There is one thing I bet you don't know about me and that is I play chess fairly well.
Today, I played chess for the first time in ages.
It's a sunny day so Mary and I went to the Promenade to drink coffee (me) and eat a hotdog sausage ( her)
On a whim I took my giant chess set with us and set it up on the concrete steps near the water sports centre in the hope of a game .
(I have always envied those characters that play chess under the trees in those New York based film comedies)
I got a game too. A thirty something guy who, I suspect had autism, came over and asked me how much it was for a game . His mum and dad sat down nearby with a nod as I told him it was free as long as he played with me.
He nodded seriously and asked if I could remove my coffee cup from the board, which I did.
We payed two games and he won both and at one point we attracted quite a crowd of spectators.
He formally shook my hand before joining his parents when we had finished
Waiting for lunch on the beach afterwards
I love that. What a great interaction with the world.
ReplyDeleteit was the first time I used my oversized chess set
DeleteSounds like that chess board made both your days!
ReplyDeleteI Enjoyed the game
DeleteI envy your ability (and Rachel) to get out and do stuff after your circumstances changed. Can't make myself do anything, my husband is having chemo, my son has Cerebral Palsy and I am grieving for my best friend. How do you make yourself do things? I feel on the edge of an enormous black hole. x
ReplyDeleteBe kind to yourself, Hillybean. You're going through a lot. I'm sure others are more adept at offering suggestions, but don't put expectations on yourself to be upbeat and outgoing when you are in the midst of grieving the life changes you're facing. Try to do something small that you enjoy.
DeleteH
Deleteits hard even now to force myself to do stuff.
you have some very stressfull pressures on you.
baby steps dearheart baby steps xx
Some days are good and some are not so good Hilly. I have an enormous loss of confidence and have to fight through to find it again which for me is hard to admit to. It will get better.. xx
DeleteThinking of you, Hillybean. Look after yourself xx
DeleteBrilliant! I imagine that young man's parents were happiest of all since you were treating their son as an equal and that may well be a rare occurrence.
ReplyDeleteI've also wished to be part of that NYC group that gathers two by two for chess games in the park.
Hugs!
yes what a view eh?
DeleteHow fabulous. I can't play chess and I don't have the kind of mind that would take to it.
ReplyDeleteits not hard
DeleteLovely and you made those parents very happy.
ReplyDeleteI think they enjoyed sunbathing
DeleteYou made your version of those NY film scenes come true, just by making that one effort. It's tough to make yourself vulnerable to rejection, even the small one of having your unspoken chessboard invitation ignored. You made someone else's day, too.
ReplyDeleteI did set it up with my coffee cup on the opposite side so it may have looked that someone else was playing!
DeleteSo you could vet prospective opponents? Clever! Rosie x
Delete"Useful", on June 13,2018 your post was about buying something (an oversized chess set) that might be considered useless or frivolous. A game with that young man, were it the only thing you used your chest set for, makes that purchase into a, not only useful, but also fortuitous and meaningful one. Sometimes following our hearts, whims and desires is the right thing to do, it can take us on a path we were meant to be found on. - Mary
ReplyDeletemary I bow to your research!
Deleteits the very first time I have used it too xxx
This is so great! Touching others thru chess. Balder Half was in the chess club in high school. I wasn't. Forty-five years later and he still hasn't been able to teach me. I can beat the pants off him with any word game though (and sometimes I do). It fascinates me how someone who enjoys the game can think so far ahead, not to mention remembering how all of the pieces move.
ReplyDeleteI learnt chess in the chess club at school but wasn't very good then
DeleteOne further reason (as if we needed any) for us to meet up, JayGee - and we will! I used to play chess regularly up to around the age of 30. Then I moved south and have never found a partner to play it with since, over 40 years later.
ReplyDeleteyou are on Raymondo xxx
DeleteI would LOVE to see a meetup between you two!
Deletehow nice. the universe whispered in your ear and you listened and as a result something wonderful happened.
ReplyDeleteIt was only a game of chess xxx
DeleteBrilliant, I bet you made his day. Paul has a lovely chess set but I rarely play because he always beats me. (I'm a bad loser.)
ReplyDeleteGet practicing
DeleteIn NYC there's a park down near the Village where there will be many chess games going on at once. Don't remember the name, but I first saw it in '68 when back recuperating.
ReplyDeleteWashington Square Park is probably the one that you are thinking about. There are other parks throughout the boroughs that have chess boards built into the concrete tables with benches, but Wash Square is the one that you usually see in films.
DeleteThere is another famous one across the river , as in the photo from Independence Day
DeleteI just love this!
ReplyDeleteMary looks very prim
DeleteVery civilised! I bet you made his day and his parents too. :)
ReplyDeleteNo he made mine
DeleteIt's great to make someone's day as I'm sure al fresco game of chess did to that family. Heart warming x
ReplyDeleteThis entry left me with a smile.
ReplyDeleteI love this story!
ReplyDelete'Water Sports Centre'? Is it just chess?
ReplyDelete(I've still got your bladder problems in my head).
DeleteSo have i
DeleteSounds like a nice way to pass the time, in the sunshine, and maybe meet some nice people.
ReplyDeleteFantastic, bet you made the guys day, my nephew is autistic. My youngest son will play chess with me when we see each other. Sadly the one of my grandaughters that plays is now a teenager and 'its not cool'
ReplyDeleteTHAT picture of Mary politely seated at the table is the cutest, sweetest, best thing I've seen in a long time. She melts my heart.
ReplyDeleteShe does look like a polite little girl sitting shyly on her hands doesn't she?
Deleteadorable mary + a sunny day at the beach. you will have to take your chess set there more often. and I learned something new about you.
ReplyDeletegood for you! I don't know many people left who have the patience to play chess esp. face to face with another fellow.
ReplyDeleteA good way to get back into playing chess with someone who knew how to play well.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking beach there, John! Makes me realize what we are missing here as far as needed improvements go.
Are you sure that Mary is not waiting hopefully for a game of chess in that last photograph?
ReplyDeleteSausage
Deletemary looks like she is ready for a game.
ReplyDeleteShe's waiting politely for a sausage
DeleteJeff Goldblum and Judd Hirsch. Independence Day.
ReplyDeleteI do hope your chess playing doesn't foretell an alien invasion.
I don't think they would start in trelawnyd
DeleteWhat a simple and pleasant thing to do.
ReplyDeleteThat story is lovely in so many ways!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do this again.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely way to enjoy the sun and meet people.
ReplyDeleteI used to run a Chess Club in a Brighton Primary School. After a very short time, some of the children began to play exceptionally well.
ReplyDeleteHow great. You gave a family a wonderful gift, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant idea. Alan is much better at chess than me, so I have never won a game with him since we've known each other .... I play a mean game of Scrabble though :-)
ReplyDeleteAwww, look at Mary, waiting so patiently! I used to play chess but I haven't done so in decades. Not sure I'd even remember how!
ReplyDelete