Boffing!

Finally - I finished a page. Sometimes these old photos (year 2000 still!) don't make for great pages and they are hard to scrapbook - so many to get on to two pages to tell the story - but I remind myself that it is about preserving memories for my kids - sooo lots of journalling and get the photos on the page. Harold grinned as he remembered these great memories and helped me get it down on the page. The journalling (which is tucked behind the left page) reads....

Combat with foam weapons is referred to as boffing and in the fall of 2000 our boys learned all about it from the boys and some of the fathers at Grace Fellowship in Leask. As a result they were spending all their spare time and allowance on PVC tubing, foam and copious rolls of duct tape to create their swords, spears, staffs and shields.

Some of these farm boys were quite rough and I always worried when the boys were out “boffing” – Cody was especially good at causing bruises and sometime what was supposed to be touching became out right blows. But the boys assured me all was okay and stay out of it Mom!!

Some of the rules:
• You are "killed" when you are struck in the torso (front or back), head (above the eyebrows and behind the ears) or abdomen..
• Every point of contact of your opponent's weapon(s) counts, so if they hit your arm and then your leg, both are lost.
• If you are hit across both buttocks, you lose both legs and cannot kneel, but should get in a sitting position. • If you lose a leg, you should not use it at all, not even to balance yourself when you are standing.
• When you're hit in the arm, say "arm", when hit in the head, say "dead", etc... If you are hit and your armor protects you from that blow, say "armor".

So here were a bunch of kids hopping around the field on one leg, an arm behind their back or lying on the ground yelling “dead” or “legs” – rather amusing to watch. The mothers and most of the fathers stood by the side lines along with the group of “maidens” yelling “HUZZAH” “HUZZAH” I never knew what it meant. The day wrapped up with a medieval feast – in which we broke the rules and allowed people to eat with cutlery! Grandma and Grandma Cortens spent the day with us which was a real treat, but it was a long day and I distinctly remember almost falling asleep on the highway on the drive home from Leask. David had gone ahead in his car with Grandma and Grandma. I had Mark next to me watching the highway, talking to me and making sure my eyes were open!

Thanks for looking,

Julie