When We Were Very Young…(We Didn’t Know About Computer Games!)

Not long ago I was calling on a good friend while he was baby sitting his grandkids who were staying for a few days. They had brought a variety of things to keep theirselves occupied (and out of Grandad’s hair!). Apart from the old favourites of books, board games and puzzles they had additionally obtained a computer games console with which they were now engaged in some form of battle against the forces of darkness. Outdoors the sky was a glorious blue and the sun was shining, perfect for a stroll or a nature ramble naturally therefore we set a time limit on the game making it clear that once the time was up we would go out and enjoy the sunshine. The little ones were fine with this since they too enjoy being outdoors, particularly with Grandad and his old friend. We had a cuppa whilst waiting for the agreed 20 minutes to go by and started out to remember the games we played when we were kids, when times were much less complicated. To begin with we very rarely used to play inside, if we did it would be ‘school’ or ‘house’ with our big sisters, hoping the rain would quickly end. Nonetheless, the very best games we played were always outdoors where we ran, clambered and climbed, filling our chests with healthy fresh air. We lived near to farmland and so when the crops were high we could crawl about without being spotted, make ‘dens’ or sneak up on each other. After the harvest we could pile up the straw into vast mounds and then jump into it, we never seemed to get in trouble with the farmer at all. The road we lived on was small; there was very little through traffic and barely any parked vehicles. There were lots of kids on the street thus we were rarely short of buddies or enough bodies for team games. From time to time we would not be permitted beyond the road and some of the games became rather pointless, for example writing down all the house numbers, this wouldn't take long because they only went up to 29! A paper chase was totally fun, a slip of paper was hidden in a wall in front of a house, on it was written the number of the next house to search at and so on. On the very last slip would be a sign as to where to seek out the first gang. Because it was a quiet street we would play team games that took place across the roadway. A few of their names are now lost to me however I can recall ‘Jolly Tomato Men’ we must have misheard the right title because it was in fact ‘Here Come Two Jolly Men Out of Work’. One team mimed a job and the other team had to guess what it was. Another was ‘Red Rover’; yet again two teams faced each other across the road, this time with joined hands. A member of one gang had to charge at the other and break through the joined hands, One time I broke a finger at this when my hand collided with the next child’s head – oh happy days! Before long the 20 minutes was passed and out we went into the sun getting puzzled looks from the kids as we restarted our discussion about ‘What Time is it Mr Wolf’ and ‘Bung Off’.

I still adore being out of doors and if you also do visit My Outdoor Store, the premier walking and hiking outdoor gear store.