Tag Archives: fun

April Fool!!

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Whence proceeds the custom of making April Fools?” This was the question asked of the wonderfully-entitled publication ‘British Apollo or Curious Amusements for the Ingenious’ in 1708.

In British folklore, April Fool’s Day is associated with Gotham in Nottinghamshire and an event from the 13th century. According to legend, King John decided to ‘acquire’ some of the land of Gotham for a hunting lodge. Naturally this was not popular with the townsfolk and so they decided on a cunning plan to dissuade the king. They decided to ‘play the fool’ so when the king’s men arrived in the town, they found the townspeople doing all sorts of crazy things such as trying to drown fish. This was enough for the king’s men to counsel the king to choose somewhere else for his lodge, as Gotham was obviously full of madmen. Ever since then, according to legend, April Fool’s Day has commemorated their trickery.

The idea of April Fools’ Day spread rapidly throughout Britain during the 18th century. It was particularly popular in Scotland where it became a two-day event, starting with ‘hunting the gowk’, gowk meaning ‘cuckoo’ or ‘fool’. It entailed sending folk on phony errands, often carrying messages reading, “Dinna laugh, dinna smile. Hunt the gowk another mile.” The recipient would send the messenger on to another person with the same message, and so on. This was followed by Tailie Day, which rather bizarrely involved playing pranks on people’s bottoms, such as attaching pretend tails or ‘kick me’ notes to them.

Nowadays when someone has an April Fool trick played on them, the prankster will generally shout “April Fool!”. Pranks can be quite simple, such as sending people on wild goose chases or quite complicated, as some of the following examples illustrate.

Some people may remember a famous April Fool prank from 1957, when the BBC program ‘Horizon’ apparently showed Swiss farmers picking spaghetti from spaghetti trees. The BBC received so many enquiries from viewers asking where they could buy a spaghetti plant that they had to own up to the hoax the following day!

The BBC do enjoy a good prank and in 1965 they were at it again, with another famous hoax: smell-o-vision. A trial was announced whereby smells were to be broadcast along with the regular TV shows. Apparently many viewers declared the trial a great success!

Then in 2008 the pranksters at the BBC reported that during filming for their natural history series ‘Miracles of Evolution’ they had captured footage of flying penguins. Presenter Terry Jones of Monty Python fame was shown walking with the penguins in Antarctica, and then following their flight to the Amazon rainforest where the penguins would “spend the winter basking in the tropical sun.” The video went viral on the internet.

The Guardian newspaper got in on the act on 1st April 1977 with a seven-page supplement on the entirely fictitious island nation of San Serriffe.

And in this new digital world, let’s not forget the internet giant Google with its annual April Fool’s Day jokes!

Monopoly and its history

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Monopoly was originally designed to warn players about the dangers of capitalism – but it ended up celebrating getting rich.

The first version of the board game was called ‘The Landlord’s Game’ and was supposed to show the unfairness of private property ownership. It was created in 1902 by Elizabeth Magie who believed in fairer taxation and wanted a single tax on land ownership to replace all other taxes.

She thought it was grossly unfair that landlords raked in profits by passively owning land and wanted to change it.

The board game she called ‘The Landlord’s Game’ was essentially a satire and she thought that when people played it they would ‘see clearly the gross injustice of our present land system. How wrong she was, in her original version players used paper money to buy utilities and property, just like the modern game. But instead of passing ‘Go’ and collecting £200, you passed a square marked ‘Labor upon Mother Earth produces wages’ and got £100.

One corner of the board was marked ‘No Trespassing. Go to Jail’ which she said was owned by a British lord and was to signify ‘foreign ownership of American soil’.

Magie patented The Landlord’s Game in 1904 and approached board game makersed Parker Bros.. but they passed, saying it was too complicated.

Meanwhile the game spread around the country – people made their own versions with paper – until it found its way to Charles Darrow in Philadelphia in 1933. He was shown the game by his friend Charles Todd and promptly stole the idea and passed it off as his own, adding some more colour to the board and suggesting people use small household objects as playing tokens.

During the 1930s it began to sell steadily at stores until in 1935 Parker Brothers decided to buy it from Darrow for £7,000, around £121,000 in current money.

