Friday, 12 August 2011
International Fame
Our blog has been viewed by people all over the globe. The results are in and not surprisingly the highest numbers are from the UK and the US. However, we have had six viewings from China, 5 from the Netherlands and Egypt, 4 from France and Russia, 2 from Switzerland, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, and finally hits from Finland, Indonesia, Italy and Belgium. Keep on spreading the word - Go Bobcats!
Thursday, 11 August 2011
Riots in Birmingham!
As most of you will be aware there were serious riots and looting in the city on Monday and Tuesday night. Although most of the trouble was in the centre it spread out to areas such as Handsworth and Winson Green, where three people were killed. Thankfully there were no further outbreaks on Wednesday night. As far as we know there has been no damage in the vicinity of our training ground and none of our members have been caught up in the chaos.
The West Midlands Police force have been working tirelessly to control the situation and on Tuesday morning the Bobcats sent an email of gratitude and support to our local police station Edgbaston. Surprisingly we received an email back with the following:
The West Midlands Police force have been working tirelessly to control the situation and on Tuesday morning the Bobcats sent an email of gratitude and support to our local police station Edgbaston. Surprisingly we received an email back with the following:
Thank you, your support is greatly appreciated. It's actually quite strange for us at the moment as none of us can remember the last time we had so much support from the public. We're all ok at the moment but a bit tired. We're working 12 hour shifts and we've just had all leave and days off cancelled until Monday next week - gutted as I had a ticket for the Wales v England rugby match on Saturday!!!
As soon as all of this calms down we will definitely arrange a softball match - I'm sure we'll all need it.
Please pass on my regards to the rest of the club and our gratitude for the support - it is a very difficult and tiring time for us and the support we're getting from the public means more to us than you'll ever know.
I think you will agree this is a wonderful response and I hope you are as proud as I am to be part of the Edgbaston community and especially of our brave boys and girls in blue. Hopefully we (the boys and girls in purple) can celebrate with them soon!
Training will go on as normal this evening. It is at times like these that we need to Keep Calm and Carry On (as my cup says)!
Monday, 8 August 2011
Bobcats Picnic
On Saturday the Bobcats had their Picnic in Cannon Hill Park. It was a great afternoon full of hilarity, good food and the odd jug of punch. There were lots of memorable moments, a few of which I shall try to explain.
The picnic started at 2pm – Debbie and Kate had arrived early to set up the gazebo after collecting the very important camcorder from Jim. Tad soon arrived and it became clear we would not go hungry. Chris and his colleague Ashley were next to join us – laden with more pimms, beer and fantastic orderves – followed by Justin, Alex and Jessica. Everyone tucked into the food and for the first hour the picnic was very civilised. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and the Bobcats were engaged in polite conversation, situated on picnic rugs, with a glass of pimms and salmon canapés.
Then came the balloon modelling. Alex was truly the balloon master, where as Tad made what looked like a snake that had been run over several times by a bike.
However, Tad made up for it by showing off his skipping skills. Both he and Debbie were able to skip together for 10 jumps – it was very impressive considering the rope was child’s size.
Next was the fizz bomb challenge, which simply involved being able to suck a sweet for the longest. The first up were Debbie, Ashley, Justin, Tad and Chris. Justin was first out after a few seconds of sucking and then kicking it into the distance with some profound language; followed by Chris, then Tad and then Ashley – who dropped it in her drink. Debbie was able to eat the entire thing so she was the champion until Will stepped up to the mark and rather disappointingly enjoyed the sweet so he was able to take 2 ½. This seemed impressive until Jim joined us later who was able to do three!
To recover the Bobcats played some outdoor darts and hula hoops. Unfortunately Justin and Alex had to leave just as the fancy dress croquet was about to start. Chris and Debbie were pirates, Kate was a can-can girl, Ashley a monkey and Tad was wonder woman.
It was at this point that Will, Andrea and Elsey joined us. Apparently from quite a distance they could spot where the bobcats were. Will instantly joined in the fun and put on the monkey costume. Kate won the croquet after a very tight lead with Tad, where as Ashley brought up the tail.
Next was the egg and spoon race. Kate and Andrea were neck and neck until Debbie came from nowhere in the last few metres to take the finish line. It was felt the spoons were too large as no one dropped an egg so smaller spoons were distributed and the course extended. Within a few moments of setting off both Kate and Debbie dropped the raw eggs, followed by Andrea, leaving Tad and Chris to make it half way across the course. At this point Chris dropped his egg and Tad collided into him.
Limbo was next on the agenda, which was great on the slightly damp ground. The lads struggled with the highest bar leaving Kate and Debbie to take it down to the lower levels. Debbie won with quite some ease – but then she was the smallest of the group! Everyone’s faces while doing the limbo was hilarious – so much so Kate could hardly keep the bar still because she was laughing so much.
It was at this point that Jim joined us – just in time for Balloonatic. This involved two teams of four who were placed in a line and had to pass a balloon from their chin to the next persons knees and then back to the chin and again to the knees. This produced some interesting photos! Needless to say both teams were as bad as each other, but after a couple of attempts Ashley’s team won!
