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

I remember playing games such as Ball Hopscotch (played on a large grid in the middle of the road),also 'kick the can' - also played along the road!

Only one or two families in our street had cars, and we were also able to play with a large skipping rope going from one side of the road to the other. All the kids in the street would join in.

we didn't have street games because it was a main road, but a good number were played in the school playground. What about the ice slides in winter, they'd be salted over today double quick.

Yes ice slides - great!

Everything seemed to have a season. Marbles and fivestones in Spring!

What about "Swapsies". I remember many playtimes swapping whatever was the current trend of the day - Brooke Bond Tea cards, beads, badges....

And then there was "What's the time Mr Wolf?"..... and what was that game called when the "leader" called out a letter of the alphabet and if you had that letter in your name (full name that was, middle names, surnames, the lot) you step forward a pace for each time it appeared in the name? Used to like that game when they called "A" because I had four of them in my full name!!

"Statues" was a similar one, with eveyone playing. One would face the wall, and when he/she turned round, we had to stay as we were when she turned; course, we found the worst positions and faces we could!The first person who couldn't stay still was "It" and went to the wall!

The girls would play 'Farmers in his den' and rope in some poor unsuspecting kid to be the bone.

The boys had some disgusting games - fairly innocent, but too much for this chat. Most games were gender based. Boy - balls and dinkeys (that sums it up pretty well) Girls - social games with songs or rhymes, role play.

Coming back to Hopscotch, but the chalked kind on the pavement; we were made to wash the chalk marks away if we did it in ont of some old moaners' houses! 'Course, that only made us do it more in the same place! We loved the "novelty" of washing the pavement. Try and get kids to do that now!!

Cowboys and indians in the school playground brill

And what about kiss chase?

OH! How could I have forgotten that one??