To ask if children still.play with conkers?

[PassingStranger]

Just that?
Do conkers still hold interest?

Yes - my niece (8) & other neighbourhood kids collect them

not sure if they fight with them though like we used to?

Nope. We have a huge conker tree that overhangs the pavement and drops conkers. Not a single child has shown an interest in picking them up. Bastards.

I've had to go out with a broom.

We've got some brilliant trees in our village we pick the conkers up and display them but don't "play" with them

I don't think they do. Lots of horse chestnut trees where we walk our dog and the conkers are still lying on the grass 2/3 weeks after they started dropping. The field is opposite a school too, so lots of passing children.

Well they can't play with them at school and I'd imagine most of the current parents didn't play with them that often either so likely to be a dieing 'art'. Doesnt mean you can't teach your children though.

My kids like collecting them (aged 13, 10, 6). But we just have them in a big bowl next to a few pumpkins for autumn beauty. Don't think kids play conkers anymore.

Change of subject.
Did you see the news this morning and elderly man made a imatation conker from steel and tried to win a competition. Fortunately it was found out.
This man insists he wasn't trying to cheat.

Isn't the evidence really slim. The judges don't believe it's true I think.

I think it's the terrifying stories from older generations that are leading to this decline ;)

DS has heard from 2 grandparents, a great aunt and a friend of a friends granny apparently all know people who had their eyes knocked out by them 😂

We’re all obsessed with them. We leave enough for the squirrels but have them all over the place this time of year. No conker fighting as my DC are quite small but I’ve made a conker wreath, conker hedgehogs, conker snakes, we have them in autumn displays, use them for counting, all sorts. I also make peanut conkers which are delicious.

@AnneLovesGilbert pics please! These all sound fab!

Yes, my boys love collecting conkers and having conker wars

A squirrel threw one at me the other day 😂

We collect them, but, once home, they are purely decorative. The kids would much rather play minecraft. I love the feel while they are shiny and smooth, then they shrivel and I chuck them on the compost. Feels like some kind of metaphor in there somewhere!

Yes I've currently got about 50 of the bastards in my hallway because DD and her friend pick up as many as they can find every day on the way home from school

Yeah DD collects them but doesn’t “battle” them, same as I did at school! I used to pretend they were little pet animals

My DH and I spent about an hour with my 2 year old DD a couple of weeks ago shaking and climbing a massive tree to get as many down as possible. She was so excited. We now have an excessive amount hanging around our house doing nothing but it was a fun time.

They are supposed to be good at eliminating spiders. We have bowls of them but they don't sodding work.

We still hold an annual conker competition where I work (school) . Pupils and teachers battle it out and the winners get a golden conker.