Games We Played As Children (only oldies need reply)

[The Axman]

Sitting in the pub last night chewing the cud with a bloke from Wirksworth and another from Killamarsh; we were discussing the secret rail tunnel under the Vaults and the piles of bottles in there, when the conversation strayed onto old fashioned Codd bottles with glass ball stoppers in their necks, which led onto a discussion about marbles. And do you know for three blokes of the same age from three towns in the same county we had completely different rules as to how as kids we played marbles.

This then led onto discussions on other games (hopscotch, kick-the-can, bad egg, and British Bulldog) and the rules we applied, and again they were all different.

Now, as a child I spent a couple of years in exile over the border in Yorkshire and it was there that I was introduced to the marvellous game that was British Bulldog [my peer group in Buxton would have been too few to have taken advantage of BB in its full glory]. The Yorkshire variant seems to have been more violent than its Derbyshire equivalents.

Rules: the pitch consisted of a rectangular grassed area that was slightly longer than it was wide. It also sloped fairly steeply which added to the excitement of the ‘down’ run and made the ‘up’ run more technically challenging. One side of the pitch consisted of a road and the other side and both ends were paved footpaths. Things always seemed bigger as a kid than they actually were, but I’d guess the pitch was about 30 yards long.
In order for a proper game there had to be at least twenty kids (all ages and sizes allowed but the really young’uns were forced to pair up for the lots). All the kids drew lots to find out who was ‘on’. Then the kid that was on occupied the pitch – s/he could stand anywhere they liked. The rest lined up at the upper end (we always started with a down run) and so long as you were off the pitch you could take up any position along the end but we nearly always jostled into a long line with a bit of clumping because just off centre was prime position. The person who was on then yelled “1.2.3. British Bulldog” and all those who weren’t on (everybody else) charged down the hill.
The person who was on could gather converts to be on through three methods: ‘outers’, ‘retreaters’, and the lifted.
Outers were converted to being on by stepping off the grass onto the road or path at the side of the pitch. This was the easiest and most effective way of converting onners at the start of the game as the mad dash of kids were forced into a bottleneck as the Onner lunged over to one side of the pitch in a well timed manoeuvre. As soon as a kid stepped outside the boundary the On shouted “out” and the ‘outer’ became a convert to the on side for the next run. More than one outer could be gathered in each run. Safety was reached by crossing the far end of the pitch.
Once a run was started you could only go forwards or sideways. Anyone going backwards was called by the onner yelling “retreater” and the retreater became a convert to the on side for the next run.
But the best and most admired way for the onner to gather converts was by lifting a runner. The onner (or onners later in the game) would grab a runner and physically lift them off the ground whilst shouting “1.2.3. British Bulldog” – so long as no part of their person or clothing was in contact with the ground during the entire incantation that person too became on. That’s where the fun (and the bruises) came into it.
The entire process was repeated until the last runner was converted to an onner.

Only two people in an entire game could score points. The original onner scored points from the number of runs he took to convert all the runners. The lower an onner score, the better. Our world champion was a big lad called Ian who twice (yes twice) managed the incredibly low score of three. My best ever was seven.

You could also score points as a laster, being the last person to be converted to an onner, and again this was the number of successful runs completed, but here higher was better. Big Lad Ian was again world champion with a magnificent fifty seven. My best was a very respectable fifteen.

It was a jungle out there and being kids we were wilder than wild animals. There was one particular game where a particular kid was on and the entire field just swept by him on run after run. We were at it for hours and he made no converts. Towards the end we’d just charge down in a single mass and simply trample him into the mud. The game ended when his mum called him in for tea. We were up in the hundreds but nobody was laster so nobody got the points. He died about two years after that particular game (of what I now know was late stage muscular dystrophy). We just thought he was weird and tried to take advantage of his feebleness. Kids!

Anyway, did you Boltonians play this game?

[Bruce Rioja]

Being as you're from Buxton, Axeman, and as you're clearly of a certain age, I find myself compelled to ask - do you know Lloyd Cole?

