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Home  >  Blog  >  Not another round of arthritic charades?

Not another round of arthritic charades?

Trish Burgess Posted on27/12/201216/09/2016 30 Comments
Eileen, Emily, Dougie, George and Rory

Loyal readers will know that arthritic charades appear in my Christmas blog post as regularly as night follows day or bad wind follows sprouts. You only need to type the game into the search box on the right to discover the delights of playing our unique version of this family favourite with the in-laws.  We call it ‘arthritic’ on account of the crooked fingers of my dear old father-in-law, George, which makes guessing the of number of words something of a challenge.

This year we were joined by my mother who had come down from Newcastle to stay with us for Christmas, so there was even more opportunity for some excellent blog fodder. Mum’s texting prowess was the first thing to cause hilarity as she realised what she had written in a message to her niece on Christmas Eve, telling her all about her day and the bad weather:

…It’s lovely to be here at Trish’s. Been having gin and tonic. Peed all day….

Even dear old Emily, Dougie’s mother, caused us to snort on Christmas Day whilst watching the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special:
“Sheila Hancock dances beautifully, doesn’t she? Wasn’t she married to that chap, Frost?”
“No, Emily, he was called Thaw!”

The Big Cracker!

During pre-dinner drinks on Christmas Day, I brought in a mega-cracker to be pulled. All the usual rubbish was inside, including silly disguises for everyone. Emily looked very strange in her goggly-eyed glasses but George seemed to suit his Groucho Marx face, don’t you think? The cracker also contained some charade suggestions so this new batch of material avoided us using the old box where, it seems, we have been repeating the same book and TV titles for the last few years and still not working out what they are. Thank god we didn’t have to see George do The Naked Civil Servant for the third year running, as he has a habit of taking things too literally and stripping off.

This year, unfortunately, was no different. George had forgotten what syllables were, confusing them with letters, and yet again, insisted on finding props. He disappeared into another room for one charade, gathered up a Davy Crockett style hat (a present from us), a bag for table tennis bats (another present) and a thin log from the fireplace then proceeded to charge into the living room, brandishing the piece of wood and using the bag as a shield,  for his quite spectacular version of Gladiator. As we had given up on believing how many words or syllables were in each title (who knew that the word ‘desperate’ has one syllable), George found it easier to mime ‘the whole thing’ and it took some time before his charade of walking around with his head held high whilst simultaneously pretending to paint the walls, was found to be The Talented Mr Ripley. “Why were you painting?” I asked afterwards. “I’m talented,” was his reply. Fair enough.

But this year I think the prize for the best charade must go to my mum who started to mouth obscenities and pretend to throw things around like a demented Mrs Brown. We eventually worked out it was ‘Gordon Ramsey’. She had insisted it was a TV programme but we said the drawing next to the clue was a spotlight, indicating it was a celebrity’s name. “A spotlight?!” she queried, “I thought it was a ham shank.”

Me and my lovely mum

 

Previous Article A conversation I wish I’d never started: No. 7
Next Article Arse about Face

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30 Comments

  1. Frances Reply
    27/12/2012 at 5:47 pm

    Brilliant !

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      27/12/2012 at 7:18 pm

      They are such good sports. Still laughing now about it.

  2. libby Reply
    27/12/2012 at 6:03 pm

    A good time was had by all by the sound of things…..and I am especially pleased to see that Dr Doug has his glasses on a string-thing just like I do…makes me feel less old knowing a youngster uses one too!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      27/12/2012 at 7:21 pm

      Funny you should mention the string-thing. Rory and I bought it as an extra present for Dougie as he is forever putting his glasses down and forgetting where they are. Of course, he should be getting himself some varifocals like I wear and then he could keep the bloomin' things on.

  3. Kelloggs Ville Reply
    27/12/2012 at 7:59 pm

    And it was a ham shank because he is a chef?! *head desk*

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      27/12/2012 at 9:15 pm

      YES! You've got it!! Haha!

