Finding out about StreetGames...

...and playing some in Luton!

As an avid user of Twitter and fan of all types of sports and games I recently followed StreetGames – a sports charity that brings sport to the doorsteps of young people in disadvantaged communities all over the UK.

Upon checking out their tweets I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was their 2100th follower and had therefore won a StreetGames t-shirt.

When the parcel arrived I was very happy to find that not only did I receive a t-shirt, but also a Goodie Bag full of great stuff, including a very nice StreetGames medal! Emily and I will no doubt be competing for this prize when it gets hotter and the evenings longer.

The StreetGames Goodie Bag

With the weather unseasonably warm and the evening still light enough to grab some decent photos of me wearing my new StreetGames t-shirt, I headed out to the streets of Luton last night to play. I had a quick game of one of my all-time favourites – Kerby. Along with some Double Yellow-Line Dominoes!

Me at my local Kerby 'court' in Luton

One of my favourite indoor games, taken to the street - Double Yellow-Line Street Dominoes!

On a serious note, StreetGames looks to support projects in disadvantaged communities in the UK that help young people get involved in sports and also provide volunteering opportunities. You can find out more about StreetGames here.

Checking out the StreetGames website you can see they run projects offering a range of sports including: Angling, Athletics, Badminton Basketball, Cricket, Fencing, Football, Futsal, Handball, Judo, Multi-sport sessions, Netball, rock climbing, Roller Sports, Rugby League, Rugby Union, StreetCheer, StreetDance, Table Tennis, Tennis, Tri Golf and Volleyball.

Perhaps Minigolf/Crazy Golf and Dodgeball would be good activities for future projects...?

You can follow StreetGames on Twitter, Facebook & YouTube and check out their website here.

Drinking and 'Pub' Games at the 29th Luton Beer & Cider Festival

Dominoes, Table Skittles and Gluten Free Beer at the Luton Beer & Cider Festival.

On Friday 17th February we headed to the 29th Luton Beer & Cider Festival at the High Town Sports & Arts Centre in Luton.

The souvenir glass from the Beer Fest and a hand of my Dominoes

Ahead of the event I’d been informed by the Beds & Mid Herts Coeliac Group that there would be four Gluten Free Beers on offer (in amongst the many beers, ciders and perries)! I'd also spoken to one of the organisers, who is a Coeliac, and found out the beers would be available on the foreign beers stand.

The four GF beers available were from Green's and were the Bottle Conditioned Re-fermented Blonde, Brown and Dark Ales & Greens Discovery. I chose a bottle of the Blonde Beer and would definitely buy it again. It was excellent that the Beer Festival had chosen to include Gluten Free beers on the roster too. I'm a big fan of Cider and Perry, but it's nice to go to a Beer Fest and actually have the choice to buy a Beer if I want to. 

The four Gluten Free Beers available. There were plenty of posters around the venue advertising the beers, along with a factsheet explaining what Coeliac Disease is.

In amongst the drinking me and Emily played some Dominoes in a best-of-3, 5 & 7 series to decide the Luton Drink Club Dominoes Champion.

A Dominoes game in 'action'

The main hall at the Beer Fest housed a vast array of ales and was where the four Gluten Free beers were being sold.

Me with a Gluten Free Ale and another 'third' of strong Cider!

The hall also housed the CAMRA stand where they had two Pub Games available to play – Shove Ha’penny and Table Skittles!

The Table Skittles at the CAMRA stand

The Shove Ha'penny Board

Me lining up a swing on the Table Skittles

An excellent evening with lots of different drinks to try. Roll on the 30th Luton Beer & Cider Festival!

Links:

- South Bedfordshire Branch of CAMRA

Blog Posts:

- Gluten Free Beers and Lagers

- The Weymouth Preliminaries Rock Paper Scissors Contest