SPORTING CHANCE
DAILY Press sports editor Keith Watson shares his thoughts on keeping himself and his family entertained during lockdown
ABOUT 30 years ago, my cousin Gavin was minding his own business in Darlington Bus Station when he was accosted by the archetypal American tourist, complete with a large hat, loud shorts and an even louder voice.
“Could you please tell me the way to B’Nard Castle?” he boomed, pronouncing the County Durham market town as if it was the number one draft pick in the NBA.
My cousin paused for a moment, perhaps to ponder how an American tourist had come to be in Darlington, and then replied “No mate, but I can show you how to get to Barney”.
Save for the hammering my sixth form rugby team got there a few years later, I hadn’t subsequently given much thought to ‘Barney’ until the last week or so, when it emerged as the top destination for Covid-19 convalescence among political advisors.
With a week off work and lockdown slowly being eased, I could have taken a trip there myself, especially as I am due an eye test, but here at Watson Towers we thought it best to stay in the West during the half-term break.
Against all my expectations, the sun cracked the pavements throughout, but the soaring temperatures were not welcomed by everyone.
My five-year-old boy has developed strong objections to our walks, whether in the woods, on the common, or by the canalside. Indeed, the proposal of a gentle countryside stroll prompts the kind of reaction one might expect if a march across the Sahara Desert had been suggested.
Left to my own devices, I could easily spend hours in the shade reading a good book, but it is rare for my wife and I to get any time to ourselves before our eight-year-old daughter goes all Butlins red coat on us and insists on getting us involved in some kind of entertainment.
Every day tends to be a school day for her too, so first out of the drawer came Scrabble. The difficulty level here tends to ramp up because of the host of words I could play which are not age-appropriate.
Later in the week, Monopoly was on the agenda, although this actually proved quite useful to my boy, who enjoyed working out how to make the various amounts of money he needed to collect or pay.
Given that his last maths lesson amounted to ‘Find as many number 12s around your house as you can’ he seemed happy enough to work things out, although matters deteriorated somewhat when he landed on one of my properties with three houses on it.