Silly Army Sunday 29th May

It was a small but fun gathering of members at The Silly Army last Sunday, the grey, overcast weather and the bank holiday perhaps contributing factors. However, there were still enough players for plenty of silly games.

Tennis. A gentleman's game.

After Pete and Dave played a gentlemanly game of tennis while the troops practised their hockey shooting, it was time for a game of Hockey proper. The management of Dave, Pete and Kaye, along with Alex M, took on the yellow team of Steph, Duncan, Matt and Helen. While the wonky fingered keeper in the red goal made several valiant saves and Alex was all over the pitch, the addition of the two old men on the team made it somewhat unevenly matched (particularly as Pete frequently forgot how to move and Dave was clinically dead at least twice, but still kept playing. . . )

The yellow team were working better as a unit rather than relying on one plucky player out in the field, and so they quickly took the lead and the game.

We attempted to play ‘Proper’ football after a while but gave up quite quickly as it was a bit too scary. Much enjoyment came from the grunting and football chav impersonations, however. Erik joined us during this time and was one of the few who could actually play footie. The score at 3-1 and nobody sure who was on which team, we abandoned this game in favour of Sticky Ball.

The yellow team played as a unit.

This time we mixed the old men up a bit (that is, put one on each side) and this seemed to work, as the yellows stormed the first game and the blues took the second (although the strong wind may have had something to do with this). “Mrs Machine” in particular was a star for the blue team. It was, however, the yellows who took the third for the match, although there was just one ball in it. Special commendation to Lauren for turning up with cakes during the game!

Next up we had som e Tchouckball, which was a tricky game on a big pitch with so few players. Again it was tight but the yellow team edged it with some good partnerships between the Machine, Steph, Kaye and Pete.

We were going to play some Kubb for the remainder of the afternoon, but Erik, Pete and Matt became a little too absorbed in a Lego Star Wars sticker album and began covering all toys, cars and anything that moved in stickers…

Come join The Silly Army in King’s Park, Bournemouth, from 7pm on Wednesday evenings and 1pm on Sunday afternoons for fun and games of a silly nature. It’s free, a charity and open to anyone aged 18 and over.

Silly Army in the Sunshine

The Silly Army enjoyed a sun drenched afternoon in King’s Park this Sunday in the longest games session of the season, which left all of the Sillies aching for more (and most of them aching for a hot bath and some muscle rub).

After a busy few weeks it was great to get some new toys out in the park, not least the Giant Net that Pete has been perfecting for Really, Really Big Tennis – his latest game invention. While the giant net may still need a little work, it provides not only a great game (in which you struggle to see your opponents through the net) but also an effective anti-Chav barrier to keep out undesirable elements.

We began games with a traditional Big Tennis game, before moving on to enjoy or endure one of the longest Hockey games in living memory.

The clocks going forward and noisy pussy cats were among the reasons for Sillies being late, but gradually the field of players kept growing. It was good to welcome back newer recruits including Mark and Catherine, gluttons for more punishment, and to welcome a host of new members to the club – let’s hope they come back for more.

Five points were reached pretty quickly by the yellow team in Hockey, but with so many players arriving it was decided to play on to 10 – a decision some of the older members in particular would live to regret.

The red team was going from strength to strength and Pete couldn’t decide which team to be on to maintain his losing streak, which confused everyone (not least himself). The reds clawed five back and though the yellows scored a couple more it was not long before the reds took the lead. There was much deadlock before it was decided by old bones Dave and Pete that, with the teams tied on 8-8, the next goal would win. Kaye in the yellow goal squared up to counterpart Pete in the red, and I am pleased to report the best woman won as the yellows scored the winner.

After some Double Dodgeball we played the new version of Sticky Ball for the second week, complete with the chance to get multiple balls into play thanks to the central multiball hole. The blues quickly took the lead and won the first game, before the yellows came back to win the second. However, the blues played better as a team to win the third and take the match.

After an exceptionally confusing game of Crumbs & Crows (when is it not confusing?) we stopped for some well-earned tea and cake, home made cakes courtesy of Spencer in his chef’s trousers.

Next up was Combi Ball, for once quite a well balanced game with the lead frequently changing between the yellows and blues. New player Lauren in particular was a natural sharp shooter for the yellows, while K surprised herself more than anyone else by scoring a football goal for the blues. It was eventually the blues that took the lead, in no small part due to the partnership of Graham and Pete up front. Catherine also excelled for the yellows.

