Wakelam's Wilderness: Autumn, a time to conker!

  • Published
  • By Judith Wakelam
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  As we make our way through the months of September and into October, fall, or autumn as we call it in the UK, is upon us. Soon the trees will lose their leaves and lay dormant throughout the winter until spring once more arrives.

Autumn is one of my favorite seasons. It's a time when the trees change from green, to warm shades of gold, orange and red, and the hedgerows fill with fruits and berries. Spiders' webs take on a magical look on misty autumn mornings when decorated with dewdrops and on a sunny autumn day there are fewer more beautiful places to walk than through a Suffolk beech wood or the purple heather on Cavenham Heath near Mildenhall.

The horse chestnut trees will soon drop their fruits and at the same time provide entertainment and sore hands for many children. For those of you who have yet to be introduced to the game of "Conkers" you have a treat in store!

The horse chestnut, not to be confused with the edible sweet chestnut, produces a dark brown, hard shiny inedible fruit that bursts from a prickly shell. These fruits are known as conkers and children collect them; the larger the conker the better.

A hole is carefully bored through its center and a piece of string or bootlace is then threaded through the hole and a knot tied at one end. The string must be long enough to go around the hand and suspend for about 10 to 12 inches.

The idea of the game is to smash your opponent's conker with your own, with as few attempts as possible. The conker will be suspended from an outstretched arm, and the opponent must hit it with theirs. When hit hard enough a conker will disintegrate.

Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it looks and many a child will find their hand has been hit, instead of their conker, but this usually just makes them more determined.

Skullduggery is sometimes brought into play as there are many ways to improve the hardness of your conker but these are not for me to divulge!

"Conkers" is a game not just for children -- adults also take part, and take it very seriously. Every year on the second Sunday in October which falls on Oct.10 this year, at Ashton in Leicestershire, the World Conker Championships take place.

Teams taking part come from far and wide -- not just from within the United Kingdom but from the continent and beyond so there's a lot of pride at stake. If you want a day out with a difference go and enjoy the competition or better still take part by entering a team.

Autumn is a busy time for wildlife especially those species that hibernate such as; hedgehogs and dormice. They will be busy piling on the weight needed to get them through hibernation, squirrels and Jays will be stashing nuts and acorns in hiding places and small rodents and foxes as well as humans will be enjoying blackberries (blackberry and apple pie is a must) for humans that is!

By the end of September most of the harvest has been gathered in and the countryside is a golden hue of stubble fields and straw bales, before it's once more ploughed and replanted for the cycle of growth to begin all over again.

The hours of daylight are beginning to noticeably shorten and soon we will change the clocks from British summer Time to Greenwich Mean Time, but before that happens, get out and enjoy the colors of autumn, collect your conkers and blackberries and make that apple and blackberry pie and for the really adventurous of you get your conker team together and take up the challenge!

For more information go to: www.worldconkerchampionships.com