BS: health & safety and conkers

Subject: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: muppett
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 10:17 AM

Has anyone got any stories about getting an injury playing conkers.
There's a ruling come out in the UK that school children should wear safety gogles whilst playing conkers.
I've suffered a few rapped knuckles when my opponent missed my conker, what about you lot?

What'll it be next, not allowed to go scrumbing (pinching apples) unless you have a step ladder? in fact does anyone go scrumbing these days?

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 10:24 AM

Got into a few punch ups at school during conker fights, usually over a bad "strings" decision. You have to laugh though don't you, the politically correct safety clerk wankers that run this country will have all wearing mittens soon!
Stand back for the lefties to reply to this one!

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: DMcG
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 10:25 AM

"A ruling" is overstating what has happened, I think. A headmaster has bought goggles for his school because he is aftaid of being sued if their were an accident, but he did not want to ban conkers entirely, as some schools are claimed to have done. Another story going round is this one concerned about nut allergies, and whether the school would be liable.

Nonsense though it all is, I can hardly blame schools for being defensive. Some parents are madly over-protective and there is little doubt that sueing people over stuff like this is a growth area in the UK.

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Sttaw Legend
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 10:45 AM

I hope you've read this Ted and act accordingly
http://www.eplp.org.uk/pressarchive2003

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 10:52 AM

I'm afraid I'm with Dave on this one. The sadness is really that people have to cover thier own backs for fear of being sued. A few years ago, I thought it was only the US where that sort of thing happened but the idea of making a few pennies this way seems to have caught on over here and I find it sick.

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Paco Rabanne
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 10:52 AM

Oh for God's sake!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When will you non - productive safety clerks stop! We need a bloody good recession to end your cushy non-jobs.

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: muppett
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 11:02 AM

Yes but lets have some examples of injuries caused through playing conkers

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Sttaw Legend
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 11:04 AM

Before any of you go any further I hope you've completed this:
http://online.oshc.org.hk/assessment/DSEe/index.asp

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 11:27 AM

There are very few, if any injuries documented, involving conkers, unless it's accidentally eating them in mistake for sweet chestnuts*. However, my great grandmother lost an eye playing with those toy pistol caps - they're still around though! Mind you, it was possibly the century before last when they were first available.

*The way to tell, sweet chestnuts have a point on them, horse chestnuts don't. The skins are completely different too, with sweet chestnuts looking almost hairy. These in turn are not to be confused with Plane fruit, which have stalks and no nuts.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 12:51 PM

Muppet, I believe that on the bbc "have your say" thing about this issue there was someone claiming an eye injury through a conker game.

I would suspet that the risks are low with conkers and think that sort of precaution (outside possible litigation) OTT but conkers can smash and there is no telling where the bits may land and eyes are vulnerable.

I have a brother with the pupil of one eye slanted more like that of a goat than a round one and reduced sight it that eye. He spent a week in hospital and had stitches in his eye as a kid. He was doing no more than most of our sort of age/generation did - he had a penknife and was carving his name on a tree. It wasn't the knife that got him but a bit of bark that came from the tree...

I'd guess accidents like that are rare but it would be foolish to suggest they can not happen.

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Micca
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 12:55 PM

I think the point being missed by the Head Teachers (and others) is that the legislation is aimed at Health and Safety AT WORK!!!! and does not address the needs of Students in school except indirectly. Even when calculating First Aid provision the numbers of Students is not taken into account in the legislation.
As a teacher supervising students who are playing conkers you have a Right to protective clothing (gloves, eye protection etc.) as appropriate, provided by your employers, the students are not altho' the activity of playing conkers should have a proper Risk Assessment caried out which would examine any hazards that might arise in the activity and set out any precautions and safety provisions that might need to be met if it is happening on school premises.

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 01:09 PM

OK, the dumb American - what are conkers? Is it like marbles, or like jacks?

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: DMcG
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 01:16 PM

The concern of the school is not the health and safety at work legislation in the case, but being sued for failing to provide adequate supervision. Here is an account of school sued because they let pupils play with footballs before school started (dramatically oversimplifying here.)

Ben and Jerry's allow you to play a virtual game of conkers here.

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Strollin' Johnny
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 04:56 PM

Mrrzy - conkers are the seed of the Horse-Chestnut tree. They're a nut about 1" in diameter (and look rather like sweet-chestnuts as someone else has already said). They're drilled thought by kids here and a piece of string threaded through, then they take it in turns to swing their conker at their opponent's conker in an effort to smash it. The unsmashed conker is the 'champion'. They're named for the number of contests they've won - e.g. a 'two-er' or a 'three-er' etc.

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: GUEST,Jon
Date: 08 Oct 04 - 07:08 PM

Now sweet-chestnuts, they are something else... I noticed a few on the ground of our little patch of wood that we rent. Must have a proper look around over the weekend. Sometimes Pip and I go outside to the pigsty/converted to BBQ area for a night time cup of tea. I could imagine some roast chestnuts going down well with that!

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Shanghaiceltic
Date: 09 Oct 04 - 06:48 AM

When I was at school I think we had more injuries from the sticks we threw up into the trees in order to bring the conkers down.

We had a huge playing field at the back of the school with a massive row of chesnut trees.

Maybe we should have trained skwyreills to do the job then they would not bother jOhn these days.

We had rules too, no baked or vinegared chesnuts to be used when playing conkers and we were allowed to put knots in the string to count the number of wins. My old man used to go loopy when he'd found out I'd been at his tool chest to nick drills to make a string hole.

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 09 Oct 04 - 06:58 AM

Bonkers!

RtS

Subject: RE: BS: health & safety and conkers
From: Sooz
Date: 09 Oct 04 - 11:09 AM

We had a great conker tournament in our village pub a few years ago. There were no injuries but it was very messy. (Better done outside I think)

Here's a good song about conkers (Does that make this a music thread?)


Katy the conqueror
Sandra Kerr

Katy went walking on an autumn day
Some boys were swinging conkers and she asked to play
They took a look at Katy and said Go Away
Conkers is no game for a girl
Katy smiled and said I'm just as good as you
And anything that you can do well I'll do to
I'll find myself a conker and before I'm through
I'll have a conker that will conquer the world


Katy's conker it really was a whopper
Katy's conker theres nothing that can stop her
They call her Kate the conqueror cause Katy is the girl
With a conker to conquer the world

Katy stood beneath the spreading chestnut tree
She chose the biggest conker there that she could see
She took a stick and brough it down so skillfully
Just the way you would expect from a girl
She took it home and baked it in the oven hot
She soaked it in some vinegar she used the lot
She made a hole strung the string and tied the knot
In the conker that could conquer the world

Look boys said Katy heres a big surprise
She whirled the conker round and round before their eyes
She said bring on your conkers any shape or size
Remember conkers is no game for a girl
Now bits of broken conker soon lay everywhere
And boys with open mouths could only stand and stare
For on the battlefield was Katy standing there
Swinging the conker that could conquer the world

Now Katy and her conker could do nothing wrong
And when she played for England they all came along
All the boys she'd beaten came to cheer her on
Their Kate the conqueror not only a girl
When she played for Europe they said you'll go far
Then she became world champion and quite a star
Next year I hear that she is off to Mars
With her conker that could conquer the world