After a long experiment with the Really, Really Big Tennis game, we started losing players and retreated to the Big Tennis pitch. Big Tennis feels very small indeed after Really, Really Big Tennis, but we played on until we got too stiff to move.

A great Sunday in the park – come and join The Silly Army this Sunday from 1pm.

Silly Army – A Load Of Old Planks

K and Steph prepare to give Pete a sound planking.

After being rained off the previous week, last Sunday The Silly Army were back in King’s Park with a vengeance, and had some new games to try to boot.

The Bournemouth sports club for adults are organising the games for Party on the Pier on Boscombe Pier on March 12th, and Pete, Dave and K have been busy devising and building games for the last couple of months, ably assisted by Pat, Robert and Alan.

So last Sunday the Silly Army trailer rolled up not just with the standard goals, balls and sticks, but also with barrels and planks not seen since the great raft non-victory of August 2010.

While Dave gets his thrills plank standing, we all know Helen is thinking those three little letters: W T F?

These are part of the Bridging The Gap challenge, getting from one piece of ground to the other without touching feet down, using only the barrels and planks. Cue much arguing as the Sillies attempted to work out the best way to complete the challenge. After much deliberation, it was unanimously decided that Dave was best at standing on planks.

We also attempted the Spacehopper Steeplechase, with newly constructed jumps. Here we mourned the sad loss of a much prized hopper, Feck Off, who had been suffering from a slow puncture (bravely borne) for some time now, and eventually blew up when Steph sat on him. Despite this mishap, Steph soon proved that she and Pete are still the best bouncers in the Silly Army.

Feck Off lived up to his name when he blew up last Sunday. RIP.

We started games proper with that traditional opener, Big Tennis, before moving on to Hockey. As ever this was a long game with much midfield play and occasional goalmouth scrambling. We eventually decided to play to three, and the red team chipped home the winner. While the rest of the club was playing jolly hockey sticks, Rich was busy building a rocket sculpture from the barrels and planks – we expect his Turner Prize is in the post.

Sticky Ball action, where the greens took on the red/blues and won.

After a spot of Dodgeball we played Sticky Ball, a lack of red bibs meaning the greens took on the blue and reds. The greens won the first game, the blue/reds made a comeback in the second, but it was the greens who were more co-ordinated to take the match.

Another new game followed, a strange idea of Pete’s that followed the donation of several sets of bucket stilts from Inspieration. Stilt Football is easier said than done, and most of the Sillies spent most of the time trying to keep their feet on. Even the natural footballers Paul and Greg were struggling with this game and after we have eventually scored one goal each, a draw was agreed.

"OK, so there's a ball over there - now how the heck do we get to it?"

Next up was Impossiball, the game of large, cumbersome nets and soft balls that is incredibly difficult to score in. This was a game won by the reds, largely thanks to the skill of Alex (whom we believe is in the New Zealand Impossiball Olympics squad).

It was Alex who suggested the next game, too. It’s muddy, wet, cold and February, so of course the Silly Army jumped at the chance to get down on all fours and line up as if waiting some kind of gynaelogical procedure. The game was the Crab Race and the idea was to race on all fours across a small piece of ground. Ras and Alex seemed adept at this game, leaving the rest of the field far behind them.

The Silly Army welcomes you with open legs.

There was time for more Big Tennis, won by Helen’s team, before darkness fell and we had to pack up.

The Silly Army meet in King’s Park every Sunday at 1pm and play a range of games – you don’t need to be any good at sport to join us! We also meet on Wednesdays at the YMCA in Westover Road – come along and join us.

The Sunday sessions are free, Wednesday sessions cost £5 to cover hire of the hall.

Come to Silly Army and you can do this too...

Pictures by Chris and Ras.

Silly Army start 2011 with record turnout

The Silly Army have kicked off 2011 with record turnouts at both Sunday and Wednesday games sessions. Apologies for the lack of blogging of late, and thank you to everyone who has been turning up to Silly sessions and making them so much fun.

Gearing up for a game of hockey.

Last Sunday, Pete arrived with an extra pair of goals, kindly donated by the people at the YMCA, who had just bought a new set. This meant that we could set up two pitches should enough players turn up , or we could play a four way game. Obviously, we opted for the latter.

After a spot of Big Tennis, we first decided to play together and had a game of Sticky Ball. We’re still having a spot of bother with non-sticky sticky pads and both the yellow and blue teams were thwarted by s lack of stickiness on several occasions. Eventually, the yellow team won the first game and while the blues equalised in the second, the yellows eventually took that game too to win the match.