Parker Brothers added playing pieces like a shoe, a top hat and an iron, the Chance and Community Chest cards and a cartoon character who was called Mr Monopoly, which spawned the game’s new name.

Parker Brothers tried to patent the game but realized that Darrow did not actually own it.
They had to pay £10,000 to Daniel Lyman who had patented his own version called Finance.
They also tracked down Magie, who was living in Arlington, Virginia and paid her with a commitment that they would make a version of the Landlord’s Game.

Darrow meanwhile made millions, even after Parker Brothers reduced his royalties.
In 1939 when Parker Brothers eventually made The Landlord’s Game it bombed and most of the 10,000 copies were returned. Magie would no doubt have been heartbroken.
Author Tristan Donovan writes:: ‘Players looked at Monopoly and decided they wanted to be the rich monopolistic landlord’ After all who wants to be poor?

A quintessentially English game

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The game of croquet was introduced to Victorian England by John Jaques and marketed to the growing middle class via the manufacture of croquet sets, which were showcased at The Great Exhibition of 1851. Great Exhibition sets were reissued in the 21st century by Jaques of London to mark 150 years since the introduction of croquet to England.

The popularity of the game in Victorian times engendered a wave of publications. Each publication offered a different number of rules, ranging from 20 to 126! Consensus arrived in 1870 with the publication of The Conference Rules of Laws. The current Laws of Association Croquet number a modest 55, though that number climbs into the hundreds if you count the many sub-sections.

As the world went to war in 1914, Stanley Paul & Co. published Lord Tollemache Croquet. The text describes the game of the Edwardian golden age, supported by event photographs demonstrating the techniques of a sequence game (as golf croquet today), involving ‘tight croqueting’ where the striker put his foot on his ball and hit it to move the ball in contact over the lawn, sending it ‘up the country’.

Croquet illustrates hoops run from circles rounding them on a square court with 4 baulks, 6 hoops and 2 pegs (1st below fifth hoop, 2nd above sixth hoop). The player was required to hit the 2nd peg (turning peg) with the striker’s ball, thus gaining one stroke before advancing to 1-back. The end game involved a peg-out at the peg below the fifth hoop.

As croquet grew in popularity, so clubs were formed. In 1860 the first club was established at Worthing in west Sussex, followed by the All England Croquet Club at Wimbledon in 1868. A need to coordinate the activities of a growing number of clubs led to the formation of The Croquet Association (CA) in 1897; it remains today the national governing body for the sport in England and produces the Laws of Croquet for both Association and Golf.

The introduction of lawn tennis in 1875 challenged the popularity of croquet, but croquet continued to be played and perhaps benefited from the higher standards of lawn care that tennis demanded. Lawn mowers, first invented in 1830, improved and evolved to suit the leisure market.

Planning a picnic event

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‘Picnic’ began life as a 17th-century French word — it wasn’t even close to being an American invention. A 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Françoise de Ménage mentions ‘piquenique’ as being of recent origin marks the first appearance of the word in print. As for how the French came by this new term, it was likely invented by joining the common form of the verb ‘piquer’ (meaning “to pick” or “peck”) and a nonsense rhyming syllable coined to fit the first half of this new palate-pleaser.

The first documented appearance of the term outside the French language occurred in 1748, but it was 1800 or thereabouts before anyone can prove it made it into the English language. Even then, it still wasn’t in America, it was in England.

Originally, the term described the element of individual contribution each guest was supposed to make towards the repast, as everyone who had been invited to social events styled as “picnics” was expected to turn up bearing a dish to add to the common feast. This element was picked up in other ‘picnic’ terms, such as ‘picnic society,’ which described gatherings of the intelligentsia where everyone was expected to perform or in some other way contribute to the success of the evening.

Over time, the meaning of the word shifted to emphasize an alfresco element that had crept into the evolving concept of what such gatherings were supposed to be. Nowadays one thinks of a picnic as a casual meal partaken in a pastoral setting, not as a repast enjoyed either indoors or outdoors but which was contributed to by everybody. Modern picnic baskets can be provisioned by only one cook, and no one would think anything of it — what matters now is the food be eaten outdoors.

By the 19th century, ‘picnic’ had successfully made this linguistic shift in meaning. Its history (and that of every other word in the English language) is documented in the Oxford English Dictionary.

