Rainy Days with Sharky and George

Sep 22, 2014

They enchanted children and adults alike at our launch party and, in our Sept/Oct issue, Sharky and George give us their top ten tips for making rainy days fun.

1. Umbrella Den

Collect as many umbrellas as you can find in your house (and from your neighbours if they’re nice). Then put them all up in your garden or local park, stick them next to each other and make a cosy umbrella den!

2. Brae Boarding

If you live near a hill, grab a boogie board or a bin bag, head to the top and take yourself Brae Boarding – wet grass on a good incline is just as good as snow, or a wave for that matter, but just make sure there aren’t any prickly bushes or cliffs at the end of your run.

3. Mud Pies

Make a mud pie by digging a hole in the ground, letting the water collect and mixing it up with the mud to make a really gooey, sludgy pie.

4. Upside Down Faces

You’ll need two people, a camera and some imagination. Lie down on your back on a table with your head hanging over the edge whilst your friend turns your chin into a face with pens, tinsel and cotton wool – and films you talking.

5. Butt Darts

Place a mug on the ground and choose a start line five big steps away from it. The first player clenches the coin between their butt cheeks (with clothes on!) and carefully waddles towards the mug. They take careful aim over the mug and release. If you miss unfortunately you are out until the next game. If you score a hit you are into round two and you have to try with two coins. Round three is with three coins and so on.

6. Crazy Golf

If you can’t go to the golf course, bring the golf course to you. You need a putter, a golf ball and 18 plastic cups. If you don’t have golfing equipment try a ping pong ball, tennis ball or even a marble if you want to play mini mini golf. The ‘club’ can be a broom, a cricket bat or even a ruler if you are playing with the marble. Set up a crazy golf course using the stairs, bounce off walls, make tunnels and bridges using tables, chairs, the dog…

7. Brilliant Egg Trick

You will need:

1 large water glass

1 outside sleeve of a small matchbox

1 small biscuit tin lid (or a small baking tray)

1 or maybe 2 (just in case) raw eggs

1 broom stick or mop

Some water

– Fill the glass almost full of water

– Put the glass right next to the edge of a table

-Then place the biscuit tin lid centrally upside down on top of the glass of water

-Put the matchbox sleeve standing on its end on the tin lid directly above the middle of the glass

-Balance the egg on top of the matchbox sleeve

-Put the head of the broom, or mop, on the floor underneath the glass

-Hold the top of the broom stick and sharply shove it forwards so it hits the edge of the biscuit tin lid pretty hard.

-If all goes to plan, the lid should slide forwards, the match box sleeve should hold the egg in the air for a second and next the egg should plop safely into the glass of water without breaking!

8. Duvet Tobogganing

Grab the thickest duvet you can find and sit on the end of the duvet at the top of some carpeted stairs, wrapping your legs with the rest of duvet so it feels like you are in a sleeping bag. Send yourself down the stairs feet first. Open your eyes again before you go down!

9. Babybel World Cup

Each player needs to take a Babybel cheese, eat the cheese (very important), and keep the two red waxy halves of the wrapper to make them into Babybel football boots on your fingers. Make a ball from the wax from another Babybel. You can use mugs for goalposts. Then it’s time for kick-off!