Kicking a Tennis Ball
Trust me, it was a lot more exciting than it sounds. Not really impromptu - seemed to be a game every single morning just before the bell rang for the register.

My secondary school, Mark Hall Comprehensive in Harlow, has two towers, East Block and West Block. At the foot of either side of each tower were about 3 or 4 steps down into a little stairwell area before the main doors. Between the two towers was the library, and on this side we'd play a game that involved everyone who was playing milling around inside this 12' by 12' space. The aim of the game was to kick the ball at the wall, hitting someone on the rebound.

If the ball hit you, you got out of the pit.

If the ball went over the top without hitting the wall, you were out.

If the ball went out, either over the top or back towards the science block, you had to get over there and kick the tennis ball so that it hit the wall - because if you didn't hit the wall, you were out.

There was a set order, someone would often shout the name of the next person, it was all very organised in its chaos.

Countless welts on legs, tennis balls to the bollocks, tactical bunching and dispersal at key moments. Lots of fun. Girl players were few, but those that played were great, and clearly immune to tactical testes shots.

I really want to play this again now. Dammit.
(kiwanotree Meh, Mon 29 Mar 2004, 20:58, Reply)