May Day Traditions

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Nothing beckons summer forth more effectively than dancing around a pole adorned with long, coloured ribbons. The British May Day tradition of dancing around a maypole is around 600 years old and the activity often brings communities together. But what does dancing around a maypole on 1 May involve, and what does it represent?

Dancing around a maypole involves a group of dancers taking a coloured ribbon attached to it and weaving around each other, often to music. Traditionally the dancers position themselves in pairs of boys and girls before beginning their routine. The dance creates a multi-coloured pattern which creeps steadily down the pole. The dancers then reverse their steps to undo the ribbons. This is said to represent the lengthening of the days as summer approaches, but the significance of the pole itself is not really known.

At Offenham in Worcestershire, a very complex dance routine around the pole is performed on May Day every year. The first recorded instance of a maypole dance came during the 14th century in Llanidloes, central Wales, and the tradition is thought to have come from Wales and Scotland before spreading around the country. Due to the ever-changing religious doctrines of the kings and queens of England over the centuries, the maypole was seen as an anti-Christian symbol for a time, right up to the end of the 19th century. The tallest maypoles in the country are at Nun Monkton, North Yorkshire (88 ft), Barwick-in-Elmet, West Yorkshire (86 ft) and Welford-on-Avon, Warwickshire (65 ft).

There is also the hilarious tradition of maypole scrambling, which involves people trying to climb to the top of the pole. This also mainly happens in Germany and Austria. Though not always held on 1 May, maypole celebrations also happen in the States, Malta, Scandinavia, Canada and Italy, with Italians using the pole to celebrate International Workers Day too.

British Bake Off Party

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It’s back! Yes, it’s the Great British Bake Off. Hooray! So it’s time to dig out the Union Jack bunting, take another visit to the cake aisle in Sainsburys and relax in the comforting glow of Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith lightly critiquing soggy bottoms and questionable flavours. In our excitement, here are a few party acts to hire were you wanting to host a Bake Off inspired party for the big finale in a few months time. Three, two, one… BAKE!

Splitting Images
What on earth does a lookalike Kim Kardashian have to do with baking? Well, since you asked, she doesn’t really. But who better to have jumping out of an oversized Victoria Sponge for someone’s birthday? If your Birthday Boy or Girl is a fan of Kim then that’s perfect, if however they love David Beckham then Splitting Images have many lookalikes on their books guaranteed to make your guests swoon.

It’s always a fab photo opportunity and is sure to surprise the birthday boy or girl and the lookalike would be a delightful cherry on top to any private event.

Bolli Darling
If you need someone to serve canapés and want it to be as close to the Great British Bake Off as possible, you may not want someone in the cake, you may want them to be the cake. Thank goodness then for the existence of the Bolli Darling, an act who specialise in providing living tables to entertain guests. Be it a good old British bake or perhaps a Florentine from France (though many think they’re originally from Italy – nope), your guests will adore this Great British slice of
eccentricity.

If it’s authenticity you’re after, why not hire all four of the main team that make the Great British Bake Off such a draw? It may be a little more costly than simply having your Dad host proceedings but you will get to brag to all your friends that you and Sandi are totally besties.

Sweet and Sugary

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If this has got you craving some of the fluffy goodness, we can certainly help! At Red Masque, we have a great selection of Candy Floss options for your party entertainment, amongst lots of other sweet treats.

Candy floss carts from party suppliers are a great feature at any event. Your guests can grab a stick (or bag) of the sugary stuff from our friendly fun experts, or see a demonstration on how to make the Candy Floss, before having a go themselves.
If popcorn is more your thing, then a popcorn machine is just the thing for your event, whether it be a birthday party, wedding or corporate event. That sweet smell of popcorn will draw all of your guests in and have them coming back for more and more!

Cotton Candy, also known as Candy Floss, Fairy Floss, Papa’s beard and even Old Woman’s Hair is made by spinning flossine sugar. The first records of Candy Floss in Europe date back to the 18th century, with it becoming popular in 1904 after the invention of the candy floss spinning machine we are all now familiar with. It was in April of that year that Candy Floss was taken to the World’s Fair where over 68,000 boxes were sold for 25 cents each (approx. £4 today), which was half the cost of admission! It was clear from this day onwards that candy floss would be extremely popular for people of all ages.