[The Axman]

Being as you're from Buxton, Axeman, and as you're clearly of a certain age, I find myself compelled to ask - do you know Lloyd Cole?

as in "and the Commotions". No afraid not. I'm quite a lot older than him, and he comes (I think) from Chapel-en-le-Frith and I was resident in Cunningdale: different worlds.

Besides his music isn't to my taste so I'd deny him anyway. I did know a lot of punk bands in Liverpool in the late 70's. I was one of the notorious Eric's crew.

[thebish]

cheer the turds down the sewer... that was a good 'un!

[The Axman]

cheer the turds down the sewer... that was a good 'un!

never heard of that one. What's the rules? did you have to 'produce' the product or was anybody's fair game?

[TANGODANCER]

Straight forward one-on-one game of similar ilk. Two kids, one on each side of the side-sets (now called pavements). Fold arms, stand on one leg and on "go" hop across the road to t'other side. Your opponent had to charge into you with gusto, sometimes pure venom, and try and knock you over. Put both feet down and you lost. Very popular with the big lads, not quite so with the others, although if you were nippy you could sometimes win.

[thebish]

cheer the turds down the sewer... that was a good 'un!

never heard of that one. What's the rules? did you have to 'produce' the product or was anybody's fair game?

was more of a time-passer than a winnable game! (when nursing sprained angles, broken fingers or snapped-off legs from playing bulldog!)

there was much speculation about which house they had come from... etc! occasionally participants would nip home and knock one out (watches having been synchronised)... "did you see it? did you see it??"

in those days we made our own fun! (if only kids of today would follow such healthy outdoor pursuits!)

[The Axman]

Straight forward one-on-one game of similar ilk. Two kids, one on each side of the side-sets (now called pavements). Fold arms, stand on one leg and on "go" hop across the road to t'other side. Your opponent had to charge into you with gusto, sometimes pure venom, and try and knock you over. Put both feet down and you lost. Very popular with the big lads, not quite so with the others, although if you were nippy you could sometimes win.

Nope, never came across that one.

[thebish]

Straight forward one-on-one game of similar ilk. Two kids, one on each side of the side-sets (now called pavements). Fold arms, stand on one leg and on "go" hop across the road to t'other side. Your opponent had to charge into you with gusto, sometimes pure venom, and try and knock you over. Put both feet down and you lost. Very popular with the big lads, not quite so with the others, although if you were nippy you could sometimes win.

we used to play that in the backstreet - or summat similar - it was called "cripple's crossing" (hence, the hopping - you only had one leg...)

[The Axman]

cheer the turds down the sewer... that was a good 'un!

never heard of that one. What's the rules? did you have to 'produce' the product or was anybody's fair game?

was more of a time-passer than a winnable game! (when nursing sprained angles, broken fingers or snapped-off legs from playing bulldog!)

there was much speculation about which house they had come from... etc! occasionally participants would nip home and knock one out (watches having been synchronised)... "did you see it? did you see it??"

in those days we made our own fun! (if only kids of today would follow such healthy outdoor pursuits!)

Sounds like fun. I might revive it tonight if anybody else in the pub is game. I think there's a manhole cover just down the hill from the pub.

[Bruce Rioja]

Being as you're from Buxton, Axeman, and as you're clearly of a certain age, I find myself compelled to ask - do you know Lloyd Cole?

as in "and the Commotions". No afraid not. I'm quite a lot older than him, and he comes (I think) from Chapel-en-le-Frith and I was resident in Cunningdale: different worlds.

Besides his music isn't to my taste so I'd deny him anyway. I did know a lot of punk bands in Liverpool in the late 70's. I was one of the notorious Eric's crew.

Ah, I thought you were only about my age

Yeah, he is from Chapel originally but, I believe, schooled in Buxton and he and his family moved there in his teens.

