Games you played as a child

[Rebi]

I was reminiscing (sp?!) with a friend the other day about when we were children and started talking about games we played. The thing was that we couldn't really remember all the details of the games and I thought how awful that we won't be able to pass them onto our children.

I thought it might be nice to put down the games I do remember and the rules, so that it might jog other Mumsnetter's memories. I would LOVE to hear others and I'm sure others would too!

So here are my contributions...

French Skipping - elastic put around 2 people's ankles/knees, etc. There were rhymes and a third person had to do specific moves. (God I'm no good at explaining things!) The only one I can remember (and we had hundreds I'm sure, we spent years doing this) "England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales. Inside, Outside, Donkey's Tails". The third person jumped either side of one side of elastic and then jumped to other. At 'Donkey's Tales' the third person jumped onto the elastic.

Cat's Cradle - haven't a notion how to do this now!

Skipping

In the car this morning, I remembered a hand riddle along the lines of .. "Here is the church, and here is the steeple. Here is the preacher and here are all the people"!!! I know you end up with your hands clasped together waving all your fingers - will have to work the rest out though!

Anyway, highly intellectual stuff I know!!!! Anyone else have memories of games played in the "old days"!!!!!! (I'm sure everyone else will be able to explain rules a lot clearer than me)

btw the emotion I feel when I think of my childhood games is freedom! I remember long summers spend outside with all the children in the neighbourhood and it was amazing. I wouldn't let my children play in the street, there aren't any children on our street even. Just got me thinking, I wonder what their memories will be?

Fortunately I don't remember it - I was only 2 when it ended - I'd have been scarred for life otherwise! We used to get 4 blackjacks or fruit salad for 1d....

(There were still farthings too until 1960. And arithmetic books used to have sums like 1¼ yards @ 1/11¾d per yard! Eeeee, it were a different world!)

boyandgirl - our version was:

Under the bramble bushes
Down by the sea (boom boom boom)
true love for me my darling true ove for you
And when we get married and have a family
Oh! A girl for you!
A boy for me!
Hey diddly um dum
Sexy! (?)

That got banned too - our headmistress objected to the use of the word "sexy" by 6 year old girls - fair enough s'pose.

We also had an epic of a hand clapping rhyme starting with "When Suzy was a baby, a baby Suzy was, she went a goo gaa a goo goo gaa
When Suzy was a toddler etc etc.....
Culminating in the classic"
"When Suzy was a teenager, a teenager she was, she went-a 'ooh aah I lost my bra, I left my knickers in my boyfriend's car!'"

similarly banned....
As were Garbage Pail Kids bubble gum cards...gross

bobsmum - yes I remember them too! Although the first and last lines were different! Down by the river... we can raise a family!!! Mind you I did go to a convent school!!!! Mind you I do remember Suzy! Exactly the same words, we said 'that' verse in whispers, giggling furiously!!

Janh! The Worzels - aghhhhh! What about Chaz and Dave, the Birdie song. Just remembered a school trip to Italy... on the bus from Milan to Rome (yep, nightmare journey) we sang 'whatza matta you, hey, whatta ya think you do, hey' most of the way. I'm sure our Italian busdriver wanted to kill us. We thought it was hilarious!!!!!! Poor man!

Thomcat I would pay money for that photo!!!! Will check out chat, although I'm sure you have gone home by now!

Northern - lol I remember my friend and I making our Sindy dolls have babies (with Action Man) but I really enjoyed your version

bobsmum we were at very similar schools!

None of our songs got banned though. Maybe the teachers were a bit slow.

Bobsmum thank you! I've been trying to remember the "suzy" song all day!

bobsmum ours ended

A boy for you
A girl for me
And thats the way
It ought to be
Ooh lally

We used tights cut up for the ball-in-sock against the wall but I don't remember what the songs were just that if the ball hit you it was damn sore.

For two-ball juggling we sang:
Oranges oranges for a penny
Fathers sick and can't buy any
Mothers drunk and hasn't a penny
Oranges oranges for a penny

Needless to say my mum hated me singing that as she doesn't drink!

I was also Kelly in Charlies Angels with my friends as Sabrina and Jill. "Sabrina's" older brother and his friend were Starskey and Hutch and we all solved crime together! DH would die if he knew I am telling you all he played The A Team.

We also played "Little House on the Prairie" (I was Laura, "Sabrina" was Mary.)

It was free but I do remember being told not to speak to a guy we knew as Orange Andy. Not that he was sectarian but he wanted to give you an orange but they were always back in his house (I think he was in his early twenties at the time.) That is just to prove that times were not as innocent as they seemed.

What a trip down memory lane!
Anyone play 1 2 3 on the hob. Basically the hob was "home" (a manhole cover or similar). 1 person was it, everyone else ran off to hide then had to try and get back home without being caught. If they got there they shouted 1 2 3on the hob. We lived in a cul de sac and the hob was usually in the middle and we all went in each others gardens etc.

Stuck in the mud or Sticky Toffee

Carrie and Christopher dolls, like Sweet April but anatomically correct. Very interesting especially for those of us without brothers!

Have a cigarette SIR
Yes SIR
No SIR
Cos I don't smoke SIR
Why don't you smoke SIR
Cos I've got a cold SIR
Where do get your cold SIR
From the north pole SIR
What you doing there SIR
Catching polar bears SIR
How many did you catch SIR
one, two, the rest caught me SIR

Thats the rhyme we used to do with the 'sock in a ball' (only we used half a leg of an old pair of tights) Everytime you said the word sir you would cock your leg up and bounce the ball between your legs.

Does anyone remember, Each Peach?

Each, peach, pear, plum
I Spy Tom Thumb
Tom Thumb in the wood
I spy Robin Hood
Robin Hood in the glen

and I can't remember any more.

What about handstands? - we used to do handstands up against the wall, (yes with skirts on!!) and see how many people you could get stacked up against the wall, we used to call it 'the butterfly'

Bobsmum - we had the Suzy rhyme too.

And we did the perfume thing.

And we played stick in the mud which somebody mentioned. A form of tig where if you were caught you had to stand still until someone wriggled between your legs to release you.

Also we had end of term songs which were sung at playtime on the last day of term:

Build a bonfire, build a bonfire
Put the teachers on the top
Put the headmaster in the middle
And burn the bloody lot.

This was considered slightly risque at Junior School due to the swear word in the last line. Everyone would join together in a big circle to sing it and the teachers would turn a blind eye.

We had an end of term song too:

"We break up, we break down,
we don't care if the school burns down,
no more English, no more French,
no more sitting on the old school bench.
If that teacher interferes,
Knock her down and box her ears,
when she goes to bed at night
blow her up with dynamite.
Push the tables push the chairs
Push old ratbag down the stairs.
When she goes to bed...."
(Sung to the tune of This Old Man)

Charming huh?!

Desperate to teach my daughter some clapping songs but can only remember the one about the rubber dolly and the goose drinking wine etc. Anybody remember any more?

there was one about apples in the trees i think .

And one i can only remember a couple of lines too

the......?? goes down down baby
down by the rollercoaster
sweet sweet baby
i will never let you go
shimmer shimmer shimmer shimmer shimmer shimmer aah