Conversation:

I think a sixer is a conker that's beaten five other conkers, not six.
Otherwise, you'd have to start off as a "noner" whereas everybody knows that a virgin conker begins as a oner.

Where I grew up, a sixer would have been a conker that had beaten six others. A virgin conker was a newie.

There were those who would take the score from beaten conkers as well. I think this practise was generally frowned upon though. For example,

Boy A has a Fiver, and beats another Fiver, his would now become a Tenner.



Bassman

> Boy A has a Fiver, and beats another Fiver, his would now become a Tenner.

I think you'll find that standard practice, although some would try to make it an Elevenner.

There are some regional rules for special circumstances, eg if the force of a hit drives the oppononents string out of his hand and the conker falls on the floor you can shout "stamper" and stamp on it.

If the two strings get tangled up together you have to shout out "strings!" but I can't remember what is supposed to happen next :-o

Can't remember, I think you could yank the string in an attempt to either pull the opponents conker off his string, or the string out of his hand for a stamper. I think shouting strings was effectively like a boxing ref shouting break. You stopped and untangled them in order to carry on in a civilised manner.



Bassman

I've got a twenty-sevener..

*SINGS*

"come and have a go if you think you're (conker) is hard enough"

I (aged 36) still have a conker (somewhere among my good and chattels) that belonged to my father and which I found 'in classic string of pearls formation' in a cupboard at my grandmother's house.

This conker saw me through late primary school and early secondary school conker-seasons until I had to retire under peer pressure (conkers were for juvenile twats, I was advised).

Due to its apparent fossilised hardness, I have long-suspected it to be a small rock with a hole drilled through it (although I could never admit this at school) and am now willing to offer it up to non-destructive scientific research.

Regards,

Dr Montague Trout

Wow, it sounds too precious even for NDT



Bassman

Maybe they can do some DNA testing on some scrapings harvested from the surface or maybe from the core. It would only have to be enough to get a slide's worth. Like a smear-test, I imagine.

What? To find out which tree it fell off?



Bassman

To find out if it really is a conker.

I'm sure it is....



Bassman

i had 3 200ers in a row.

the trick si to leave them in an airing cupboard for years...they shrivel up and become HARDCORE!

I suppose being smaller that would make them harder to hit as well....



Bassman

If you only just hit your opponents conker with a very fine glancing blow so that it does not significantly move, the first playter to shout 'tips' gets the next go.

sad sad boys, suggest you go to the World Conker Championships at Ashton on the second Sunday in October next year and thrash it out.