In 2017, me and a few mates gathered in my local Peckham pub to play conkers, the peculiarly British school yard game. A few weekends ago, this happened . . .
Welcome to the Peckham Conker Championships - a competition with no rules, and with the sole aim of smashing your opponents nut & pride.
Conker Chaos
It's been fun to help grow the event over the years - from nothing, into a full-scale hipster riot (a raucous but well-mannered riot) involving 100's battling each other under the arches of Peckham Rye train station with nothing more than a string & a nut. Basic. Almost Medieval. But a tonne of fun.
Why the f*&k
There's loads of reasons why I started the Peckham Conker Club & Championships:
Because I love organising a random event - I have history with #KittenCamp, my meme-themed event of the 2010's
Because I love making something out of nothing - conkers are everywhere (in Autumn) but massively under utilised. Unlike their cousin the Sweet Chestnut, you can't eat them (they're poisonous) and most end up rotting.
Because I have a knack of seeing potential in the most random of places - conkers is a game everyone's played (when a kid) and are aware of, but that few play beyond the age of 12.
Because I get a buzz out of helping people have fun & make some $$$ at the same time. Win Win.
What next
The where I'd like to take it next is an open question. One of the fairly useful things about a conker-based venture is that there's no rushing it. It's 100% seasonal, and so I've got 12 months to stew on it. Conker Merch proved pretty popular this year - with us shifting a tonne of our Battle Packs around the world, to help people play conkers in style. Very randomly, even an ex Prime Minister bought a pack ;-)
I guess the point of this post is to fish for ideas (and inspire) - so if you've got any world conkering ideas, then drop me & the club a note team@peckhamconker.club
Thank you & happy conkering ;-)