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One stange thing that happened in the parallel universe known as Silsden was that, sometime in March, for no apparent reason, boys suddenly started playing taws and girls played with whips and tops. Then, a couple of weeks later, it all stopped.
The only whips in Silsden are now used in the privacy of one's own home. So I'm told.
Fever ball = Tig with a ball - the harder the better. Tennisers for softies. Spongies best for weight and distance, (though useless for cricket across the street unless you specialised in bowling bouncers to clear the slates.) The black rubber balls were perhaps best because they did not travel as far after hitting the ground and left a red blotch (proof of contact). Played around the streets - entries and door'oles and any street furniture offered cover but usually the game was played at a furious chase pace. Safer in the park or school yard because the intended targets moved and dodged and windows were static.
Ah! "Fever Ball" is another name for Kingy, but was the selection of he who was "on" the same? In Kingy we stood in a circle and someone held the ball between clenched fists; the ball was thrown from one to another and caught between the clenched fists until someone dropped it - and he was "on". I wonder if there are other duplicates mentioned. "Taws" was "marbles" and "cheggies" was "conkers". Any others?
Being a 'Bradford Streeter' Terry, I'm sure you must have played 'Cargo' and also 'Piggy & Stick', which was something like a young lad's edition of Knur & Spel. We had many a fall-out 'on t'holler' as to who had won the game, and by how many. Happy Days!
Never heard of Musketeers, Fever Ball [which sounds great fun] orcargo. Ringie must have been played round a scooped out hole in the ground but i'mdamned if i can remember any of the ritual of the game. We did spend alot of energy "Bowling", anything round and wheel like,old Bike wheel oe motor-bike tyre ,or if youwere really rich an iron wheel,no spokes just the bare circle with a handle attached with a loop onto this hoop. Ran for miles !! The usual sytem for finding who was on was the "One potato, Two potato"method. Yes indeed happy days and fit one's too compared with todays sample.
Can anyone remember the name of the game where one kid stood on the other side of the street facing the houses and the rest lined up on the other side and tried to advance across the road . The lad [or lass] on the other side tried to give a little time before looking round and spotting anyone moving . If spotted they had to go back and start again. In print it sounds a hopeless thing but i have played it with small granchildren and they loved it---but no name.comes to mind.Of course the aim was to get over unseen and tap the kid on the back and take over.
Mike Nichols' beautifully described street-game brought back some lovely memories of a long forgotten game and when I first read it through I also, could not remember it's name. On returning to the 'thread' and reading it a second time, the name 'Statues' came to mind. It seems like an apt name to fit the description given and the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that I'm right. Does it 'ring a bell' Mike?
There was one game played, called "Filmstars". The person who was "it" stood across the street facing the rest and would give the initials of her chosen actor/ess for the rest to guess. If the star was "guessed", the correct guesser had to run across the street and back. If he beat "it", who ran across and back in the opposite direction, he became "it". The rest could ask for clues - but with each given clue, "it" could take a large stride into the street thus shortening his odds on winning the race when the correct name was guessed.Sometimes the game's scope was widened to include radio performers. One girl had the rest completely beaten with the initials "BBB". The rest eventually "give in" to be apprised that the radio performer was "Big Bill Bampbell".And this after the Butler Act!!
Yes David " Statues " was the name and if I had asked my wife when I sent the thing in she knew it and that was played in her village school in Leicestershire.Must have been in general use countrywide. I also remember the game Terry mentions , the taking Big strides brought it back to me but the name did't ring a bell at all.
I think I may have told this previously - Kissing Friday at Eastwood School was a firm fixture. My Infant teacher was a young and bonny Miss Feather. I recall going to her at playtime on Kissing Friday in the pretence of asking a question of her. She had to bend down to communicate and I planted a kiss on her cheek and then fled into the school yard. With such a precocious technique developed at such a young age, I should have out-stringfellowed Stringfellow. As with all my other talents, I didn't push it to its conclusive consequences - hence my underachievement in most fields of endeavour which now bring fame and fortune.
I was reminded of this in a recent entry which I am damned if I can find again. Someone mentioned "Forcing Back". Now we played this in the forties , often on The Keighley Rugby League ground.
It was brilliant for fitness and we played to train for the sports day. Living in other parts of the country later I never encountered it again and introduced it to various friends. Any one else seen it in other areas ?
Could you explain, "forcing back" ,Mike? We used to play a game we called "driving back" which would be played in the local (Vic) park. The object was to put in long kicks with a rugby ball to drive your opponents further back as they could return the kick only from where they gathered the ball. Is this the same game?
Sounds one and the same Terry. The beauty of it was it could be played with only 2 , in which case you got a lot of the action. With a few of you it paid to concentrate on the weakest member of the opposition, great fun.
Can anyone remind of the way to play Piggy and Stick ? I remember shaping a short,6" piece of wood with tapered ends,hitting the taper with a long stick and as it flicked into the air hitting it as far as you could. But what next ? I want to introduce it to my grand children and it needs to be competitive.
Peter, as I recollect the play was as follows:-
After you've hit the piggy from within a drawn circle, you placed the stick across the front of the hitting circle at the nearest point of the circle closest to the resting piggy.
