AIMING FOR LAUGHS
A light-hearted look at the world of archery
FOREWORD:
We archers take ourselves very seriously, don’t we? After all, we’re a minority sport nursing a long and venerable history. How often have we maintained a silent disdain as a group of brow-ridged rugby players dragged their knuckles past the archery field on the way to a match, whistling the theme from The Archers? And how many times have we bitten our tongues when a friendly relative has asked whether we’ve been playing archery today? Playing? Playing?!! No, you play rugby, you play football, you play cricket – but you practise archery, you think in response, before going on to say, yes, I’ve been shooting a few arrows at the club.
Then there is the general air of misery and angst hanging over the archery field like a malevolent cloud as we fret and strut our way through a tournament. How hard we practised in the run-up to the tournament, only to end up shooting like a wassock.
Yes, I hold my hand up and confess that in a lifetime of archery I’ve taken it all very, very seriously; indeed, for many years I was addicted to shooting, and I don’t say that lightly. Let’s just say I’ve mellowed a bit and can now see the funny side.
I love cartoons, and you will see four of them interspersed with my articles. Although the cartoon gags are mine, the drawings are from the skilful fingers of Will Broughton, aka the Chorlton Potter (https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=The%20Chorlton%20Potter). He is a marvellous potter and a wonderful illustrator, and I am a delighted beneficiary. As well as having been an archer himself, he is also the son of the late Mike Broughton. Mike and I enjoyed many a shoot and a good laugh together, on the archery field and during coaching sessions.
So allow me to aim for laughs as an antidote to our collective misery and provide you with a humorous look at our wonderful sport and the world of the bow.
David Edwards Hulme.
