Childish Pursuits

I am finding it very hard to blog or do anything at the moment - this one's been a couple of days in the drafting. The children are quite literally taking up every waking moment of my time and there are so many other things to do around here I am really finding it hard work. And as a parent who takes my responsibilities very seriously I have to fulfill my daily commitments AND find time to spend with them that's not just cooking and washing but talking, teaching, learning. Other than at work on Saturday and Sunday nights I think everyone else will see very little of me until term starts.

Before then it's Ollie's birthday. Trying to get the birthday presents right is always tricky, especially at his age. When I originally asked him what he wanted for his birthday he said "nothing". Sounds like a bargain - I thought kids are all money-orientated these days. Maybe that comes later. Anyway, I tried various suggestions including some new games for his Leappad (last year's present) but the response was "I'm happy with the ones I've got, thank-you". Those were his exact words.

The Leappad is an amazing gadget, it cost £80 when I bought it but they are only £45 now and Ollie has had hundreds and hundreds of hours play and learning out of it. Games are designed with a learning edge in mind - and also in it are various other things like an art studio and a pet you have to look after. He adores it. Here's a piccie.

Best toy ever

I have to say if you are stuck for present ideas, you can't go wrong with one of these. Ollie has done thousands of drawings on it, and taken photos and even videos. He has drawn over 2000 pictures, here's a few that I found when I uploaded them to the computer a couple of months ago. Remember this is all stuff he has done completely off his own bat - without any help from me.

This is a staircase

It's all very logical - these are just a few examples but his pictures are very ordered and mathematical. I think he's going to be an architect.

Anyway, can't buy him another leappad, when pressed he asked for crayons - of which he has hundreds, eventually we got to looking at the Argos catalogue, and he expressed an interest in a Cars racing set which I bought and then subsequently returned when he later asked for something else - a water play set - with slides and waterfalls. Which was the same price so an easy exchange.

Both my boys love cars, and I got to thinking about some of my childish pursuits. I loved anything to do with racing, and stats, and was forever organising games with cars and various other things. We even had a collection of snails which we raced on a large board with some lettuce at the end - unfortunately most of these were lost in a deadly woodlouse attack one wet Wednesday in the Spring of '78.

I used to draw out large chalk race tracks on the front drive and divide them into squares, like a traditional game board. All the cars would be lined up on the grid, and then I would throw dice and move them around the board, starting with the leader each time and working back. My very own Grand Prix. To liven things up there was the odd death square. Land on this and throw again - if it's a double, you've crashed! All my cars had names and numbers and whole Formula One seasons could be played out in this way, with points scoring and everything.

This started not long after I got into Grand Prix racing after James Hunt won the British Grand Prix in 1977. But I was also fascinated by league tables - always have been. For example I am not really interested in the slightest in watching any football matches but love to look at the league tables and follow how they 

I also had an indoor league for wet days and the winter which was using a track thing called "streak racing", not dissimilar to the hot wheels toys of today. This was a twin set of track with a loop the loop and a finish line, two cars racing side by side, winner takes all. I had about 80 cars divided into four divisions of 20. I created fixture lists and they would all race each other over the course of a season. The league tables were kept on my bedroom wall and updated after each set of results using blu-tac and cut out numbers and names. At the end of the season there would be promotion and relegation. Cars would move up and down the tables, over the years, older ones would drop down as they began to get worn and their wheels didn't go as fast. 

This went on for a few years I would say between the ages of about 8 and 12. Later on by the time I was doing my A-levels I was still running leagues - but in this case it was a drinking league that took place in the Duke Of York after Communication Studies on a Friday lunchtime. 

But still have had a hand in organising various leagues since then, but not currently. If Ollie (or Jamie for that matter) shows an interest in any of these areas, and with the love of numbers and cars, it's very possible, then the great racing leagues of my childhood may well return! League tables on the playroom wall? Bring it on!

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Jason xx