Fun and games

Well, quelle surprise! It’s not snowing! At the moment it doesn’t really matter because there is no chance of the existing snow/ice melting. Yesterday I drove over to Ullapool to give lessons. It was -13C when I set off - it took me twenty minutes just to scrape the ice from the INSIDE of the windscreen - and did not get above -10C until I neared Ullapool. Later, when I drove home, the temperature continued to drop and, while we watched the BBC weatherman telling us that the weather should slowly improve this week, the outside thermometer read -18C!

With pupils cancelling lessons faster than I can book them I took the opportunity to spend some time with Jordan, our nine year-old grandson. Jordan loves his PS3 and Nintendo, so I was hoping to encourage him to play outdoors for a change. With plenty of snowy slopes close by, I thought that we could go sledging. The last time I went sledging I had a big, wooden sledge and we took it to Dunstable Downs. I hit a bump, took off and landed on my hand. The bones in my hand were so smashed that my little finger had almost disappeared into my palm. But I wasn’t going to let something trivial, such as memories of two doctors pressing down on my broken bones, put me off.
Alas, despite scouring the emporiums of Nairn and Forres, we were unable to find a single sledge. If I was a proper grandad, I would have spent weeks slaving away with wood, screws, tools and varnish, to create the world’s best sledge….. Maybe next winter. Determined not to be beaten, we took two plastic dog food sacks to the slopes. Admittedly, they were not the most sophisticated of sledges (and I definitely could have done with a lot more padding), but Jordan…..ok, we…. had great fun (even if I had bruised knees for the first time in decades).

Luckily for me, Jordan is not a games snob. He may have the latest consoles and the latest games, but he does not turn his nose up when I can only offer him Grand Turismo on my PS2 (actually, he loves Grand Turismo and I have to admit that he now beats me more often than I beat him). Because he seems quite happy massacring an airport full of innocents in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, I thought I could introduce him to the delights of Resident Evil. Strangely, while he doesn’t mind being shot by enemy snipers, he didn’t enjoy zombies attacking him with pitchforks.
 

I thought Tomb Raider - Legend might then be a wee bit tame for him, but he loved it. Whether it was the pneumatic charms of Lara Croft or the running/jumping/exploring/shooting/etc aspect he liked I’m not sure, but, I must admit, I am tempted to have a go where he left off. If I can beat the boss with the curved green sword I am sure it would confirm my position as ‘The World’s Greatest Grandad’ (at least in Jordan’s eyes)….. even if I can only provide dog-food sacks for a sledge.