So let's talk about car games. I mean, I don't particularly WANT to, you understand, but needs must. With a 2 hour trip to and from the Caravilla, as well as the intervening picnic expeditions, necessary measures must be employed to fend off boredom and the inevitable descent into bickering.'His arm's in my space. Tell him to move it into his own space!'
'Ugh, you stink. Mummy, he farted and he's deliberately wafting it over to me.'
Are we nearly there yet? How many more miles? (repeated every 5 miles)
I need the toilet. I DID go before we left but I REALLY have to go again right NOW!
'I'm STARVING. Can we have something to eat? But breakfast was AGES ago- can we stop at Mc Donald's? And on and on and on and on.
And yes, although the in car DVD player IS a godsend, it can't be on ALL the time, and anyway, the extensive negotiating and bargaining process preempting each film, must be endured first.
'If we have to watch The Incredibles again, then I get to watch Star Wars AND The Empire Strikes Back next time. That IS fair!' So it's definitely something of a double edged sword, and by the end of it, I often find that I'm losing the will to live.
In terms of car games, the most popular appear to be home made ones of questionable quality. For instance, at present, there's a 'musical performance' based game, whereby each person has to do their best rendition of the Axel F tune from Beverly Hills Cop, (I kid you not), and given marks out of 10 by Loverboy.
(On the very offchance you've managed to erase this awful tune from your memory and/or you want to relive those BHC glory days, here it is, just for you- enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Le1z9HOY5Ss)
There's a great deal of throat clearing before each turn, because the main purpose of the game, is to make the sound as electronic as possible without sacrificing the tune completely. It just NEVER gets old...for them, and unfortunately, any attempts by me to introduce a new game, such as I Spy, are immediately and scornfully shot down.
And just so you know, we didn't introduce them to the decidedly inappropriate Beverly Hills Cop films, and nor is Axel F my guilty iPod pleasure. No, it seems we have both 'Monsters vs Aliens' (U cert), and that horrible singing Crazy Frog, to thank for introducing a whole new generation to Axel F's musical masterpiece.
But anyway, that's where you come in. If you have any innovative ideas for car games, I'd love to hear them. In fact, I NEED to hear them. Please, I'm begging you, I'll consider any thing. As long as there's not even the faintest whiff of Axel F....