Then it was time to try a new game, one of Pete’s strange inventions, a four-way hockey match. Going by bib colour instead of the usual stick colour, teams of reds, yellows, greens and blues took to the pitch with five or six players aside. Each team had a simple objective; be the first to score three goals in any goal but their own. So that everyone had a vague idea of which way they were going, a each goal was also bedecked with a bib.

Dodgeball is hard enough with one ball - try it with four!

What followed was something resembling a cross between a live action version of the popular Risk boardgame and Benny Hill style chase as battles were fought out first in one goalmouth then another.

The blue team quickly took the lead (the score being 1-0-0-0) before Pete was quick to capitalise on the scramble in front of goal to score for the yellows (1-0-0-1). Duncan applied good pressure for the reds and with help from Helen caused the goal mouth confusion that led Ras, for the yellows, to shoot past his own keeper, losing that team their only point.

The blues had the best grasp of this new game and were the first to reach three points, just in time as there were now so many players on the pitch that we had run out of hockey sticks, latecomers resorting to playing with squash racquets (Tim) or hovering on the touchline (Paul).

This was a record breaking winter turnout for Silly Army and came close to our all-time record. So that everyone got to see some action, we decided to split into two sets, one playing Combi Ball and the other regular Hockey.

While a giant, chaotic game of Mass Dodgeball took place at one side of the field, on the other the committee set about dividing the playing space in two. The reds and yellows then took to the pitch for Combi while the greens and blues played Hockey, before swapping over.

Combi Ball is one of our own inventions.

While the greens and blues slogged on in a 0-0 deadlock, the yellows took a fast lead in Combi and had victory in their sights in the first half of the game. However, then the tide turned somewhat against them, as an insistence on going for glory shots (and missing!) saw them squander their lead as the reds started playing as more of an efficient team.  As the yellows failed repeatedly to secure the two points needed for a win, the reds came back to take the game, and deservedly so.

The blue team won the Hockey match and while the reds and yellows took straight to the pitch for the second game, the greens and blues took a breather/smoking break.

In a tight Hockey match, the yellows went ahead only for the reds to come back to leave the score precariously balanced at 4-4. However, it was the yellows that managed to chip home the winning goal. The blues and greens failed to report who had won their Combi game, and went on to play Crumbs & Crows.

Running around and being silly is good for you!

After some more Big Tennis, Karl unveiled a new touch-rugby style game, using the large hoops as goals. We once again formed into two teams of yellow and blue. A fast moving game, there was a bit of confusion over tagging and who was allowed to do what – a particularly valiant defence attempt must go to K and Lisa, who chased Chris all the way down the field to tag him just in front of goal.

We decided the game needed a bit more work but like the idea.

On Wednesday evening, we had a lower turnout than usual but welcomed another new player to the fold. We enjoyed a genteel game of Badminton, followed by some smashing Unreal Tennis. A rough and ready game of Netball followed before a long and tough game of Missile Command. We finished off with some Handball in which the red team, despite being first one then two players down, won a comfortable victory.

Come and join the Silly Army in King’s Park this Sunday from 1pm for free sports and games. We’re always keen to welcome new members!

Snow stopping Silly Army! December games report

You could be forgiven for thinking The Silly Army sports and games club haven’t been up to much over the past few weeks due to the lack of blogging – but you’d be wrong. It’s been a busy few weeks indeed, hence the slow progress in reporting games activity. But we’ve still been out and about in the field and the YMCA Hall. Here is what we’ve been getting up to…

Sunday the 5th of December almost saw the most shocking defeat in the history of the Silly Army (even worse than the 21-0 Combi Ball fiasco) when Big Tennis came close to being a 21-0 defeat for the team featuring all three Silly Army committee members.

The ice man cometh...

Appallingly bad whacking from K, Pete and Dave (largely going backwards, sideways, upwards and indeed anywhere apart from over the net) and a few co-conspirators saw Steph’s team comprehensively wipe the floor with their opposition. The committee team did claw a few points back before skulking off with their tails between their legs to play Hockey.

There’s an unwritten rule at Silly Army that the colder the weather, the longer the Hockey match will be. That certainly played out this week as the toe-chillingly cold weather saw a very, very lengthy game indeed.

It was a well balanced game however, going to 4-4 before the red team eventually chipped the winning goal past yellow keeper K.

