Pastimes

Local children indulged in three main pastimes.

Hoops, spinning tops and marbles.

When the boys were bowling hoops, the girls were skipping.  There were very few cars then and it was quite common to see a girl on each side of the road turning a long length of rope between them and of course the nearer they got to the school the more there were skipping.

Fred Watts the blacksmith made the best iron hoops for the boys who could afford them, but for most an old pram or bicycle wheel rim sufficed.

Girls sometimes bowled wooden hoops, but they were no good in a strong wind or on wet roads.

Top spinning was always popular and several could be made from a two and a half inch thick piece of ash, poplar or willow, and a call at the cobblers for a boot stud provided an excellent spinning top.

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