I like card games and tetris-type games but that’s about it. I’m not great at competition because I always feel sorry for the losers. My family likes games, however, and as this blog is about me and I’ve said all I’ve got to say on the subject and my family is part of my family, I’ll tell you about them instead.
Oh, wait – I’ve just remembered that I played a game of Cranium two years ago. Have you ever played it? It’s a cross between Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary and Give Us A Clue, played in teams.
Pity the poor people trapped in a team with me. I introduce into evidence the following conversation:
Me: [Reading from a card] Taking turns, spell the word ‘symphony’ backwards, a letter at a time.
Team Mate: Why?
Me: It says on the card, spell the word ‘symphony’ backwards.
TM: Why?
Me: [Patiently] That’s what it says on the card: spell ‘symphony’ backwards.
TM: [Even more patiently] Yes, Y. N. O…
*
For a while, our boys went table tennis mad. They set up their table in the lounge in front of the telly; we had to stand to watch tv: that’s okay for a while, but the 2004 Olympics were on at the time – try following both marathon events standing up and, like us, you’ll soon be researching adoption agencies. We played table tennis constantly for two weeks. Tory Boy is pretty good at it – years of being the only boy in his school to turn up for boys’ hockey, which no boys would play because hockey is a girls’ game, apparently; he would take on the coach at table tennis instead.
During one session with Spud, the ball kept hitting Tory Boy’s thumb; he got more and more frustrated. Spud was winning because of the ball hitting TB’s thumb: when that happens, the point is disallowed. Tory Boy finally lost his temper, slammed down his bat, thrust his thumb into the air and raged, ‘I hate this thumb! This is the worst thumb in the world!’
The boys get their love of all games from their father. He would come home from work in the early days of our marriage and play games on his monochrome screened, 20 megabyte hard driven computer, and scream the foulest language at it. When I asked him why he played something which had such a deleterious effect on his mood, he replied, ‘Because it relaxes me.’ Proving that even back in the Eighties computers were already smarter than some people.
Spud was at a City game one night and they were handing out free hats before the game, on the proviso that the recipients be photographed for the website…Spud almost devoured the hand that hatted him.
It’s not the first time he has publicised City: a couple of years ago he was at the derby in which we beat united 1-0 and the camera panned round to catch him screaming in excitement. Sky Sports used the shot to advertise the rest of the season’s Premiership games. The same footage was also screened at each home game for a whole season.
He has been in match programmes as well, for various reasons. He is never alone at a game when these things happen, but he is either in the right place at the right time; incredibly lucky; or has a face that only a camera could love, because he is always the only one who appears anywhere. I suppose that’s what comes of being a Blue at six minutes old.
Game on; you might get a career out of it.
Next up: The Hunger Games. Having missed the boat on Twilight, coming to it three years later than the rest of the world, I thought I’d read the book before seeing the film. I’ve got a year before it appears on telly.
I nobbled the curate two weeks ago. This is not a euphemism: she was carrying a copy of the book so I asked to borrow it. I expect to like it; if it’s got the word ‘hunger’ in the title, there’s bound to be food. Maybe game.
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My sister and I are the only other people I know who don’t like competitions because we can’t handle how bad we feel for the losers. When our kids were playing soccer/rugby/Irish football/hurling/swimming/basketball – you may be seeing a trend here (though one of my kids was a mathlete once I have a suspicion he wasn’t as committed to it as he was to football) – anyway, we could never watch matches etc because we wanted our kids/their teams to win but we also wanted the opponents to win. I have been gutted more than once by having to look at teams of 12 year old boys crying after losing a match.
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I feel your pain. Not just twelve year olds – seeing grown men cry after losing a final is pitiful.
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I hate games so good on you!!!
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I bet Spud’s glad that you use a pseudonym. What would today’s posts do for his street cred?
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The boy went to a movie with his parents at tea time, wearing his school uniform. He has no street cred 🙂
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I used to play table tennies in France with my cousin, he was so good at it, I learned how to play because of him or despite him. He is competitive. Table tennis is addictive I can see why the boys got carried away with it, you are such a great Mom to have put up with the standing for t.v watching. The thumb! Why? You are so funny.
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Wish I had a bit more of the anti-competition thing. Always loved it and always turned most things into a competition.
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I honestly don’t get it.
Except when it comes to my kids – then I want to pound those other little suckers right into the ground.
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I used to play Scrabble with hubby, but got tired of losing. Lol. But we do enjoy sports on TV. That’s a very nice picture of Spud.
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I love to play games & am anchored to a hubby who hates most games or cannot remember the rules so he makes playing a game a huge challenge. This is why my FB page is used mostly to play FB games – this way I can play games & meet new people, keep track of my kids all at the same time.
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And we absolutely believe that’s the only reason you’re on FB… 🙂
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Of course! (flashing big innocent cow eyes & fluttering long eyelashes)
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How did you get to ‘G’ so quickly? As for the Hunger Games, I don’t want to see kids kill each other.
Spud as usual is adorable. He does have that face sports casters love, all smiling and eager.
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Search ‘A to Z’ and you’ll see evidence that you have not been paying attention. Bet that’s how you nearly drowned your daughter…I’m still waiting to hear that story.
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Nobbled? I like to think I have a pretty good vocabulary but occasionally I have to look up a word from a post. Usually it’s yours. When I looked this one up it started out by saying Usage: Brit: That happens a lot. Thanks to you, the next time I visit England I will already be using the proper vernacular.
Spud is indeed very photogenic. As an avid sports fan, I applaud his passion and his devotion to his home team! The hub too.
As if I needed another reason to like you, I noticed your comment to Dianne about Laurel and Hardy. They are my all-time favorite movie comedians, hands down. With apologies to the hub, you can now offically do no wrong in my eyes.
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The Hub says come to Britain, visit us, and he’ll tell you where you’re going wrong 🙂
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I LOVE board games (although I’ve never played Cranium) and I can’t stand sport games. As for the Hunger Games, it’s on my to-read list and I hope the books are as good as everyone tells me.
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They are. I COULD NOT put them down.
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I ordered the first one from the library but there’s a very long wait list…
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I love games, but not along the lines if the Hunger Games – sounds like a rather horrific premise to me
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It is, but tells an important message.
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Dancy a game of Scrabble?
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Yes; I’m pretty sure I’ll beat you because I know how to spell ‘fancy’ 🙂
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!
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Kudos to you… I don’t understand any of it. 😉
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