Conkering - one nut at a time

  • Published
  • By Suzanne Harper
  • 48th Fighter Wing public affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  Scared of spiders? Suffer from arthritis? Need a way to relieve all that pent-up energy that builds during the working day? 

The humble conker has many attributes that may not at first be apparent. I cannot attest to the power of the fruit of the horse chestnut to send the eight-legged ones scurrying back into the garden or to its analgesic properties, but in my mind there is no doubt of the simple, stress-relieving joy of playing a game of conkers on an autumnal afternoon. 

You may know the conker better as the 'buckeye'. A playground favourite in the U.K. for as long as there have been playgrounds and horse chestnut trees, they were introduced into Britain in the 1600s. The first recorded game of conkers dates back to 1848 on the Isle of Wight. Conkers are hard brown nuts found in a prickly case that fall from the tree when ripe. The origin of the name 'conker' is unclear but it's believed that it comes from the French word 'cogner' meaning to hit. 

In years past, there has been an abundance of conkers littering the ground underneath horse chestnut trees. However, I noticed this year, as I drove home through my village of Elveden, that the leaves on the horse chestnuts were looking brown and wrinkled at the end of August. Apparently in the Midlands, South East and East Anglia, trees have been weakened by a disease called 'horse chestnut bleeding canker' and attacked by a moth called the 'horse chestnut leaf miner'. I had to search diligently for my conkers so that I could share the joy of a conker battle with my American colleagues. 

There are many schools of thought on the best method to prepare the conker to remain intact under enemy fire on the battlefield. Some will initially choose a conker on its ability to float or sink in water. Conkers with internal damage will float, so always head for the ones at the bottom of the sink. A conker can be hardened by soaking it in vinegar, slowly baking it in an oven, or using a conker hardened from a previous year. I'm sure there are many other secret conker tips that will remain closely guarded. Once you have found the perfect conker, pierce a hole through the middle and carefully thread a piece of strong string or shoelace through the hole. The string should be about 12 inches long tied with a firm knot, so it doesn't pull back through. 

The game is played between two players taking turns striking their opponent's conker with their own. If you are the one to be hit, let the conker hang down freely with the string wrapped around your hand once for support. Hold the conker at the height that the hitter requests. The striker will wrap the string of their conker in a similar fashion to your own taking the conker in the other hand and drawing it back to strike by releasing the conker with one hand, and swinging it down sharply with the other. The intent is to hit the opponent's conker as hard as possible, inflicting damage on your opponent. If the striker misses, they have two more tries before it passes across. 

A victorious conker will inherit the scores of any conkers that it defeats. For instance, a game between two brand new conkers will render the winner a score of one, or one-er, but if the victorious conker had defeated a conker that already had a score of three, the champion then jumps to a score of four, or four-er. This scoring system may change in the course of a one-day event though. 

Unfortunately you will be too late to take part in the 2008 World Conker Championship held in Ashton Northamptonshire, but next year's event will be on Oct. 11, 2009. Competitors' places are going fast and thousands flock to Ashton to watch this great spectacle as modern day gladiators fight for glory armed only with a nut and 12 inches of string. 

I probably should have checked with the Wing Safety office to see if they have any guidance on playing conkers; needless to say, an overly competitive spirit and a hardened conker can give a nasty crack to the knuckles. But I reckon it's worth a few scars to indulge in the simple childish pleasure of conkers.