Do you remember when every October primary schools were packed with little boys with conkers stuffed in their pockets? – eager for break time so they could run out to the playground. At home they had managed to bore a hole through the nut, pass throw a piece of string and then they were ready. By the end of the day the victor was the one whose conker was still intact, whilst everyone else was left with fragments strewn across the tarmac. I am not quite sure why this part of childhood has disappeared.