Three fun things to do with words this summer
Words words words
Weary of word searches? Crosswords too cryptic? There’s a world of word-games out there waiting to be played. Here are some we’re going to try on our summer holidays.
Anyone for a game of travel scrabble? Photo: Lachlan Hardy
Here are our top three things to do with words this summer:
1. Carve a haiku in the sand on the beach
Building sandcastles is great for budding architects. But what are potential poets supposed to do at the beach? Why not free your creativity and carve out a haiku in the sand?
A lovely hot day
I’m having fun on the beach
Read my great haiku
Use your finger, a spade or driftwood. And when you’re done, sit back and watch the tide take your words away again. Pure poetry.
2. Use a kite to write in the sky
Grab a kite with a long tail and head for a beach, field or open park (keeping well away from roads, trees and power lines). Then turn the kite into the wind, let out some line and away you go.
Once you’ve mastered flying and manoeuvring the kite, see if your friends can guess what words you’re writing. If you’re looking for airborne inspiration, you could check out the Bristol Kite Festival on 4-5 September.
3. Exchange postcards with a stranger
If you always send a couple of holiday postcards back to the in-laws and or dog-sitters, it’s time to step out of your comfort zone. The postcard crossing project means you can exchange postcards with anyone, anywhere in the world.
Simply visit postcrossing.com, log on, and request an address and postcard ID. Then write your postcard and wait to see where in the world you receive a card from in return.
You can write anything you like on the card: give a snapshot of your life, describe an unusual hobby or simply write about the picture on the front. You never know what you’ll discover in return.
More fun with words
What else could you do? We might try spelling out a message with a daisy chain. We’re tempted to have a go at mowing a message into a lawn (if someone will let us). And we might try writing a limerick in pebbles.
Finally, as the days get shorter, we’ll retreat inside for a game of Scrabble. And because we’re traditionalists, we won’t be allowing any proper nouns.