bow arm kept dropping, but despite not hitting the target I was making he distance. My arrows wavered and wiggled as they flew through the air, but they got there. I was shooting with sites but they didn’t help much. I just had to vaguely aim at a clump of trees.

I think we will go back next week….