After a muddy, slippery game of Dodgeball, it was time for a slightly controversial game of Sticky Ball. The yellow team won the first game but the blues came back for the second. As players began to drift away, it was the blue team who kept their eyes on the ball for the final match to win 2-1.

As the light began to fade, there was just time for a game of Monkey Toss in which Alex’s team dunked the opposition.

Dave, dressed for the occasion.

Sunday 12th December saw the return of some old faces. Tim, on his apparently annual visit, fitted straight into the Big Tennis match and was soon filling in for the much missed Terminator giving Pete abuse.

Occasional guest London Dave dropped in too, but despite this combination Steph’s team won Big Tennis.

Hockey was a very close game and it was decided to play to 10 instead of 5. First the reds led 5-0 and it was decided to swap ends. The yellows came back and scored five in reply to take the score to 5-5 with all ten goals scored in the same end.

We swapped ends again and the yellows took the lead 8-6, despite Chris trying to confuse everyone by making up the score for his red team. The score went to 9-9 and the reds eventually won with an amazing goal from Tim.

Next we played Dodgeball, the yellows being all over the blues for the first game and the blues coming back for the second to take it to one a piece. But swift shooting from the yellows meant they won 2-1.

The Silly Army playing in the snow.

It’s been a long time since we played Randomiser, but that’s what we did next, bouncing a ball randomly off trampolines and the dodgeball, attempting to make the other team miss. There was much confusion as to what the actual score was after we ran out of fingers to count it on; we think Pete’s team won, but we’re really not sure.

Another game we haven’t played for a while, Space Invaders (the original version) came next. The object is to knock either one eyed or two eyed monsters, in the shape of traffic cones, off posts with a ball. The yellow team proved best at this, quickly demolishing the one-eyed monsters.

The yellow team also took victory in Tchoukball, possibly because they could see each other’s bibs better as it was getting rather dark by then.

Football in the snow.

On the 19th the ground was coated in ice and snow, but that was no deterrent to The Silly Army, who came out to play in surprising force.

Fresh snow fell as we set up, which meant  the first game of the day was snowball fighting – largely an excuse to throw snow at Dave.

We took to the pitch to play Snow Football, giving Pete the chance to demonstrate why he’s being called up for the England Squad with his spectacular open goal miss.

It was the blue team who eventually won this slippery game. After slippy Dodgeball, we played Sticky Ball, the yellows finding their ice shoes to win a comprehensive victory.

Impossiball proved a great game on ice as we skated around the pitch, the yellows again sliding their way to victory.

Impossiball on ice is rather entertaining.

Then it was time for icy Hockey, where despite freezing toes the yellow team beat the reds 5-4.

All too soon it was time to slip slide home.

The Silly Army would like to wish all our members and readers a Merry Christmas. We’ll be out to play on Boxind Day from 1pm.

Baby it’s cold outside… But not too cold for games!

Wrapped up warm, the Silly Army come out to play.

In bitterly cold wind, a well wrapped up Silly Army took to the park on Sunday for more silly sports and games.

When Dave, K and Pete stood surveying the chilly park at 1pm the wondered if they’d get many players – but never doubt the Silly Army troops, they were soon turning out in force (and several layers of clothing).

Starting with a toe-numbingly cold game of Big Tennis, it was quickly decided that we should play a runaround, firstly because there were now lots of players and secondly in the hope of defrosting our tootsies.

We started with hockey and despite the yellow team featuring some of the best hockey players, including dynamo Steph, Alex, Paul and Karen, the red team’s combination of the ever-speedy Giles, all-over-the-pitch Greg and surprisingly-fast-when-he-wants-to-be (usually when there’s chocolate to be chased down) Pete meant the play was quite balanced with spells of activity at both ends of the pitch. Both teams were playing together very well and everyone was able to make a real contribution to the game, when the hard-to-control ball allowed, of course.

The reds went ahead and the yellows soon equalised, the score fairly quickly moving to 3-3. However, it was the yellows who managed to chip two more past the red defence and keeper K to win 5-3.

The Silly Army version of Handball

After a spot of Double Dodge, where Steph and Giles were among the best at surviving their friends’ efforts to knock them out.

We lost Richard and Alan to Bike Club, while the rest of us played Sticky Ball. Here the yellow team had the winning combination, winning the first game quickly while the blue team had good movement but couldn’t get their balls to stick. The yellow team won the first game 3-0 and while the blues managed to get two on the board in the second game they were beaten 3-2 in the end.

The idea is to get your hands to the ball. Though with the whole heads-at-groin-level thing, you have to avoid headbutting anyone in them.

