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Generation after generation the same children’s games have been played in school playgrounds the length and breadth of Britain. Keenly learnt from child to child, from year to year, it is an exclusive club where game rules are stringently enforced, loyalty is paramount, and team allegiances are power.
Conkers was first played in the Isle of Wight in 1848 with snail shells, taking its name from the French ‘Conch’. Ring a Ring o’ Roses derives from the Great Plague of 1665, hence ‘We all fall down’. And ‘Hopscotch’ was inspired by soldiers’ footwork exercises dating back to the Roman occupation.
These traditions create an enchanting, folkloric portrait of the nation's history. |
