PAPER PLANES, BOATS AND FLYING SAUCERS

I recently had to fold a piece of paper 8 times.

I remembered that its impossible but a flood of memories came back about folding paper as a kid.

I was never a black belt at origami but loved to do the classic stuff, making paper planes and boats.

Paper Planes were a joy and flight competitions with my mates were a staple pastime. My planes were always the same, four folds to create an arrowhead. My mates experimented with wings and tails and even paper clips. I was never sure what the best fold was for distance but gave it a good go. Even Status Quo gave us a rock song to boot, Paper Plane!

I did see a more Sci-Fi version of the paper plane in a science lesson. It was a drogue, which was a new word on me. A drogue is a paper circle sliced along the radius and made into a very shallow cone, a sort of saucer, by way of a paper clip. If made correctly a drogue should float to the floor like an inverted parachute.

Less frequent but no less enjoyable were paper boats. Much harder to make, I adored watching them float down rivers and streams like something out of a Winnie the Pooh story. There's something quintessentially childish about paper boats, a sort of gentle vessel in which long summer days sail away until its time for tea.

I'm not sure I could fold a boat anymore though. Like Peter Pan, its something I've forgotten growing up, which is quite sad. Can you still fold a paper boat?

A much simpler version of basic sailing was pooh sticks. Not what it sounded, this involved mates chucking twigs into a stream to see which would the fastest or the furthest. Great fun as well and something I'm still partial to!

Did you fold paper much readers?