Next up was Combi Ball. Still smarting from being on the losing side of the notorious 21-0 defeat a few weeks ago, the blue team’s Pete was quick to chip in some ground level goals to open the scoring. For a while play was quite even again, although the yellows were playing much better as a unit, making full use of space and all team members. Top prize has to go to the incredibly versatile Paul, however, the first person in the history of Silly Army to score a kicked goal in the high net, securing 10 points and a win for his team. Only Ras has touched on this before, and then only in practice, not in active play. The rare sighting Lee spent an entire games session in the summer trying to achieve this elusive goal – we think he’s gone off somewhere with a large hoop and a ball and is still practising.

There was just enough time, and we had just enough feeling in our fingers, to play Impossiball, the game of home-made large lacrosse style nets. K gave a great demonstration of how not to do a throw-in in Impossiball after thrice lobbing the ball off the pitch. However, she redeemed herself a little by forming a good up-front partnership with Esther for a goal.

Balls up!

Remembering to add the exclusion zones about halfway through the game made it a little easier to score and this proved to be the blue team’s game, winning 5-3 after latecomer Nick provided reinforcements.

Then it was time to pack up and head home once more, curse these dark nights.

It was great to see so many players turning out for Wednesday games at the YMCA this week. We played UnReal Tennis (the indoor version of Big Tennis, using the walls like in Real Tennis…) with the largest number ever recorded.

Netball allowed Helen, Alex and Paul to really show off their shooting skills on the green team, while Tori, Sabine and Pete excelled for the reds. It’s great to see, or rather hear, that Lisa’s fantastically distracting “war cries” are still in fine operation, excellent for putting the other side off!

“It’s coming right for him!” Nobody has the heart to tell Rob an alien is about to pounce on his head. They just stand and watch.

Handball is a crazy game played with a googly faced ball that never quite does what you want. This was a game won by the red team, clearly more experienced in punching things with a face on them…

There was time for some indoor Loopy Lobbing, which is clearly Giles’s game, before it was time to go out into the cold.

Thanks to everyone for continuing to support us at Sunday and Wednesday games. We are really pleased to see so many people turning up to play. We will be in the park this Sunday, snow or no snow, and in the YMCA hall again next Wednesday. Come along and join us!

The Silly Army line dancing class really needs some practice!

 

Own Goals, Hard Balls And A (Monkey) Toss Off At Silly Army

It was a cold, damp and slippery King’s Park that greeted The Silly Army on Sunday afternoon, but despite the slightly overcast conditions there was a good turn-out of players enduring enjoying the crisp conditions.

Big Tennis is one of the most popular Silly Army games.

We were slightly late setting up due to some members enjoying enduring a thrilling Saturday evening sorting through the accounts in preparation for grant applications. However, many hands do light work make and  – after a random outbreak of Volleyball that was quickly tempered by hard balls – we soon had a game of Big Tennis underway, won by Team Helen.

With rapidly increasing numbers we opted to play a runaround next and went for Hockey. Despite the vast majority of the strongest Hockey Players being on the red team, this was a close fought and long match, with play being in one end for some time before switching to the other. Pete and Paul showed off excellent goal keeping skills in the red end while K took her usual position in goal for the yellows.

Jolly hockey sticks. Picture by Aleksandra Dimitrova.

After the score had been locked at 2-2 for some time, and because of increasingly limited time due to shortening days, we decided next goal would win and a brave battle ensued. The match was eventually sealed with the reds taking victory, thanks to a lovely blooper of an own goal from yellow dynamo Nick.

Following a spot of Double Dodgeball in a strangely shaped circle, where even Giles’s flexibility couldn’t save him in the slippery conditions, we played Combi Ball.

Because two balls are better than one. Particularly when they're both purple, and one is sausage shaped. Picture by Aleksandra Dimitrova.

Pete, remembering being on the losing side with the embarrassing score of zero last time we played this game, was determined to save some face this week and opened up the scoring with a nicely kicked goal for the blues. The yellow team made much better use of the field, however, and were better at finding space to quickly take the lead.

This wasn’t good enough for yellow player Helen, however, who bemoaned the scoring of an easy one pointer when she wanted to go for big points, much to the amusement of her own team. The old adage ‘every little helps’ clearly wasn’t on her mind!

The blues did a very good job of catching up, but it was the yellow team who got a deserved victory thanks to some sharp shooting. At least Pete and the rest of the bluesers could trudge off without egg on their faces, however, as they had played well, though they did have mud on their trousers due to lots of falling over (a Silly Army art form unto itself).

