The farmers got a wife, the farmers got a wife...ee ahh allio, the farmers got a wife....
The farmers got a bull, the farmers got a bull....ee ahh allio the farmers got a bull.....etc etc etc.
That's how I remember it. (Maltby St School playground, 1947-1957)
I thought it was "The farmer wants a wife".
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We used to play one where you throw a tennis ball at some one if you hit them they were on, now that could get nasty..
Those were the days when toilets had chains....
Or should that be closets...
At school the toilets didn't have seats just a strip of wood screwed on either side of the bowl....
Last edited by grinder; 03-11-2009 at 23:42.
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We used to play "splits" or stretch, where you stood opposite each other and took turns to throw a pocket knife to each other's side. Wherever the knife stuck in the grass, you had to keep one foot in place and stretch with the other foot to reach it. Second time around, the thrower had to throw to the other side i.e. if the first throw went left, the next one had to go right and so on. Later on "chicken" was developed, which was an exact reverse of splits. I can't see boyhood pastime this being allowed today !!!
Then we would play SPOT in the school yard or anywhere where we could kick a ball against a wall. The game would start with 137 (as many as you like) playing and each had to kick a (sometimes tennis) ball against the wall (with me so far ???) when you missed the wall you became S, then P, then O and finally out on T. There was always a "doggie" life for the first one out. The game was frequently spoiled by people claiming to be SP when they were actually SPO. Great arguments would break out and before you knew it the bell was ringing...........
The farmers got a wife, the farmers got a wife...ee ahh allio, the farmers got a wife....
The farmers got a bull, the farmers got a bull....ee ahh allio the farmers got a bull.....etc etc etc.
That's how I remember it. (Maltby St School playground, 1947-1957)
Just reading this again and it came back to me that when I was a little girl I had a wind up toy of this. It was a metal farmhouse with two doors at the front , when you turned the handle the characters came out one by one while the tune played. Out of one door and back in the other, The last one was a piece of cheese like the man in the moon.Aahh I havent thought of that in perhaps 40 odd years. I wish I still had it today, along with the wooden dolls crib and the metal tortoise that walked along the floor. My parents must have given them away when we moved house when I was ten
There was a ball game the girls used to play.
One two three olaira,
four five six olaira ,
seven eight nine olaira,
ten olaira catch the ball...
I remember doing that in time with twosies juggling two balls up against a wall and eventually progressing to twosies up in the air and then maybe even threesies.
__________________ This isn't war, this is pest control.
The farmers got a wife, the farmers got a wife...ee ahh allio, the farmers got a wife....
The farmers got a bull, the farmers got a bull....ee ahh allio the farmers got a bull.....etc etc etc.
That's how I remember it. (Maltby St School playground, 1947-1957)
Quote:
Originally Posted by DUFFEMS
and we all bashed the one in the middle when it came to, "We all pat the dog, we all pat the dog......."
Before we patted the dog the farmer chased the dog round the circle while the rest of us animals (the cow, the sheep, the pig, etc that the farmer wanted) chanted "the farrer chased the dog". Eventually the farmer got the wife and had to kiss her in the middle of the circle. If we didn't think it was a good enough kiss we wouldn't lift up our arms to let them out of the circle until they's done it properly. Oh the good old days.
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Also, we used to do a strange weaving "dance" to a song," the big ship sailed on the alley-alley oh", which involved us ending up with crossed arms (like "Auld Lang Syne") joined up in a circle.
The origin of this rhyme seems uncertain, but manoeuvers carried out by WW1 British "Line of Battle "ships and the Manchester Ship Canal have been mooted.
Location: The Greta Garbo Home For Wayward Boys And Girls
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grinder
There was a ball game the girls used to play.
One two three olaira,
four five six olaira ,
seven eight nine olaira,
ten olaira catch the ball...
Quote:
Originally Posted by chimay
I remember doing that in time with twosies juggling two balls up against a wall and eventually progressing to twosies up in the air and then maybe even threesies.
"one, two, three o-lary" was one ball game we also played, but the last line in our version went "ten, eleven, start again, one two three o-lary (etc)" with the "two-balls being passed smoothly to the next player (theoretically) without a hiccup.
We also played "Donkey" which was pretty similar to "Spot" which Ibn Batotah mentioned above, and a game we called "Sevens" which was played thus (slight fog of age notwithstanding )
Seven straight throws against the wall under-hand.
Six straight throws against the wall over-hand.
Five throws against the wall with the ball bouncing once on the floor on each return.
Four throws against the wall, with the ball bouncing on the floor before hitting the wall, and returning to the thrower without a second bounce...
Three throws against the wall with a hand-clap before catching the ball.
Two throws against the wall with a 360 degree spin
and sadly, I forget the "One" that was the final throw. I have vague memories of the final single throw being a straight throw at the wall, and a jump, over the ball, as it bounced on return. The following player would catch the ball and start the seven throws all over again.
There was another "two-ball" game we played "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, next door neighbour, carry on" where the next player carried on the throwing without a hiccup.
"one, two, three o-lary" was one ball game we also played, but the last line in our version went "ten, eleven, start again, one two three o-lary (etc)" with the "two-balls being passed smoothly to the next player (theoretically) without a hiccup.