Sweet treats don’t stop there though, if you are planning an event for next summer and would like a sweet treat to cool your guests down, Ice cream bike hire will do just that! Alternatively, if you would like a healthier treat, fruit selection carts would be great.

Mystery Parties

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How a Mystery Party Works…

Your invitation will include details about which character the guest will play. Encourage them to dress up – this is a big part of the fun! During the course of the evening, an announcement will be made that a murder has happened. Clues will be revealed over time, and characters will get information cards periodically to help them with their responses and guide them on what information they should reveal (or not reveal).

Your Job at the Party
As a good host, you’ll make sure that guests know what character they will be before they arrive (so they can dress the part),make sure that clues are set up along the way, and make sure that each character has the information he or she needs to play their part.

Why is a Mystery Party So Much Fun?
These are a lot of fun, especially if you have friends who will really get into their characters and come dressed for their role.

Sometimes guests who assume another person’s identities, from the way they walk, talk and act. Those who assume accents can be hysterical!

These parties are also fun because they can revolve around dinner, so they serve a double purpose as a dinner party AND murder mystery!

A good game is one where the instructions are clear for the host and the characters, making it easy to play their part.

Party ideas for the Elderly

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When planning a party for an elderly adult, you’ll want to consider having the guest of honour in on the planning. While surprise parties are fun, they can sometimes be “too much”. Only you know what your special person will be able to handle. An important consideration when planning a party is to schedule the party for a time of day that when the guest of honour will be at his or her best.

If a party will be “too much”, consider throwing a playing card party instead. It is a great way to remember the occasion, but without any stress for the guest of honour.

Some fun party ideas…

Before the party, ask guests to tell you something about the guest of honour – something they did, something they said, something funny…anything special that they remember. Compile these and add them to the slideshow presentation, or read them aloud and mount them in a memory book.

Have a sing-along! Try singing gold old-fashioned songs that everyone will know. This is something old folks did for entertainment before TV. Have sheets with the lyrics printed for younger guests. Songs like “Roll out the barrel”, “When you’re smiling”, “It’s a long way to tipperary ” and other similar songs will be fun for everyone to sing.

For easy games, use printable birthday games.

Show a movie. Pick something that is funny or entertaining (and a favourite of the birthday person). How about the Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Hope and Crosby, Red Skelton, Danny Kaye, Abbott and Costello, Lewis and Martin, etc. Classic TV shows, such as “I Love Lucy” are always a hit too, Project it on a wall, a sheet or on a large screen so that everyone can enjoy!

Sometimes it can be difficult to find birthday party games for elderly adults. If you are looking for a fun game that everyone from young to old can play, how about Birthday Bingo? To do this, create bingo cards where each square is something that is of interest him/her, such as “Crossword Puzzles”, “Golf”, “Nature”, etc. Have all the square possibilities written on slips of paper and placed in a bowl, then play like any traditional game of bingo.

Other fun games for older adults include playing trivia games (especially when playing them orally) and games such as Chess, Bridge, and Dominoes. (These are great fun for any party, not just a 100th birthday!)

Event team building

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More often than not, Corporate companies hold event team building days and it is an important part of the office world. There are various events from raft building to quiz games and strategies each will get teams working together, but have you ever wondered how the idea came about?

The emergence of the team idea can be traced back to the late 1920s and early 1930s. These involved a series of research activities designed to examine in-depth what happened to a group of workers under various conditions.

After much analysis, the researchers agreed that the most significant factor was the building of a sense of group identity, a feeling of social support and cohesion that came with increased worker interaction.

Elton Mayo (1933), one of the original researchers, pointed out certain critical conditions which were identified for developing an effective work team:

– The manager (chief observer) had a personal interest in each person’s achievements.
– He took pride in the record of the group.
– He helped the group work together to set its own conditions of work.
– He faithfully posted the feedback on performance.
– The group took pride in its own achievement and had the satisfaction of outsiders showing interest in what they did.
– The group did not feel they were being pressured to change.
– Before changes were made, the group was consulted.
– The group developed a sense of confidence and candour.
– These research findings spurred companies to seriously consider the idea of grouping their employees into effective work teams and to this day they are still important considerations for human resource developers.