Children at play

We played ‘hop, step and jump' and ‘stand back-stand in' between bird nesting and climbing trees. We made collections of birds' eggs and leaves and caterpillars. We were regular young naturalists.

On weekends and holidays we went further afield. Sometimes we walked as much as 20 miles there and back to the famous Stonyhurst College. In summer time the Ribble Valley was beautiful. In May all the hawthorn hedges were in bloom. From Cronshaw Chair (a high rocky place) it looked as though there had been a snowfall and all the air was scented. No one ever picked hawthorn; it was considered unlucky to take it into the house.

We often raided ‘Old Henry's' pear tree. It was about 20 feet high and had never been pruned. The pears were unsaleable, being very small; he probably fed them to the pigs. We used to throw up a stick and then the pears would rain down. We wore knickerbockers (trousers buttoned below the knee) and we filled them up until we could scarcely walk. We could always tell when Old Henry was coming. He had to come through a small tunnel under the railway where he kept fowls. When the fowls came rushing out – “here he comes”. He must have been about 80. He used to shake his stick at us and shout at us ‘I'll skin ye young devils alive'. This amused us greatly. I don't think he really minded. The pears were sweet and we never suffered any ill effects.

In the wintertime we played bowl and hook, with an iron hoop about three feet in diameter, which we pushed along with an iron hook. We got quite expert and could perform complicated manoeuvres with them. When there was snow on the ground we used to knock sledges (pieces of steel about 6 inches long with two spikes) into our clogs, which had wooden soles. With the snow trodden hard on the footpaths, we would scoot along like ice skaters. The clogs were not like Dutch clogs, but more like a shoe with wooden soles. The leather tops were nailed to the wooden soles with brass tacks. Some of the men's clogs had pointed toes and patterns cut into the leather - quite flash. The girls played ring games in the streets, like ‘in and out the windows', ‘stand and face your lover', and ‘my fair lady'. After about 7 years old the boys no longer played with the girls.