We also played "Donkey" which was pretty similar to "Spot" which Ibn Batotah mentioned above, and a game we called "Sevens" which was played thus (slight fog of age notwithstanding )
Seven straight throws against the wall under-hand.
Six straight throws against the wall over-hand.
Five throws against the wall with the ball bouncing once on the floor on each return.
Four throws against the wall, with the ball bouncing on the floor before hitting the wall, and returning to the thrower without a second bounce...
Three throws against the wall with a hand-clap before catching the ball.
Two throws against the wall with a 360 degree spin
and sadly, I forget the "One" that was the final throw. I have vague memories of the final single throw being a straight throw at the wall, and a jump, over the ball, as it bounced on return. The following player would catch the ball and start the seven throws all over again.
There was another "two-ball" game we played "Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, next door neighbour, carry on" where the next player carried on the throwing without a hiccup.
We also played the ball games one handed which included passing the balls on to the next player both using only one hand.
__________________ This isn't war, this is pest control.
Location: The Greta Garbo Home For Wayward Boys And Girls
Total Posts: 18,393
Quote:
Originally Posted by carosio
The origin of this rhyme seems uncertain, but manoeuvers carried out by WW1 British "Line of Battle "ships and the Manchester Ship Canal have been mooted.
The big ship, sailing down the Alley (Manchester Ship Canal) sounds like a logical subject, The song celebrating the canal.
Location: The Greta Garbo Home For Wayward Boys And Girls
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chimay
We also played the ball games one handed which included passing the balls on to the next player both using only one hand.
I could "two-ball", but I was never quite dexterous enough to be able to "two-ball" with just the one hand. Some of my friends could, but not me.
Other games we played was "standing on our hands against a wall", in the playground.
We'd have variations on that, such as lifting one hand across our chest, then lifting the other, balancing on the other hand, and one which sounds a bit dodgy, these days, where one lass would handstand, then, she'd make an X shape with her arms and legs, and another girl would handstand into the space her legs had left. The game would be to see how many lasses could get into the handstand group without injury/ without the group collapsing.
Can anyone remember the chants girls called out when they were playing French skipping with elastic stretched round their mate's legs? Or was it just a "caller" shouting out what to do next?
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I could "two-ball", but I was never quite dexterous enough to be able to "two-ball" with just the one hand. Some of my friends could, but not me.
Other games we played was "standing on our hands against a wall", in the playground.
We'd have variations on that, such as lifting one hand across our chest, then lifting the other, balancing on the other hand, and one which sounds a bit dodgy, these days, where one lass would handstand, then, she'd make an X shape with her arms and legs, and another girl would handstand into the space her legs had left. The game would be to see how many lasses could get into the handstand group without injury/ without the group collapsing.
What about handstands against the wall then walking down the wall until you could put your feet on the floor and you were a crab? That was beyond me. Ofcourse there were always the clever girls who could do handstands and flip over into a crab without a wall.
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Location: The Greta Garbo Home For Wayward Boys And Girls
Total Posts: 18,393
Quote:
Originally Posted by chimay
What about handstands against the wall then walking down the wall until you could put your feet on the floor and you were a crab? That was beyond me. Ofcourse there were always the clever girls who could do handstands and flip over into a crab without a wall.
We used to "walk" backwards with our hands down the wall till we were in the "crab". What about the really really agile, and clever ones who could simply lay on the ground, and raise themselves up into the crab shape?.
Location: The Greta Garbo Home For Wayward Boys And Girls
Total Posts: 18,393
Quote:
Originally Posted by chimay
Can anyone remember the chants girls called out when they were playing French skipping with elastic stretched round their mate's legs? Or was it just a "caller" shouting out what to do next?
"In- out,
In, out,
in, out, ON!"
You'd start with the elastic at floor level, then just below your ankles, then ankle height, shins, then at your knees.
The really skilful would do as high as hips and waist !
You'd start with the elastic at floor level, then just below your ankles, then ankle height, shins, then at your knees.
The really skilful would do as high as hips and waist !
I also remember things such as 'cross over', 2 left, 2 right, over and under which were positions of your feet on the elastic. Sometimes the elastic was crossed, you stood on it, jumped and had to land on the un-crossed elastic. Sometimes two or even three girls would be jumping on the elastic at the same time.
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Can anyone remember the chants girls called out when they were playing French skipping with elastic stretched round their mate's legs? Or was it just a "caller" shouting out what to do next?
When i was at work a few years ago my mates and I got into bother when the sales manager came in unexpectedly and caught us demonstrating french skipping to one of the girls who hadent played it at school, we were all well over 40 at the time
Also ,do you remember the "choosing" games at school like "one potato, two potato" and "ickle ockle chocolate bottle "?
When i was at work a few years ago my mates and I got into bother when the sales manager came in unexpectedly and caught us demonstrating french skipping to one of the girls who hadent played it at school, we were all well over 40 at the time
Also ,do you remember the "choosing" games at school like "one potato, two potato" and "ickle ockle chocolate bottle "?
Dare I ask where you got the elastic from?
I remember the choosing games. One potato two potato was our favourite.
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it was wasn't it? sorry.
Aahh I havent thought of that in perhaps 40 odd years. I wish I still had it today, along with the wooden dolls crib and the metal tortoise that walked along the floor. My parents must have given them away when we moved house when I was ten
Some of my friends could, but not me.
