I WAS thrilled last week to see a family under a chestnut tree, the children excitedly collecting conkers form the ground.

I was also amazed as it is such a rare sight. It makes me sad to walk beneath conker trees and see their fruits scattered across the floor, of interest to no one.

When I was young the only conkers you found on the ground were the split ones that nobody wanted. The others were quickly snapped up by us children, and we would throw up sticks to knock down the ones that did not fall in the wind.

We were keen to race home and harden them in the oven for conker fights in the school playground - a fun activity widely banned nowadays.

Kids don’t know what they’re missing.