Making a bit of a Racquet

As part of the commitment of our household to comply with the UK Government Guidance on staying at home and therefore helping to control the spread of the Covid-19 Virus we are now in possession of...................... well, see if you can guess from the following Extract from the United States Patent Office. 

"A flexible line is secured to a rounded anchoring element located inside a hollow ball, e.g., a tennis ball. 

The rounded anchoring element bears against an elongated curved base member which bears against the inside surface of the ball and conforms to the curvature thereof. The curved base member includes an integral raised portion which extends into an opening in the ball. 

The flexible line is knotted after being passed through the raised portion, base member and anchoring element. The width of the curved base member is substantially equal to the diameter of the opening in the ball.  

In a preferred form of the invention, the hook is slideable on a spiral formation located on top of a pole. 

The game is played by two persons and the object is for one player to hit the ball with a racquet so that the hook moves up the spiral and off, while the other player tries, also with a racquet, to prevent this"

Yep, it's Swingball

The item originated in 1967 having been the invention of a guy in South Africa called Mr Gormley. 

It achieved a Worldwide Application back in 1970 and was launched into the UK in 1973. 

Although a simple principal the classic version was received enthusiastically in this country and has, over the last 50 years become the best selling garden/outdoor toy. 

When I was growing up our family had one that was without fail the first thing to be packed into the estate car for the annual camping and caravanning holiday. It certainly got a lot of very competitive use amongst us siblings. There was no better way to get rid of all of that frustration and adolescent aggression than smashing the tethered ball about with no concerns that it would fly off and get lost in the rough. 

These early versions were pretty hefty in terms of materials and manufacturing and able to cope with being hammered into all sorts of ground conditions from camp site to beach. 

It is not surprising that, in our travels, just about every family seemed to have bought one as well. 

In the first 40 years of Swingball production around 10 million were purchased. 

Our recent acquisition, as part of our stay at home activities is quite plasticky and I do not have high hopes for it lasting beyond the current crisis conditions. Rather than a stout metal spike for a pole the latest version requires its hollow base to be filled with sand or soil. I suppose that is down to the fact that most residential  gardens are now paved over rather than of traditional lawn. 

Although the style and quality may have changed in response to manufacturing costs and processes as soon as you strike the ball with the perforated plastic racquet you are reassured that it is, at heart, still the same old Swingball and promises endless hours of fun and games.