Carrom Association UK

I don’t ever write the same blog on the 2 carromassociation sites but today I am making an exception.
I have been so upset and saddened to hear about the murder of Bob Woolmer, the Pakistani cricket coach, in Jamaica.
Although I am not a cricket fan it was still upsetting to think that a man in the prime of life could be so easily killed.
And for what?
Obviously we don’t know all the details but I have read there was no forced entry to his hotel room which suggests that he knew his murderer or murderers.
There have been allegations of match rigging, bribes and corruption in cricket matches for nearly a decade now.
Then today I read that the police are looking for Khwaja Aarif, also known as Pappu or Durrani, a top Pakistani bookie, who is suspected of being involved with Dawood Ibrahim.
The USA have branded Ibrahim a terrorist.
Seemingly he learned about betting by going to carrom clubs in the 1970’s. Unbelievable!
Please someone tell me this isn’t so. I have always thought carrom, and cricket for that matter, to be games played by gentle men.
Bob Woolmer, who was born in India, had been writing a book and had gone to India to meet New Delhi police commissioner, K K Paul.
Paul has investigated match rigging and had interviewed several bookies and cricketers in the past.
Now there will be a murder investigation. I hope they catch the people responsible for this henious crime, soon.
My heartfelt condolences go to Bob’s wife, sons, family and friends.

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Divya is definitely Champion material.
I hope she lives in the UK and continues to practice.
We need al the carrom players we can get.
Have a look at her playing carrom.
OK she makes up the rules as she goes along, but as she is not yet 4 years old, she is forgiven.

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This Sunday the clocks go forward so you will lose an hour of your weekend.
Aren’t they short enough?
So instead of doing the Spring cleaning, the shopping or visiting Ikea or B&Q this weekend, relax and have a few friends over and play a few games of carrom.
You know it makes sense.

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At last, the Equinox
Now the days will be longer than the nights.
I hope they are warmer too.
Soon the clocks will be moved an hour forward.
The kids will start bringing home reams of paper from school, encouraging parents to get involved with various fund-raising activities.
So why not do it the easy way.
Drag your carrom board out from under the bed, clear away the cobwebs covering it, find all the pieces and strikers, and set up a Carrom game in the school hall.
Charge £1-2 a game.
Hold a mini competition if you like.
Set a time limit if you must.
Say you have 4-5 games an hour, fom 11am-4pm that’s only £20 worst scenario, but the school will still appreciate it. Every little bit helps.
It could be £50 and if you had two boards you could double that. Ask to borrow them from friends, relatives or neighbours.
Or get some-one to sponsor them. They would be an investment, as they can be used year after year.
You could also sell samosas to people waiting in the queue. They’re easy and cheap to make.
It wouldn’t take much effort and the kids and parents would enjoy it I’m sure.
And don’t dump it under the bed again. Keep it out. Use it. Enjoy it. It makes a change from watching the box.
I just wish I’d thought of this years ago when my kids were at school.
Of course I had more energy then, but I would still have preferred to play carrom than some of the things I was asked to do.

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In this video the first two shots he takes, he takes backwards.
There has been some dispute over backward moves.
When I learned to play carrom we were only allowed to flick the pieces forward.
Admittedly it was a long time ago. Things change. Personally I prefer forward play.
However one of the good things about carrom is people can play how they like.
Except of course, if you take it really seriously and want to take part in competitions.
Then you have to stick to the rules.

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I am on the look out for any photos taken at Glastonbury Fetival which show Carom being played.
Seemingly a friend had a stand there a few years ago and although he has given me some photos from 2005 I was wondering if any of my readers have photos they’d like to share.
A prize of a championship striker to anyone who sends in a photo of blokes playing carrom in silly hats.
Also does anyone recognise these three likely lads?
Any ideas for a caption?
“It says here, in the rule book, anyone wearing a silly hat, must forfeit a go.”
“I’m hiding my highlights. You should too.”

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There was a young man from Brick Lane
Who run a one man campaign
To boost carrom nationwide
He tried and he tried
Alas it was all in vain.

I’m getting desperate for news of any carrom things happening in The United Kingdom.

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There are 137500 videos when you type in snooker to Google. Not bad for a game that started out from carrom, or so it is claimed.
There are 34 when you type carrom.
What we need is a showman like this guy. He is a very good snooker player too.
He’s known as the Japanese snookerhero.

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I read recently that Britain came near the bottom of a survey carried out by by an international children’s organisation.
It shows how countries compare internationally,
They missed the more imprtant question. Why? In one of the richest countries in the world why do we have the highest rate of teenage mothers, excessive drinking, which leads to excessive violence, spiralling petty crime, most of which isn’t reported as it is such a palaver to do so.
Why are our children so unappy?
Who or what is to blame?
And more importantly what can we do to stop, nay, reverse this?
I suggest we approach our local council for grants to set up Carrom clubs.
Get the kids off the street, into a safe environment and let them let off steam and compete against each other to see who is the winner.
Most of this excessive drinking, posteuring and dumbing down is only to show off to their mates and the girls hanging around.
We’ve all done it in the past, haven’t we?
We all grew out of it. Well most of us.
I am always a bit sceptical of statistics, having once worked in the Civil Service as it was known then.
Also it depends how the survey was carried out.
Were the teenagers asked privately or in groups?
Was it wet, windy and cold that day?
Was the survey conducted on a Monday morning, Tuesday afternoon or Thursday evening?
All of these factors can make a difference to the answer given.
But never mind.
Let’s do something before all these disillusioned and unhappy young people grow up to be disillusioned and unhappy adults, who will breed and produce yet more disillusioned and unhappy kids.
Carrom as a cure all.
PS for your interest the USA were even lower than us in the poll.

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Here is a short video to show you how to set up the game of carrom. It only takes him half a minute.
This is for those of you who can’t find the rule book or the original box the pieces came in.
Yes we all know they’re somewhere safe. If only you could remember where you put them.
I usually tape the rule book to the back of the board so it is in easy reach.

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