Sticky Ball looked like being a bit of an embarrassing defeat when the yellows shot out of the stocks and instantly scored three to take the first game. However, the blues battled back in the second game and for a long time nobody seemed to be able to get a ball on the board despite good play from both teams. K eventually opened the scoring for the blues on second attempt, but it was the yellow team who won this game too.

Loopy Lobbing, the game of throwing circular discs at each other, was next and top marks must go to Tori for her ‘Throw all and be damned’ method – which worked rather well! Helen and Alex also showed great skill at this game.

Team captains Tori and Viv got to chose who they thought were the best tossers in The Silly Army. A difficult choice indeed! Picture by Steph Mills.

Viv requested a tea break, but sadly our great Treasurer has vetoed tea for the time being, so we moved on to Monkey Toss. Tori and Viv were crowned team captains and the cringe-producing team picking method was employed.

Both girls picked well and, despite some off tossing from some of our top tossers to begin with, though Tori’s team took the lead Viv’s team forced a draw. That meant only one thing: it was time for a Toss Off.

Picking the windy end of the park (obviously) five tossers from each team lined up to chuck their mustard monkeys. However, Helen’s toss went horribly wrong and the resulting score was 5-4 to Tori’s team.

Shock of the game still has to be K managing to outrun Giles.

There was just enough time for another game of Big Tennis, during which Pete abandoned his team to join ‘Pedal Car’ Alan and Richard in Bike Club. But the neglected team of Viv, Giles and K proved they didn’t need their esteemed leader after all and won the game.

Silly Army games will be taking place tomorrow (Wednesday) in the YMCA, Westover Road, from 7pm – come and join us, it’s warm and great exercise!

There will also be regular Silly Army Sunday Games in King’s Park from 1pm this Sunday. Come along and toss monkeys – you know it makes sense.

Rain fails to stop play at Silly Army

A miserable text was sent from the Silly Army’s chief miser to their own Mrs Doyle this morning – due to wet and windy conditions, there would be NO TEA at Silly Army!

There's no such thing as friendship in Loopy Lobbing!

It was indeed assumed there would be no play at the club due to the continual bucketing down of rain. But the Sillies are better than that; they know this is England and they won’t let a bit of wind and rain stop them from having a run around. The two thirds of the committee that hail from the Highlands of Scotland would describe this as ‘bikini weather’.

Although our great leader Dave made just a fleeting appearance, having to go home because he hadn’t done his homework, K and Pete were soon joined by Steph and newbie Matt and they braved the rain to play Big Tennis.

Helen arrived soon after, followed by Karl and a proper game could ensue, K, Pete and Helen winning two games to one.

The rain kept falling and we decided it was time for a run-around, so played three-aside hockey on a slightly less muddy part of the field. Richard abandoned watching the Grand Prix and came to join us and a close game was played – the reds shooting ahead in the first half only for the yellows to come back in the second, leaving the score teetring at 9-9.

Matt and Pete had a great partnership up front for the reds however to score the final, winning goal.

The Silly Army is big on recycling. The loops from Loopy Lobbing are taken from old, broken Sticky Ball pads.

After its popularity last week, we played Loopy Lobbing, Pete again learning the hard way there is no such thing as friends when it comes to throwing hoops at each other.

A quick biscuit break (just not the same without tea!) was followed by Dodgeball with a large, slimy ball. Karl’s flexibility continued to amaze; he, Matt and Steph were the best at surviving.

More giant tennis rounded an all too brief session off lightly, won by the combination of Pete, K, Steph and Matt two games to one.

The Silly Army will be playing out next Sunday from 1pm whatever the weather, and will be in the YMCA this Wednesday from 7pm for rather drier indoor games!

The Silly Army October 24 and 31

The Silly Army has had a busy few weeks, hence the slight lack of blogging activity. Here’s a quick round-up of the last two Sunday games sessions in October.

Two great minds prepare for battle on the hockey pitch... Picture by AD

Glorious Autumnal sunshine has boosted turnout in the last two weeks of October as many people have been out enjoying being chilly and Silly in the sun-blessed King’s Park.

Sunday October 23 saw a record turnout of 29 players, sending ledger keeper Pete into overdrive with his charts and statistics (yes, he really does keep them). It’s great to see so many people out enjoying the sunshine and the silliness.