This was followed by Belly Burst, which involved two people trying to pop a balloon without using their hands. Will and Andrea were clear winners as they were able to pop it instantly, where as Kate and Jim and Tad and Ashley seemed to be hugging each other for ages!
After a quick nibble, the Bobcats were eager to carry on with the activities – the next of which was the Three-legged race. Tad and Debbie were masters at this, winning each race with ease. Kate and Jim were not too far behind, unlike Chris and Ashley. Will and Andrea had Elsie’s help – who was quite bemused by the day’s events.
There was then a quick game of British Bulldog, but time was creeping up on us and we had to quickly pack up and head into town. Like the afternoon the evening carried on in a similar hilarious vein, but was conveniently not as well documented as this is turning out to be a very long post.
It was a fabulous, crazy day - made possible by all those who attended. If you enjoyed reading this, please join us for the next adventure on Saturday 3rd September when the Bobcats will be off paintballing.
Then came the balloon modelling. Alex was truly the balloon master, where as Tad made what looked like a snake that had been run over several times by a bike.
However, Tad made up for it by showing off his skipping skills. Both he and Debbie were able to skip together for 10 jumps – it was very impressive considering the rope was child’s size.
Next was the fizz bomb challenge, which simply involved being able to suck a sweet for the longest. The first up were Debbie, Ashley, Justin, Tad and Chris. Justin was first out after a few seconds of sucking and then kicking it into the distance with some profound language; followed by Chris, then Tad and then Ashley – who dropped it in her drink. Debbie was able to eat the entire thing so she was the champion until Will stepped up to the mark and rather disappointingly enjoyed the sweet so he was able to take 2 ½. This seemed impressive until Jim joined us later who was able to do three!
To recover the Bobcats played some outdoor darts and hula hoops. Unfortunately Justin and Alex had to leave just as the fancy dress croquet was about to start. Chris and Debbie were pirates, Kate was a can-can girl, Ashley a monkey and Tad was wonder woman.
It was at this point that Will, Andrea and Elsey joined us. Apparently from quite a distance they could spot where the bobcats were. Will instantly joined in the fun and put on the monkey costume. Kate won the croquet after a very tight lead with Tad, where as Ashley brought up the tail.
Next was the egg and spoon race. Kate and Andrea were neck and neck until Debbie came from nowhere in the last few metres to take the finish line. It was felt the spoons were too large as no one dropped an egg so smaller spoons were distributed and the course extended. Within a few moments of setting off both Kate and Debbie dropped the raw eggs, followed by Andrea, leaving Tad and Chris to make it half way across the course. At this point Chris dropped his egg and Tad collided into him.
Limbo was next on the agenda, which was great on the slightly damp ground. The lads struggled with the highest bar leaving Kate and Debbie to take it down to the lower levels. Debbie won with quite some ease – but then she was the smallest of the group! Everyone’s faces while doing the limbo was hilarious – so much so Kate could hardly keep the bar still because she was laughing so much.
It was at this point that Jim joined us – just in time for Balloonatic. This involved two teams of four who were placed in a line and had to pass a balloon from their chin to the next persons knees and then back to the chin and again to the knees. This produced some interesting photos! Needless to say both teams were as bad as each other, but after a couple of attempts Ashley’s team won!
This was followed by Belly Burst, which involved two people trying to pop a balloon without using their hands. Will and Andrea were clear winners as they were able to pop it instantly, where as Kate and Jim and Tad and Ashley seemed to be hugging each other for ages!
After a quick nibble, the Bobcats were eager to carry on with the activities – the next of which was the Three-legged race. Tad and Debbie were masters at this, winning each race with ease. Kate and Jim were not too far behind, unlike Chris and Ashley. Will and Andrea had Elsie’s help – who was quite bemused by the day’s events.
There was then a quick game of British Bulldog, but time was creeping up on us and we had to quickly pack up and head into town. Like the afternoon the evening carried on in a similar hilarious vein, but was conveniently not as well documented as this is turning out to be a very long post.
It was a fabulous, crazy day - made possible by all those who attended. If you enjoyed reading this, please join us for the next adventure on Saturday 3rd September when the Bobcats will be off paintballing.
Friday, 5 August 2011
Picnic in the Park
Tomorrow is the Bobcats Picnic in the Park and I am very excited! I have a list of games to play - most of which I haven't played since sports day at school. They include the following:
Wheel barrow races, three-legged football, British bulldog, balloonatic, cream cracker challenge, piggy back wars, belly burst, croquet, badminton, limbo, assault courses, blind man’s bluff etc.
For those who still haven't heard - you should have received an email about the time and place. If you haven't check out our facebook page.
All you need to do is bring along some food and drink and a good sense of humour. The weather forecast is dry with sunny intervals, but should there be a light shower we have a large gazebo to shelter under – with some pimms and beer! I would suggest not bringing a car if you can help it!
It should be such good fun - so I look forward to seeing you there!
Kick Ball
Last night Alex brought along a large bouncy ball to training. Most of us were completely baffled as to why we would need a Bob the Builder ball, but those from North America were very excited. Kick Ball! This game is just like baseball, but with a large bouncy ball, which is kicked, not hit with a bat. It was great fun and just what we needed on a lovely sunny evening towards the end of another great training session. Unfortunately, due to all the excitement, no-one took any photos. Next time!
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