Archive for » June, 2006 «

Wednesday, June 28th, 2006 | Author: DCF

Once a year, G4S arranges a five-a-side tournament for its staff. This year Matt Hannon had the dubious honour of doing the legwork to organise the whole affair.

There were eight teams pitted against each other, and whole families turned out to watch their partners/siblings/offspring being fouled and abused by work colleagues.

Most of the teams were there just for fun, but two or three were determined to win the silverware at any cost.

Normally mild-mannered office-staff, organised in packs of five, systematically tripped, elbowed and punched their way to the top of their groups. And the biggest bullies managed to win. (Rainford Branch!)

The highlight of my day had to be watching Rainford almost getting beaten by a team containing two adults and three young kids. They did not tone down their fouling antics one bit, one actually smacking a fourteen year old in the face during an "accidental" slip while tackling. It didn’t stop the kids from running rings around the bigger lads. Sadly and inevitably, the kids ended up losing 4-3 in the end.

[pics to follow when MSN Spaces lets me upload them]

Category: Sport | Leave a Comment

Paintball

Wednesday, June 07th, 2006 | Author: DCF

Three friends from work and I went once more to the Cheshire countryside to inflict pain on each other, all in the name of fun.

Not wishing to put people off, but paintball is expensive and it does hurt: I’m £40 worse off and am peppered with bruises. But it is great fun and, if paintballs didn’t hurt, where’s the incentive to avoid being hit?

The aim of the game is to complete a series of tasks without getting splatted. The players (about forty of us) are split down into two teams, red and blue, and are watched over by a group of sadistic marshalls. The only protection apart from coveralls is a face-mask, leaving most of your body wide open to being shot at. The special “guns” used by the players are powered by compressed CO2. You fill a small hopper on top of the gun with your paintballs and off you go. Paintballs consist of marble-sized, hard gelatin shells containing a fluorescent, snot-like washable paint.

Paintball would make a great exercise for social study. Although there are a few small groups there, you’re all thrown into one huge game. All the egos, all the nutters, all the weirdos are there….

A few beers afterwards numbed the pain a little, but the bruises are STILL quite visible even today.

Here’s a few pics.