Perhaps it's for another thread but I'd love to know who you knew at Eric's

[TANGODANCER]

My very favourite street game was "Piggy". A short piece of brush handle, about three inches long, with a point cut on one end, was laid on the floor. The object was to whack the pointed bit with a stick ( a longer piece of brush handle) and make it jump in the air. You then had to hit the piggy and see how far you could knock it. Great fun until your dad, usually joined by somebody else's dad, came along to show you how to do it and took over.

[thebish]

we used to play "Logan's Run" - (though not down OUR backstreet, for obvious reasons!)

on bike - top end of backstreet - pedal all the way down without stopping (disqualified for foot on ground) - and grab as many items off the washing lines that you could ...

(harder than you'd think - cos with those old wooden pegs, stuff did not come off that easily!)

[CrazyHorse]

My very favourite street game was "Piggy". A short piece of brush handle, about three inches long, with a point cut on one end, was laid on the floor. The object was to whack the pointed bit with a stick ( a longer piece of brush handle) and make it jump in the air. You then had to hit the piggy and see how far you could knock it. Great fun until your dad, usually joined by somebody else's dad, came along to show you how to do it and took over.

Well, I guess that's the mystery of how you lost an eye finally solved anyway.

[thebish]

top tip - don't play Logan's Run on an alley where they are also playing "Turd Spotter"

[TANGODANCER]

My very favourite street game was "Piggy". A short piece of brush handle, about three inches long, with a point cut on one end, was laid on the floor. The object was to whack the pointed bit with a stick ( a longer piece of brush handle) and make it jump in the air. You then had to hit the piggy and see how far you could knock it. Great fun until your dad, usually joined by somebody else's dad, came along to show you how to do it and took over.

Well, I guess that's the mystery of how you lost an eye finally solved anyway.

[Gary the Enfield]

My very favourite street game was "Piggy". A short piece of brush handle, about three inches long, with a point cut on one end, was laid on the floor. The object was to whack the pointed bit with a stick ( a longer piece of brush handle) and make it jump in the air. You then had to hit the piggy and see how far you could knock it. Great fun until your dad, usually joined by somebody else's dad, came along to show you how to do it and took over.

This was played by the asian lads in the back streets behind Ralph Street and Rapahel Street in Halliwell. They used a cricket bail and placed it on the crown of a cobble and hit it with a piece of a broom handle. I admired them for the way they could make this thing leap three feet in the air before being hit half the length of the back street. They seemed to have some sort of complicated scoring system too, depending on where it came to rest.

We used to play 'kerbie' which involved two people standing either side of the road and try and get a ball to return to the thrower by bouncing it off the corner of your opponent's kerb. Skillz

[thebish]

We used to play 'kerbie' which involved two people standing either side of the road and try and get a ball to return to the thrower by bouncing it off the corner of your opponent's kerb. Skillz

loser had to complete a 10K circuit at 7.5min mile pace?

[TANGODANCER]

My very favourite street game was "Piggy". A short piece of brush handle, about three inches long, with a point cut on one end, was laid on the floor. The object was to whack the pointed bit with a stick ( a longer piece of brush handle) and make it jump in the air. You then had to hit the piggy and see how far you could knock it. Great fun until your dad, usually joined by somebody else's dad, came along to show you how to do it and took over.

This was played by the asian lads in the back streets behind Ralph Street and Rapahel Street in Halliwell. They used a cricket bail and placed it on the crown of a cobble and hit it with a piece of a broom handle. I admired them for the way they could make this thing leap three feet in the air before being hit half the length of the back street. They seemed to have some sort of complicated scoring system too, depending on where it came to rest.

We used to play 'kerbie' which involved two people standing either side of the road and try and get a ball to return to the thrower by bouncing it off the corner of your opponent's kerb. Skillz

Both streets only a piggy strike from me so they nicked it from us. Back in 1950 an Asian bloke around there would have been considered as one of the three wise men who'd got lost.

[The Axman]

Aye, similar. There were no ethnic types in Buxton until circa 2011.