Are You Bonkers for Conkers?
22nd September 2008
IF
you are bonkers about conkers, then it may be time to worry.
A disease of horse chestnut trees called bleeding canker
is spreading across the UK and the latest figures show
that 76 per cent of those are infected. England is renowned
for its chestnut trees and those in the south are among
the worst affected, leading to fears that the current generation
of children could be the last to collect conkers.
A spokesman from the Royal Horticultural
Society said: “This is a newly identified and serious
bacterial disease that causes bark death, canopy thinning
and dieback and often complete death of the tree in certain
species of horse chestnut.”
The trees are particularly vulnerable
because many are already struggling against a parasite called
Leaf
Minor which turns foliage brown, covers it with blisters
and causes the trees to shed their conkers earlier.
Some Council's have already started
removing some affected trees. A spokeswoman said: “The
current situation in the south is that the majority of council
owned and maintained White Horse Chestnut trees are host
to the Leaf
Minor and we are taking appropriate action by
monitoring the trees’ health to maintain public safety.
We do have cases of Bleeding
Canker on horse chestnuts which
we are also monitoring and have felled and pruned a small
number of infected trees.”
A former chestnut champ is dismayed at the thought
that conker season could be under threat. "We always had
horse chestnut trees at school and I decided I could make
a fortune if I kept a store of them until after the season
ended and we could continue playing through the spring."
“So I packed my school trunk with
the things but unfortunately they all started to mould and
stink terribly. The school called in a plumber
thinking the smell was coming from blocked drains but eventually
they ceremoniously opened all the boy's trunks and found
a fetid mass of rotting chestnuts in mine. I got in a lot
of trouble and was given a few whacks with a slipper.”
Even in these days when computer games
and health and safety laws conspire to keep children from
their conkers, they still have their fans among today’s
young.
Conkers Bonkers
School goes bonkers over conkers - A district
council felled a line of conker trees to stop youngsters injuring
themselves. A young boy was hurt after he fell out of one of
the trees while trying to grab the prized conkers. Despite
protests from local residents and the parents of some children,
civic leaders defended their actions, stressing it was for
safety reasons.
Kids have been banned from playing
conkers at school - unless they wear SAFETY GOGGLES. Head
teacher Shaun Halfpenny brought in the nutty playtime ruling
to prevent eye injuries. It was feared children could be
hurt by flying bits of shattered horse chestnut.  more..
Battling Conkers
Just in case you have missed the opportunity to play one of
the old school playground favourites, we have a Battling
Conkers flash game here for you more
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