Playing outside

[Marine Boy]

"Go out and play..." was a familiar phrase spoken by parents in the 70s and 80s. I was lucky to have a green area opposite the house with a lake where we found frogs and newts. In a nearby woodland we made 'camps', and half a mile away, there was a council playground with a huge slide.

Where did you go and what did you do when you were told to "go out and play"?

[Trickyvee]

Re: Playing outside

I lived on an estate pretty much devoid of green spaces so we were always out in the street. There was a playing field nearby but we hardly ever went there much to people's annoyance. After hitting yet another window with a ball we'd get "What are you doing playing that here? There's a field just down the road!" But the field was just boring really. It used to have a small park with a roundabout and swings etc when I was really young but by the time I was about 5 it had gone.

[branny]

Re: Playing outside

We had our school playground at the back of our first house so that was our main football area and also used to play in the many streets of terraced houses. We moved to a housing estate when I was 12 so just used to hang about around the corner from our house.

[darren]

Re: Playing outside

where i live we where lucky.

we had acres and acres of fields to play on.
footie pitches they where.

many a night me and and the mates played footie to nine or later most nights.
we would come in mucked up to the eyballs.

great fun.
the parents did not like the mucky feet though.
there was also a stream which we would try and jump across.
if we managed it all the other mats give that person a sweet each.

most of the fields are still there.

[Emettman]

Re: Playing outside

Until I was twelve, I lived only a few yards away from "The Rec" which was large enough for two cricket grounds. Another recreation ground, also with swings, see-saws and slides was within walking distance. Semi-rural Surrey.
We then moved more rurally, and cycle tracks through the woods were more the thing, but still with plenty of open spaces.
Pretty lucky in that respect (but family had been in that area for generations).

[Megawitch]

Re: Playing outside

I lived in the centre of town when I was a kid but fortunately it was a semi rural area and the town is surrounded by green hills. there are also a few parks and lots of playgrounds.
In the summer holidays I was out from morning till tea time, took a few sandwiches ,a packet of crisps and a bottle of pop in aduffle bag and had a whale of a time.
When my kids came along in the 70s we lived on an estate with a school which had a huge playing field. Our house was one that backed onto the field so the kids could go out of our gate straight onto the field and play all day. They were in full view of all the houses surrounding the field and had no roads to cross to get there or back home.

[darren]

Re: Playing outside

hi megawitch.
grewat memories there.
tell me do you stilllive there now where you grew up.
and did your kids enjoy these same playing areas as you did.

i can sure identify with staying out all day bring a few sarnies with me and a drink.

there are not as much fields grassy areas forkids to play in now.
we where so very lucky.

[Jacqueline]

Re: Playing outside

There was a park at the top of the road where I lived and during the summer holidays we used to spend all day up there with sandwiches and a bottle of made up squash.

After school we used to play out in the street for an hour. Usually we shared pairs of roller skates and scooted about on the smooth surface outside a row of garages at the end of the road. The rest of the pavement was cobbled which didn't work well for scooting. We played tick and hide and seek, marbles, skipping, those plastic hoops with a ball attached that you spun round your ankle, L O N D O N, football, cricket, all the playground style games. There was very little traffic around and there were usually at least half a dozen kids 'playing out' at any one time.

[Marine Boy]

Re: Playing outside

...those plastic hoops with a ball attached that you spun round your ankle...

Oh! You just released a childhood memory! I'd completely forgotten about those!

[Trickyvee]

Re: Playing outside

After school we used to play out in the street for an hour. Usually we shared pairs of roller skates and scooted about on the smooth surface outside a row of garages at the end of the road. The rest of the pavement was cobbled which didn't work well for scooting.

I can relate to this. Most of the pavement stones on our estate were 'bumpy' stone with the occasional smooth one somewhere so rubbish for skating. We'd go to the ends of the earth to find a nice bit of tarmac.

[Jacqueline]

Re: Playing outside

Oh! You just released a childhood memory! I'd completely forgotten about those!

Can anyone remember what they were called?

[Heather74]

Re: Playing outside

skip-it
see here skip it

[Marine Boy]

Re: Playing outside

Thanks huggie! I'll have to re-introduce it to the kids at school!

[Megawitch]

Re: Playing outside

hi megawitch.
grewat memories there.
tell me do you stilllive there now where you grew up.
and did your kids enjoy these same playing areas as you did.

i can sure identify with staying out all day bring a few sarnies with me and a drink.

there are not as much fields grassy areas forkids to play in now.
we where so very lucky.

I do live in the same town now but I returned here to retire after 25 years elswhere. My kids started off here and then we moved in their pre -teens. But now my grandchildren come to stay with me and there are green fields and a playground just behind our houses.

[Fatboy]

Re: Playing outside

Many a time I was told to go out and play if I was hanging about in the house. We used to have a stretch of waste ground just around the corner, which used to have trees, bushes. We used to have camp, and many a happy hour was spent finding things that we needed to make camps, such as tin sheeting, plastic sheeting, carpet, wood. After the camp was built, we would spend what was left of the day down there and into the evening too, which was when we would have our small camp fire. We could spend the best part of the day down there and it definitely kept us out of trouble. Absolutely magic.

I feel kids today are missing out, by just sitting in front of a computer or games console.