h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have only just found this site. There have been no entries for a while but here goes. There have been news items recently about people being hired to go into schools and teach children how to play games. This reminded me of a game I loved as a child in the mid 1950s to the early 1960s. Do any women out there remember playing the two balls against the wall game. I remember 6 or more songs that we used to sing, some of which were seriously politically incorrect. One of the songs was 'One,two, three O'leary, my balls down the airy, dont forget to give it to Mary, not to Charlie Chaplin!' At some point a ball would be bounced on the floor at another it would be thrown up in the air and caught. If you were really good at this you could play with one hand. Does this ring a bell with anyone???
Hope someone out there is interested.

My two-ball playing against the wall was in the 70s when we'd sing kness up mother Brown. I have a 13-year-old daughter and they don't play this game anymore, but I've told her I will teach her - kids now-a-dys are wrapped up with game boys and DVDs. i have also taught my daughter how to play jack stars

My daughter is grown up now and training to be a teacher but I remember teaching her how to play lots of games like the ones we have been talking about. My daughter is 25 now and I think probably the last generation that still played games in the playground, like skipping and 'whats the time Mr.Wolf' and such like. My daughter and her friends also played clapping games alot. They were long complicated songs with lots of actions and she used to come home and teach me. I know that in some schools boys still play football but I'm not sure what else goes on. With all of the health and safety stuff around nowadays I'm not sure whats aloud. As that was my first ever entry on any site It was lovely to get a reply.
I'm very interested in the songs sung by children. I learnt an amazing amount of songs both in and out of school and most of them are not sung now. We had singing classes and learnt the hymns for assembley, sea shanties, old English country songs and even small bits of classical songs.
Nice to hear from you.

I didn't know this thread existed! I remember all the old sea shanties "Quinquereme of Ninevea....", "I must go down to the sea again...." etc. We also learnt songs with such enchanting lyrics as "With her one eye on the pot and the other up the chimney, singing tow-row-row"!!!

We were taught by what I can only now imagine to be a wanabee opera singer. She was strict, knew her stuff, played the piano excellently, sang very well, but always with the chin wobble associated with high operatics - it was all we could do to stifle our giggles.

Oh yes, and what about "Tiger, tiger, burning bright...."

As for playground games.... well, with my sixtieth birthday not so far off, you can imagine I have a vast stock of them still in my memory (strange, isn't it? I can remember all those songs and games, and I haven't a clue what happened yesterday, or even five minutes ago, if it comes to that )

Happy reminiscing!

UG

I remember Quimqermeme ....was there something about 'salt caked smoke stacks.......dashing throught the channel on a Mad March Day...or was that another poem.
Although I went to a Comp school in Islington in the 60s ,before the big gentrification, we had a speech teacher who used to bring her small dog into school. She taught us tongue twisters like - Betty Botter bought some butter but she said this butters bitter, if I put it in my batter it will make my batter bitter, so she bought a bit of butter better than the bitter butter and she put it in her batter and her batter was not bitter, so twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.
One of my favourite poems was Ozimandias...king of kings look on my work ye mighty and dispair.
I'm in my mid fifties and also have thousands of poems, lyrics and rhymes in my head.
I was an avid listener to Childrens Favourites and loved Sparky and Puff the Magic Dragon and such like. Also the funny ones like the Mexican Hat Dance, Speedy Gonzales, Delaneys Donkey and Paddy Magintis Goat.....any one else remember them????
You dont here girls singing playground or street songs any more. Are they documented anywhere or will they be lost with our generation?
Maybe its my age but this sort of thing seems more important to me now.
Look forward to the next contribution

Keep remembering

I remember that song too but ours was more innocent:

one, two, three O'Leary
four, five, six O'Leary
seven, eight, nine O'Leary
Ten O'Leary
Catch the ball (and at that point the next person takes over)

I'm struggling to recall another one though which ends with something about the neighbour not being in "so I'll pass it on to you"

I remember that one... it was

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John next door neighbour carry on, next door neighbour got the flu so I pass it on to you.

There were so many I played in the 70s. We used to go through playing with one leg the other leg or one hand etc.

These are others I remember

Please miss, my mother miss, come to tell you this miss, I miss won't miss, be at school tomorrow miss.

Please keep off the grass sir, to let the ladies pass sir, you know the rules, you silly fat horse, please keep off the grass sir.

When I went to Dover, saw a birdie flying over, up, up, up and over, when I went to Dover.

There are many other but don't remember all.

Hello I'm new to this site and found it by accident -great! Does anyone out there remember the rhyme starting 'each, peach, pear, plum? We used to sing it when we played two balls on the wall?

We didn't used to play any game with two balls. Ours only had one and was called fumball - I have no idea why.

We did have a rhyme for sorting out who was 'it':

Ip dip sky blue, who's it, not you
Not because you're dirty
Not because you're clean
My mother says you're the fairy queen
You are not it

hi all I came played this site when trying to remember the songs for the two balls bounced up against.the wall. I used to play these games when I was at primary school, that was in the 90's. I am currently 25. I can remember singing a song about a wee boy called sam, but cant remember much Of it I remember he went to see a nurse cause he ate something.

When I was at at primary we played all sorts of games, like red rover which was banned due to crushed fingers and rings. I thing from what I gave seen passing by the school across from me wee girls still get to play hopscotch and skipping. As do the kids in the nursery. Games like red rover I havent seen played for years. I dont know about kids playing whats the time Mr wolf any more, which is a shame I liked that game.

We played Grandmother's Footsteps too. British Bulldog (which I think is similar to Red Rover?) got banned too! Also Tag and Stick-in-the-mud. Also just randomly running around the [since demolished] swimming pool. I've no idea why we did that!

I remember playin. British bulldog it is kinda similar to red rover, it was played in a large area where a few people the bull dogs where in the middl. And the others would try and pass through to the other side without getting caught if they were caught they Joined the bull dogs. Game ended when all the players where caught. I quite enjoyed that game, I can ever remember playing grandmothers footsteps.

Sorry that should have been can not remember.