Bag's Rants

It's official. The UK's balls are the best.

Well it seems the Brits are actually good at something. Finally. We have won the World Marble Championships. Oh! At first I thought it was an award for those that had lost their marbles. But careful thought indicated that it couldn't be so or the UK would have been the reigning champions for at least the last 10 years.

No. Despite all the odds it seems that the childhood game of marbles is, in fact, an international sport. Read here.

Now clearly my laziness for anything that has sport in the title also extends to games that I wouldn't class as a sport. I have not heard of marbles since I left school and for some reason my son didn't seem to play during his time at school either. I just assumed it was banned due to health and safety rules or that it was too competitive or something. After all flicking a glass ball around sounds dangerous to me. Almost as bad as conkers. Makes you wonder if people care about their kids any more.

Anyway, I was intrigued by this titbit contained in the report. Tinsley Green, near Crawley, is reputed to be the scene of an epic marbles battle in Elizabethan times over the hand of a local maiden.

Now doesn't that get the blood roaring? Helen of Troy had a 1,000 ship army sent for her fair hand and thousands died during that campaign and an entire civilisation changed. We Brits have a game of marbles over our fair maidens. Kind of puts us into our place doesn't it and make you reconsider our understanding of the words epic and battle.

One question I still have though. When is the film coming out? I suggest the working title is 'The Maiden and the Men with the Glass Balls' or something. I bet the scriptwriters are working flat out on this. Imagine the suspense. A six foot six heavily muscled guy with a sword bigger than the average person and over a thousand recognised kills fighting with marbles against the five foot two town nerd over the hand of the fair maiden. ie. Not the town bike. It's all down to the wire and the last game has it all. It's an epic battle all right. I can hardly wait.

posted by Bag @ 2:44 pm