Hold your own mini-Olympics

We did this last weekend down at my grandmother’s house. We had had plans to go to the local river where there is a lovely beach but the grey skies put paid to that. Then from somewhere the idea sprung to mind of the five of us staying in and holding a track-and-field tournament.

We assembled the props: a parasol stand for a javelin; a boule for a shot put; an old plate for the discus; some beach bats for tennis; a rope between two trees for volleyball; and fruit packing cases for the dressage. My grandmother was the judge.

Poles were thrown; shots were put; a plate was smashed; points were won; tempers were lost – and found again with administration of tea; and medals were presented.

Next up – our own winter Olympics?

(The discus that got away – two others were not so lucky)

Learn to tight-rope walk

With a few props, practicing circus skills seems like something you can do pretty much anywhere. Here the prop was the rope that we had used for the volleyball net in our mini-Olympics. Pulled tight between two trees at about two feet off the ground, it was hardly death-defying, especially when, under my own weight, the rope stretched, lowering me to ground-level. I fear a lot more practice (using stiffer rope) will be required before I become a funambuliste.