As usual we started proceedings with a game of Big Tennis as Sillies gathered, but rapidly increasing numbers meant it was quickly time to play a runaround. It was also excellent that so many new members and recent recruits turned up to play.

There's no more beautiful sight than a man and his monkey... Picture: AD

We began with Sticky Ball, the yellow team playing most fluidly and working best as a team to win the first two games.

Dodgeball followed before we moved on to hockey. Here the red team suffered a bit of a massacre, red goalie K not on the ball at all, letting five in in succession for the team to be soundly beaten.

Next we played Combi Ball, which was a much closer affair and a hard-fought battle, the yellow team eventually claiming victory despite a brave battle by the blues.

Confusion abounded for everybody next with Crumbs & Crows, the chasing game. Doozer the monkey, who had turned up hoping for some Monkey Chase, took part in the game, helping Raz with his running and Pete with calling. Perhaps Doozer had more of an idea of what was going on in the game, as most of the Sillies remained entirely confused throughout (and ran in the wrong direction!)

The reds concede a goal in hockey. Picture: AD

Tchouckball was up next after tea break and the yellow team again took victory, covering more of the pitch most efficiently while the blue team relied on just a couple of players.

Then it was time for Double Netball and here the teams were far more evenly matched, the yellow team only just snaring victory.

Monkey Toss was the last game proper of the game and was another close call, this time Pete’s team clinching the win.

Lisa makes a pass during Combi Ball. Picture: AD

As numbers began to dwindle, the final game of the day involved experimenting with large hoops Pete and Dave had made during the week, with an outline game design involving running through them dribbling (dribbling a ball, not just dribbling, although the old men of the club are rather good at that!) After realising that when a team got possession, as the yellows did, it was pretty much impossible to get the ball back from them, the confused blue team decided this was a game in need of more work!

October 31 was another sunny Sunday and after Big Tennis we played Hockey. This was a very long and very evenly matched game: with the scores at 4-4 it was the red team who managed to shoot that all important point to win the match.

A battle ensues as the yellow team defend against the blues.

Sticky Ball followed Double Dodge and was similarly drawn out and even, with both teams finding it very difficult to score despite some good moves. The yellow team won the first match and the blues the second, at which point we decided it was time to opt for a draw – a very unusual occurrence in Silly Army!

Next up was netball and here the yellow team excelled to win comfortably. New players Mike and Paul got thoroughly stuck in to the game and the girls on the yellow team played well together to clinch victory.

After tea we tried Giant Football (football with the dodgeball) which is very difficult to control, particularly in the ubiquitous King’s Park wind, leading to the ball blowing all over the pitch. In the end this became a ‘first goal wins’ game, the yellow team scoring.

A Monkey Toss Action Shot. Now that's not something you see every day... Picture: AD

Monkey Toss was the final game of the day, complete with a humiliating school style team picking. Pete proved that not only is he a top tosser, he can spot a tosser at ten paces as he chose the winning side, comfortably beating Dave’s troop.

Top tosser. Picture: AD

The Silly Army meets in King’s Park every Sunday from 1pm and plays such silly games as these. Come along and join us!

More Silly Army pictures from October 24 and 31:

Alex the poser defends the yellow goal. Picture: AD

Games on Hallowe'en can have interesting results... Picture: SM

Dodgy geezers never break their pose, no matter what happens. Picture: SM

We welcomed a new member, Paul, and could tell he would fit in straight away. Pic: SM

Sam is confident of victory. Picture: SM

Picture Credits: AD – Aleksandra Dimitrova; SM – Steph Mills

Another sunny Sunday Silly session!

The Silly Army last Sunday.

Despite being described by some nay-sayers at Bournemouth Council as an “underused resource”, King’s Park was again busy on Sunday afternoon as footballers, cyclists, dog walkers, families and runners made the best of the gloriously crisp, sunny day to enjoy the benefits of spending time in green space.

Big Tennis - by far the best way to start a Sunday afternoon in King's Park.

In their new spot in the far corner, The Silly Army were of course out in force, and it was super to see lots of new players as well as many familiar faces. Welcome, Alex, Nick, Matt, Sue and Visiting John – we hope you’ll come and play with us some more!

As has become a tradition with Silly Army, we started our park games session with a game of Big Tennis. The new players all took to this game surprisingly well, quickly showing some of the old hands how it should be done. Due to various late night games, drinking sessions and emergency 1am peppermint tea deliveries, some of the old guard were a little off the ball, and the ball itself was quite frequently off the court as we whacked it here, there and everywhere. However, some good rallies were eventually had, and Karen’s team were the most alert to claim a deserved victory.

