Web Page 940

Top Picture

: A Chinese Checkers Board from the 1950’s

Second Picture:

The outside of the Odeon, North End. This is now a bargain store.

Table Games

I thought in this electronic age I would take a look at the simple games that we played with as kids, games that could be played indoors and on a dining room table and did not need to be plugged in or fitted with batteries.

The first game that came to mind was Chinese Checkers, a game I never really took to and could see little point in, mind you the same went for Ludo and Solitaire! However looking for sheer tension and excitement you really could not beat a good game of Snakes and Ladders even though you nearly always landed on the long snake that was just before the winning square. Chess, Draughts, Monopoly, Totopoly and if you were posh Backgammon sets some or all of these were normally hidden somewhere in the toy cupboard as were the many and varied card games. Now let’s see how many of these card games I can remember. Old Maid, Happy Families, Snap, Pit, Lexicon and Kan-U-Go, there must be more!

Getting towards maths based games we come across some old favourites domino’s, shove halfpenny, bagatelle and cribbage, all of which are still very popular games today although now they have moved away from the children and out of the homes because they are now mainly played in rural public houses.

Back to children’s games on the table, if we were lucky enough to have a largish dining table out would come the Table Tennis or Ping Pong set and after fixing the net onto the table with the clamps, making sure that they did not scratch the polished surface, fast and furious games would ensue until someone stepped on the last ball and flattened it. End of game. The other full tabletop game was Blow Football, this was before Subuteo superseded it. How well I remember placing the goals in the right places, checking my blowing tube or straw and then attempting to huff and puff and blow the ping pong ball into the opponents goal. But children being what they are, the blow tubes soon filled up with spit and dribble and very soon the whole of the table top was covered with little wet pools. This meant the game had to stop the pitch cleaned and dried before the second half could begin. Yuk!!!

While sitting round the table we could of played a game we knew as Housey, Housey, little did we know that with a name change to Bingo this game would sweep the country in a few years time.

Games involving only pencil and paper were always popular noughts and crosses, Beetle, Hangman, consequences, and battleships to name just a few.

My grandmother was a card fanatic, off she would go to the Whist Drive three or four times a week in different hall in the area, but she also played card games with us at home. Beat my Neighbour, Matrimony, 21’s and of course whist were all favourites, others come to mind such as Rummy and patience, I never did get the hang of Bridge and my grandmother and her friends would spend hours around the table playing a game called Bezique, a game I never understood at all!

Then there were the hoards of board games which were very loosely based on popular radio and TV programmes. Do you remember the Dixon of Dock Green Game, the Lone Ranger Game and the Wells Fargo Game? No nor do I but they were all around when we were young!

These are just a few of the games that were around I am sure you can add more to the list, Pick-a-Sticks, has just come into my mind and so has Yahtse. So come on get you thinking caps on and see if we can drag up a few more bygone games.



Stay in touch,

Yours,

Peter

DUSTYKEAT@aol.com
Pj.keat@ntlworld.co.uk


Web page from 9 years ago

We the Over 50's

Maybe I am getting cynical in my old age but ….
We were born before mass television was popular, before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic bags, contact lenses, Frisbees and the pill. We were born before credit cards, split atoms, laser beams, and ball-point pens; before dishwashers, tumble dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip dry clothes.......
We got married first and then lived together. We thought "fast food" was what you ate in Lent, a "Big Mac" was an oversized raincoat, and "crumpet" was what you had buttered for tea. We existed before househusbands, computer dating, dual careers, when a "meaningful relationship" meant getting along with your cousins, and "sheltered accommodation" was where you waited for the bus. We had never heard of FM radio, tape decks, word processors, yoghurt, pizzas, or young men wearing earrings. For us a "chip" was piece of wood or a fried potato, "hardware" meant nuts and bolts and "software" wasn't even a word. The term "making out" referred to how you did in exams, "stud" was something that fastened your clothes with and "going all the way" meant staying on the double-decker bus to the depot.........
In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, "grass" was mown, "coke" was kept in the coal shed, and a "joint" was the piece of meat you ate on Sundays or a connection in a water or gas pipe. "Rock music" was a lullaby for a baby and a "gay person" was always the life and soul of the party.
No wonder we are so confused. And how old are we? We will soon be just hitting 65+! But don’t you tell anyone!!


You Write:

Mary Writes:-

The new stained glass window in St Colmans Church was donated by the Daly girls, and also Lady Daly who was Lady Mayoress during the war. The Daly girls were all past pupils at Daly School in Kingston Crescent. The window is of St Teresa, and at the bottom there is the Guildhall on fire during the war, and the searchlights, very effective I think.





News and Views:

Plans to restore Wymering Manor have received a boost after two heritage groups offered to support a campaign to save the Manor. Both English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund have said they believe the building’s refurbishment should be a priority for the city. English Heritage has agreed to add the deteriorating historic landmark to its ‘at risk’ list, and confirm it as its ‘number one priority’ Portsmouth building. And representatives from the Heritage Lottery Fund have told Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt plans she has developed with local campaigners would be something they could look to fund. The manor, in Old Wymering Road, was built in 1581, and last used in 2006, when it was a youth hostel. It has repeatedly been offered for sale by the council, but has failed to reach its £350,000 minimum price – in part because of woodworm and water damage. Tom Southall, the council’s head of property, said: ‘Wymering Manor is important to Portsmouth’s heritage and we’ll do whatever we can to preserve it. The options available are limited, but we’re looking again at options that will help prevent deterioration.’


On this day 22nd May 1960-1965.

On 22/05/1960 the number one single was Cathy's Clown - Everly Brothers and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Royal Variety Performance (ATV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Burnley were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/05/1961 the number one single was On the Rebound - Floyd Cramer and the number one album was GI Blues - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Bootsie & Snudge (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/05/1962 the number one single was Nut Rocker - B Bumble & the Stingers and the number one album was Blue Hawaii - Elvis Presley. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Ipswich Town were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/05/1963 the number one single was From Me To You - The Beatles and the number one album was Please, Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/05/1964 the number one single was Juliet - Four Pennies and the number one album was Rolling Stones - The Rolling Stones. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 22/05/1965 the number one single was Where Are You Now (My Love) - Jackie Trent and the number one album was Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £11.69 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.