|
The Last War Of Summer - Prologue My father served in the armed forces and I was fortunate to spend two years or so of my childhood in the mid 60's on an island in the Mediterranean (I was between 12 and 13 when these stories commence). Our community was self contained and a considerable number of the boys were involved in scouting. With no English language TV (and no computer games, etc.!) this became one of our chief activities apart from swimming. The climate enabled us to enjoy an outdoor existence all the year round but we were doubly fortunate in that our scout unit had the virtually exclusive use of extensive woodland and rocky scrub extending to approximately 20 acres (a considerable area). I had been a member of other scout groups before my arrival in this "boy's paradise" and at each one tie up games and situations were not uncommon (give any group of small boys some lengths of rope and ask them to practice knots and they will, without any doubt, within a few minutes be doing so on one another!) but on my arrival here I found it had developed almost to an art form! Naturally, as families came and went our members (and players) changed. No boy was ever coerced into taking part but we were never short of participants. However, all those who joined in knew that if captured they would certainly be tied up in what ever way their captor pleased and might be subjected to "torture" (the ubiquitous tickle torture - never underestimate its effectiveness or the ferocity with which young boys can administer it to their chums!). Why were these games so popular? For my own part I was always nervous of being tied up, I think in part from a reluctance to appear less dexterous than others through an inability to escape my bonds (in retrospect a foolish fear since I don't recall many instances of a boy actually freeing himself after being bound by the principle protagonists). On the other hand, I already knew that I found the loss of freedom and the knowledge that one never quite knew what might happen next wildly exciting in every sense of the word. I think perhaps that overcoming my fears was part of the turn on. As the climate was hot and we were all generally scantily clad (a tee shirt and gym shorts became almost a uniform) it wasn't difficult to tell that others were affected similarly. However, no reference was ever made to our "excitement", our ages ranged from approximately 12 years to about 15« and certainly amongst us younger boys we did not understand such stirrings - there were no sexual connotations. That no girls were involved was simply a sign of the times. Mixed scouting was years away in the UK and certainly the younger players hadn't started to discover the "fairer sex". I believe these games probably grew from an extension of the "cops and robbers/war games" played by most youngsters then. We generally carried water pistols and our rules stated that if hit by the opposition you were required to surrender. The great advantage over the "bang, bang you're dead" scenario was that, by taking prisoners and tying them up, gagging them and (possibly) "torturing" them, we were able to achieve a greater and more satisfying degree of realism. I would be the last to deny that some of the acts perpetrated on our mates had inherent dangers. I would most certainly discourage any younger readers from attempting to emulate what we did. However, in mitigation I would just say that no one ever (fortunately) sustained any real injury beyond occasional bruised wrists and/or ankles and I don't recall any regular player deciding that he no longer wished to take part. Our leaders certainly knew what took place from time to time (a few of our "activities" took place at regular scout meetings or camps) but in those "pre PC" days they chose not to interfere so long as no one was hurt or singled out for bullying (which in my memory never took place). We were grateful to them for their forbearance. I also think that some parents must have had some idea of what took place at weekends but again they never interfered. Certainly my own must have seen my bruised wrists from time to time (when dressed only in shorts and short sleeved shirts for most of the time it would be difficult to conceal them). Never once did they make any comment and for this I was truly appreciative. Finally, the stories are in essence true. I have remarkably graphic memories of all the games we played. I am sure everyone will realise that the dialogue is not original. I have tried to convey the atmosphere and camaraderie that prevailed amongst a large group of boys of disparate age who formed a very close friendship. I hope everyone will forgive this in the interests of making the stories (hopefully) more enjoyable. And so to the next tale...
|