  4. wellfedfred Reply
    27/12/2012 at 9:42 pm

    I'm still laughing, Thank you for this. Remembering when The Youngest, then 6, stood still until he was sure he had everyone's attention, then made a whooshing noise with his mouth and ran from the room. Book title, whole thing. Sigh. Gone With the Wind.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      28/12/2012 at 8:11 am

      That's pretty cute, and very sharp for a six year old.

  5. MsCaroline Reply
    27/12/2012 at 10:01 pm

    This sounds like so much fun! I have to say, though, I feel for George. I am still cruelly mocked by my family for (what I believed to be) an excellent representation of a "Halloween Cat" and which was misinterpreted by all of them in a very disgusting way.
    Ruffians.

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      28/12/2012 at 8:16 am

      My mind is working overtime on this one. I think I'll just stop thinking about it! Funny how we remember these things.

  6. Macy Reply
    28/12/2012 at 1:15 am

    Still the best fun. Now if they would just release an X box version, I'd maybe be able to get mine to join in….

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      28/12/2012 at 8:19 am

      It always surprises me how much Rory enjoys it, in fact it's he who insists we play. I wish he was so keen on old fashioned things like board games and books the rest of the year!

  7. Sarah Reply
    28/12/2012 at 8:55 am

    That all sounds very entertaining. Charades is really the perfect Xmas game when everyone is partly or mostly drunk, inhibitions are let down and no one is feeling very bright. It just makes for more merriment!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      28/12/2012 at 9:43 pm

      You're so right. After dinner and we all giggle at the least bit thing anyway. It has become such a part of our Christmas, no-one minds being teased.

  8. Steve Reply
    28/12/2012 at 9:47 am

    Forget all this reality TV bollocks they broadcast… the BBC need to be filming round at your house!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      28/12/2012 at 9:45 pm

      I think I'll invite them next year. My lot would play to the cameras mind!

  9. jfb57 Reply
    28/12/2012 at 9:50 am

    It certainly looked like a grand time was had by all!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      28/12/2012 at 9:48 pm

      Every year the laughs get better. Blogging about it will keep those memories fresh.

  10. Suzanne Reply
    28/12/2012 at 11:24 am

    Gorgeous picture of you and your mum, and the mad glasses picture made me chuckle. Looks like you had a lovely time!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      28/12/2012 at 9:49 pm

      We have so few photos of the two of us so I was pleased this one came out well.

  11. Expat mum Reply
    28/12/2012 at 4:03 pm

    You couldn't make this stuff up! I'm still laughing at the Frost/Thaw comment!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      28/12/2012 at 9:50 pm

      It was a cracker, wasn't it.

  12. Funky Wellies Reply
    29/12/2012 at 1:33 pm

    You cannot do this!! You cannot describe this fabulous rendition of "Gladiator" in such detail and then NOT include a photo!!
    Brilliant as always, here is to many more "arthritic charades" posts! xx

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      29/12/2012 at 1:52 pm

      Haha! Do you know, as I was writing this up I thought the same thing…where was my camera?! It all happened so quickly, was guessed instantly and we were all laughing so much, I just didn't think to get a photo. It's etched on my mind for eternity, however.

  13. Curry Queen Reply
    30/12/2012 at 10:28 pm

    Hilarious! I would have loved to be a fly on the wall – I absolutely love charades and it sounds as though you all had such fun!

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      31/12/2012 at 12:13 pm

      Maybe I should video it next year?

  14. BavarianSojourn Reply
    31/12/2012 at 1:10 pm

    Brilliant… Yes, please please video it for next year! 😀 Have a great 2013, and thanks for all your blogging comments and support this past year too! Emma xx

    • Trish Burgess Reply
      06/01/2013 at 11:04 am

      Hope you have a great year too. Looking forward to another fab year of reading your posts and envying your photography skills! X

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