Foefie slide? What is this madness?
Jane?
On Tuesday I blogged about my niece’s eighth birthday party, which was held last Sunday, and the fun the kids had with the water slide. I also mentioned the other activity that kept them busy all afternoon – the foefie slide. At least one of my readers seemed confused about what a “foefie slide” was, so I thought I’d clarify:
Foefie slide (ˈfu:fiː): A rope or cable with a suspended handle or pulley with which one may slide between two points, one higher than the other.
Back in the day, when I worked for Outward Bound, I remember my British, Australian and New Zealand colleagues referring to it as a “Flying Fox” (but don’t quote me on that). In the US and Canada it’s known as a zipline.
Standing there, catching the kids before they plowed into the tree at the bottom end of the cable, I reflected on the fact that this would probably not have been taking place were we in a back yard in any other first-world country (because of the fear of litigation). I’m also convinced that my orthopaedic doctor friend wouldn’t have been overjoyed to see the kids jumping out of a tree and speeding down a cable with only a camera-toting man at the bottom to catch them.
But they had a blast. And South African kids are strong, and tough! (Do note that most were girls, by the way.)
It all started out very clinically – with all the other kids out of the way, in case the foefie-slider fell into the water slide (or onto them) below. But eventually the others turned it into a war game, hurling suds at the foefie-slider as he or she hurtled past.
Steve, one of my readers, commented on my post yesterday, “It’s great to see kids playing and having fun for real and not computer games.”
What do you think? Would you expect to see a foefie slide or, more accurately, a zipline at a kids party where you live? Do you think children should be outside having fun like this or does this make your blood run cold?
(Just as an aside, many of these kids’ parents were actually present.)
Teenage sister shows the preschoolers, Grade ones and Grade twos how it’s done.
The Grade 3 waiting patiently (and confidently).
“R”, the experienced hand
A bit of trepidation, but she’s brave …
Preschooler: Screeeeeeaaaaam!
Eyes tightly shut
No problem – I did this at last year’s party.
Smile … and … Splat!
Chaos below as “R” races by
Attacked in mid-air
Attacked in mid-air (the second wave)
7 Comments on “Foefie slide? What is this madness?”
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They called me weed
I have been blogging here since around April 2011 - my little place on the blogosphere to express myself creatively. As a teenager I used to write a diary - in fact, as a 17-year-old living in Belgium, I wrote religiously every day. Fortunately the Internet didn't exist back then because my ramblings as a teenager were ever-so-slightly dark, cynical and depressing. You won't find much of that here. Also, mostly, I try not to get too deep or philosophical in this forum - I'd like my photography to uplift and inspire, and, where I can, I try to bring a bit of humour into my writing too. I've been fortunate enough to travel extensively and have made many friends across the globe. This is my spot to keep in touch with them.
I’d probably be nervous watching them, but as you said, good to see them outside and having fun. Your action photos are unbelievable.
Yep – that’s a ‘commando slide’ or ‘rope slide’ in Scotland.
M
J’aimerais que tu me donnes une solution pour installer cela dans mon jardin, (mais je n’ai des arbres que d’un côté), parce que je crois qu’ils en oublieraient instantanément leurs consoles électroniques…
Et je pourrais organiser un atterrissage sur le trempoline, yeah, je crois qu’ils adoreraient ça !!!
Et non, çe ne me glace pas le sang
Oh that looks like so much fun! I can remember doing this at a Girl Scout party when I was a kid. My guess would be that now, where I live (middle of the US), people would have a party at a facility that had a zipline — and then the kids would go eat cardboard-like cake provided for “parties” by the zipline facility. Sure it would be fun — but probably not as much fun!
These photos are great!
Cool pics Robin … yes, fun was had by all!
Awesome shots here Robin- oh and I would rather kids have this kind of fun any day!
I love the last one