Dave proves he has the legs for a netball skirt.

First up on the big pitch was Double Netball, a recently invented game with two very high, very small netball hoops in which you have to toss your balls.

This is a fast game that soon had everybody warmed up in the chilly air. This is a game where the girls tend to excel – Helen in particular an excellent shooter – but the boys proved they were just as comfortable in netball skirts (well, according to what we’ve heard about some of them…) and a tight, frantic game ensued, eventually won by the blue team.

While Dave organised a game of dodgeball, Mrs Doyle’s tea shop opened early – but not for the usual reason of a well-earned tea break. Oh no, the next game was one that hadn’t been played for a while and was new to many of the more recent Silly Army members.

English Football is truly the Beautiful Game. It’s played the way football was intended to be played – with a cup of tea, a saucer and a strategically placed biscuit. The object of the game is to score standard football goals, without spilling your tea or getting a soggy biscuit. Cue lots of mincing as players attempt to keep up with the ball without losing any of the precious brown stuff.

Viv was spectacularly fouled as the ball knocked her cup and saucer clean out of her hand, while Pete played by the book and gained some advantages – drinking his tea, getting a refill and eating not just his own but other team members’ biscuits.

English Football also requires that each player carries an Excuse Me card, which can be presented once to an opposition player, who must oblige by stepping aside. However, not many of the Sillies played this card to their advantage, too focused on keeping their saucers clean. Despite having tea junkies Pete and K on their team, the blue team lost out to the yellows.

There's something wrong with this football game... That's right, everyone needs a nice cup of tea!

Tea was not required for an evenly matched game of hockey, where K’s late night peppermint antics saw her being not particularly on form in the yellow goal. Both the red and yellow strike forces were on good form, though, and K eventually woke up enough to defend in golden goal time by kneeling on the ball, not in the slightest intimidated by Pete’s (joking?!) threat to put leg and ball in the goal. The yellow team struck gold soon after and won the game.

Sticky Ball came next and was again quite evenly matched. The yellows got off to a great start but it was the blues who played better and won the game.

After tea break proper, we played Tchoukball and here the yellow team started off playing far better. Steph, Karen and Paul are among the best players at this game and all were on target. The blues soon picked things up and began to catch up, but this was another yellow victory.

Despite being pursued by two giant shadows, Helen is not distracted during Impossiball.

Next up was another game we hadn’t played for a while, Impossiball. This is a lacrosse style game with home-made racquets that make the transition of the ball somewhat difficult to control. New girl Alex adopted a particularly entertaining method of moving the ball – dragging it behind her along the ground inside the racquet. This proved a rather effective target, and she proved a sharp shooter – scoring an excellent through the hoop goal (worth two points). Yellows however scored the winning goal.

There was time for some tossing with a tense Monkey Toss match, blessedly free of wind this week, which meant the flying monkeys flew better. This was another very close game and it all came down to the last toss. K proved that tossing monkeys is one of her few sporting talents, thus crowning Pete’s team Top Tossers and negating the need for a toss off.

Impossiball by name...

More big tennis was played to round the day off and at 6.30pm it was time to trundle home before it got dark.

On Wednesday a selection of Sillies enjoyed more indoor games at the YMCA. A newly designed missile game was followed by Unreal Tennis, involving the ball bouncing off the walls (and also involving quite a lot of ducking as the ball moves rather fast).

We also played Bouncing Volleyball, and Netball where the green team won comfortably – Helen proving once again what an excellent shot she is. Pete meanwhile proved his girlie credentials by tying with Tori as the best shooter for the red team.

The Silly Army hope a giant ice rink doesn't land on their heads.

The Silly Army will be meeting in King’s Park again from 1pm this Sunday. We will be playing Randomiser, Big Tennis, Combi Ball, Cladwhacking, Hockey, Budge, Monkey Toss and other games – come along and join us.

Apologies for the lack of blog activity last week. The Silly Army committee has been extremely hard at work organising paperwork, fighting the ice rink plans and planning a series of activities to ensure winter is far from boring – including The Silly Army Christmas Party (yay!). Details will follow in Dave’s mailout shortly.

Alex provided a great news write-up of his first experience of Wednesday games. Read it here.

 

 

 

Pete and Dave look quite the happy newlyweds in this shot, and all their friends look happy for them. All except Alan, who is clearly coveting Karen's cup of tea.