You then nominate the number of RUNNING STEPS you will allow your opponent(s) to take from behind the stick to reach and pass the piggy.
If they touch the stick with their foot at take off, the stick was "burned" and the score was awarded to the hitter.
If they don't reach the piggy, with a valid take off and within the number of steps stipulated, then you add that number to your score.
Each player has an agreed number of hits, taken in turn, and the winner was the one with the highest score at the end of the game.
In many instances you would offer a ridiculously low number of steps to ensure you won the points !!
This was usually played on waste ground (the "hollow"} within the perimeter of Lawkholme Lane, Park Grove, Caledonia Road and Back Eric Street
This patch of ground was also used for bonfire building {with prog} ready for
plot night.
A Multifunctional playground now being so earnestly sought by today's community AND AT NO EXPENSE TO THE USER !!
Derek; I couldn't have explained it better if I'd tried. Your description of the 'rules' are more or less the same as us 'Bradford Steeters'. The 'piggy' was usually carved from a piece of rotten or disused broom handle as was the 'stick', of course. The pacing out of the 'strides' was the key element, I remember, and I always seemed to pick up some bonus points here. It probably helped me win the Long Jump at School in later years.
Our 'Holler'(or 'hollow) on Bradford St.,also doubled up as a cricket ground, rugby and football pitch, 'taws'(marbles) arena and bonfire plot, just like yours, Derek. Sadly, a mosque with a large green dome, now stands on our 'hollow'(ed),hallowed ground!!
Thank you , Derek. That is how I thought we played it,but deliberately not offering enough steps was not right and I wondered if there was a fairer way.
Whenever did fairness come into a street game? What about "Ton Weights" otherwise called "finger,thumb or dumb" - wide open to gamesmanship and dishonesty.
Ee, tha mun ha bin well off to have a shed for a Kall Oil, we used to dig holes on the moor and roof them with iron or anything else we could cadge, then replace the turfs we had dug out so that they were almost invisible.
Years at KBGS e.g. 1958-1964 (optional) 58-61
Current location (optional) Haworth now Blue Mountains in Australia
Just discovered this forum after a long absence from the KBGS site. My eye was struck immediately by this topic which was always dear to my heart. It seems, incidentally, that like real children's games which have their seasons, this link also is seasonal. Started in May 2006 it petered out in June only to be revived for a few days in April 2007 and then again in April this year.
I am with Peter on the issue of fairness in street games. I seem to remember that most kids had a very strong sense of justice and hated a cheater. But in the case of Piggy (?Peggy) I think his fears are misplaced. If a ridiculously low number of strides is given to make sure of the points then only a ridiculous number of points will be won and the game will probably be lost. In any case we used to have a rule which allowed the striker to be challenged to do the striding himself if the call was too low.
As a later lover of rugby Ton Weights was one of my favourite games but I don't remember it ever developing to the guessing stage (finger or thumb?). Trying to collapse the horse (or even trying to stay off the ground if on the other side) was fun enough! Where was the scope for dishonesty Terry? Was it only at the guessing stage that gamesmanship came in?
Hi, Gareth, welcome back. It had to be at the "guessing stage" Remember - the team making the back for the others had one lad standing with his back to the wall and able to see the team that had "piled on". So when the challenge "Finger, thumb or dum?" was called, this lad could see the signal and communicate it to the caller simply by silently showing the signal with his own hand to the nearest member of his team. At least that's how it was done down Bradford Street. I can see that the Denholme/Queensbury bunch would revel in the simple physicality of the rough and tumble.
Did anyone play the greatest street game ever invented? It combined the sting of Kingy with the throwing and catching skills of baseball. In Denholme in the fifties we called it simply Sticks. It needed at least 4 a side, a wall, a ball and 3 sticks (firewood size). The sticks were placed like a letter pi leaning against the foot of the wall and the "in" side took turns throwing the ball at them from ten paces away. The fielding side spread out around the sticks trying to catch the ball on the rebound from the wall in which case the thrower was out (but only if the ball hit the ground first before the wall). If all were caught out in this way before the sticks were hit the other side became throwers. If the sticks were knocked down and the ball caught the whole side were out. But if they were hit and the ball not caught then the game became like Kingy - the fielding side had to try to hit all the in side players with the ball (below head and above knee) before they were able to build the sticks back up against the wall, in which case they went in again. Kingy rules applied in this stage of the game - no running with the ball and the side trying to build the sticks could fist the ball away or even pick up a loose ball between two fists and fist it away.
Anyone know this game? It has long been forgotten in Denholme.
I'm not capped it's been long-forgotten in Denholme - or anywhere for that matter. How did you remember the rules from one day to the next? We devised a game (nowadays it would be termed a team exercise) down Bradford Street which involved chucking a tenniser or a hard spongie against a house wall - where the stone was bull-nosed dressed - so the ball flew off in any direction - left/right/straight/up/down - and fast. 4 or more would form an arc and aim at pitching the ball on the half-volley just as it struck the stonework. By gow but did they fly. Talk about sharpening up your reflexes - 'cause if you missed it you had to run and " mug yer own".