Memories Of Somercotes by Mary Bullock (2/4)
by Mary Bullock on
Friday 25 March 2016
On one side our neighbours were the Ludlam family, who were very kind to me and my sister. I also remember the Marriott family who lived nearby but there were always lots of children playing in the street, whatever the weather. There were so few cars just after the war that we were rarely disturbed by traffic. The first car in our family belonged to my cousin’s husband. It was an old jalopy but we were all very excited when he bought it in 1958, or thereabouts. Generally speaking, the street was our playground. We used to use our mother’s washing line and about 10 girls would play skipping games all day in summer singing rhymes like:
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Turn around.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Touch the ground.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Touch your shoe.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
That will do.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Go upstairs.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear,
Say your prayers.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Turn out the light.
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear
Say good night
and
Eeny meeny, makeraker,
Rare I dominaker.
Chicker packer
Lolly popper
Rom Pom push.
Chinese chew chews
Gilly Gally whiskers
OUT spells out
We would play marbles, whip and top, snobs, chasey through the gennels (an old name for passage between houses), conkers in Autumn, hot rice , two up ( a ball game on the side of a wall), hopscotch and cockle up (which was hand-standing against a wall). No idea where that term came from!! We were never short of playmates as most mothers turfed their kids outdoors so they could get chores done in peace.
In those days chores were just that. Fire ranges had to be black-leaded every week, washing done mainly by hand, bread baked at home most days, rugs hand beaten, and windows washed to get rid of the daily grime caused by innumerable coal fires. The range had to be kept going for hot water and cooking. I’m exhausted thinking of it.