THE BUMMER CUP... (A Boxing Day tournament at my parents' house in Shard End, Birmingham...)

 The Bummer Cup…

(Boxing Day when I was growing up in Shard End, Birmingham...)

School’s out!

Cold. Dark. Dank.

Frost stealing onto 

Dull blades of grass,

But meagre trimmings

Cannot deny the presence 

Of Christmas coming,

Yet too quick to pass.

Must practise!

Aim. Throw. Retrieve.

Rubber rings thrown onto

Circular wooden board

And simple repetition

Ensues. Frustration too,

Of Christmas approaching

And a present hoard.

Round the hooks!

Pedantic. Ordered. Inflexible.

From one to thirteen,

Then returning to one

But impatient irritation sets in,

Rushes of blood to the head,

Of Christmas defeats

When father beats son…

Pete Ray

The ‘ring board’ had been made by my father in the 1930s, with 13 hooks screwed into a circular wooden board.

He won the 'Bummer Cup' from the Boxing Day tournament every year at my house in Shard End, Birmingham.

Names were drawn from a hat and the competition began…

My father threw the rings like he was throwing darts and he was so accurate…

To win a tie, 101 was needed but you had to finish exactly on 101, so if 9 was needed and you scored 10, your score was nullified until your next turn… 

UNCLE JACK CONCENTRATES & WIFE IVY WATCHES ON...

I practised and practised when school was out, also throwing like a darts player would but I could rarely beat my father and never did in a competition…

I often went round the board in numerical order to help with my accuracy, starting by snagging 1, then 2 and so on, to 13, before reversing the practice…

Didn’t help much though…

THE BOARD REPLACED THE MIRROR FOR THE CHRISTMAS PERIOD...
(ME WITH MUM IN HER LATER YEARS...)

However, I became very well versed in how to lose to my father at any games he found time to play with me…

I USED THE BOARD, TOP RIGHT, IN MY 'HOME FOR CHRISTMAS' WW2 TEACHING SESSIONS AT BIRMINGHAM'S MUSEUM & ART GALLERY...