Missing my poems?

One of my long time followers made a comment the other day that I haven’t shared any poems for a while. There has been a lot going on lately and the inspiration hasn’t been there.

One of the things that has been taking up my time is the game of Rummikub. If you haven’t heard of it, it is a great game played with numbered tiles. Myself and some friends play it 2-3 times a week. We are all thoroughly hooked on it and there is a lot of friendly rivalry going on. So, I thought I would write a wee ditty about playing Rummikub!

Rummikub

Retirement hasn’t been, quite like I had expected
I haven’t had a moment, where I have felt dejected

So many things that I can do, to while away the time
But best of all, I please myself it’s really quite sublime

So, I have started playing, this game called Rummikub
Three times a week and sometimes more we call it Rummi Club!

Yes, this game of Rummikub we play it every week
Hoping that we have luck and get the tiles we seek

Now, do I need a seven or do I need a six?
Oh, no! Here comes Margaret up to her old tricks

We have to start with 30 points to get them on the table
And then we try to put some more, as soon as we are able
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    We  have to try to find a run or if not then a set                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
As many of those things, seem really hard to get

It can be quite frustrating, there’s lots of things to learn
We try to do our best, when it comes up to our turn

And there is always someone, who holds the tiles you need
Success is sometimes hard it can’t be guaranteed

There’s lots of gentle ribbing and chatting through the game
No matter what the weather we’re always glad we came

Sitting in the library, we get a room for free
And also they provide us with coffee and with tea   

We chat, we laugh, we play the game and sometimes we forget
Who has had their turn to play and who has not played yet

It does get quite frustrating, when someone wrecks your move
You’ve got to get them back, you’ve something you must prove

Some tables they’re so serious they write down every score
Our table doesn’t play that way, we value fun much more

We hope that as we’re playing it does good for our brain
It makes us think much harder and every week we gain

It helps our brains be active and there’s social time with friends
It breaks down isolation when everyone attends

So every week we play the game, it’s not about the score
For us the game of Rummikub gives us so much more

If you haven’t had a look at the game, I can heartily recommend it. It does involve a lot of planning and even though it is made up on numbered tiles, it is not one where you need maths skills. There is strategy involved and having to think ahead up to sometimes 4 x to think about what each move will do to the overall game.

Life is not all about Parkinson’s, but playing games like this does lots of good things for our Parkinson’s brains. You have to socialise with others to play, so if you can get a group together, it can help in breaking down isolation and loneliness. It makes you think and exercises your brain as you work out your next moves and what the other people might do.

Any kind of opportunity you can get to mix with other people and have things that challenge you, either mentally or physically has got to be good for youl

Is there a game you played years ago that has been relegated to a shelf gathering dust or in a cupboard. You never know, you might be missing out on some fun games. I encourage you to play.