Returned last night from a very pleasant couple of days down at Damian’s beach house. Had a great time, and indubitably more posting will follow on the mores of middle management, the merits and pitfalls of observational comedy, and the splendour of the Southern coast of the UK on a sunny day. For now, however, I will quickly relate some of the best fun had for free:

The rock game:

(1) Place empty can of some description, preferably a recently consumed beer tin, in plain sight 10 meters or so away from your base position
(2) At your base position, which is hopefully the top of a slope of pebbly beach, select yourself a handful of well-rounded and weighted stones, with a number of friends/competitors
(3) Throw like the be-jeezus and try to knock the can over.

When somene hits the can, it is their responsibility to right it in a new location, and head up the slope and begin again as quickly as possible, because his/her opponents will not give them much time to get clear.

We considered various permutations of the game – handful of rock throws (un-good), the can placed futher away, and on a wave break (sometimes known as a groin). Parabolic throws are good, as is pegging it sideways on, a technique that proved good for Mr. Csmith. We also considered an Xbox live implementation of the game, which may simply have been inspired by the sunshine and the alcohol we had consumed. Still, it is some of the best fun that can be had for free, I think, if you have an ample supply of rocks, beer, and preferably a beach.