S
sga
Guest
Fraid not dennis,I think Polly on the mopstick was just before my time.But I'm sure if you could explain the rules a :roll: and let me know any equipment requiementsI,ll ask the missis if she fancies a game :roll:
Don't you remember playing this in the third and fourth years at Mapledene ? We also played British Bulldog and Red RoverIn this fascinating book (The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland )it is called Bung The Bucket.
The first time I came across it was at grammar school where we called it Polly On The Mopstick. It might have been a local variation but our first boy stood with his back against the wall forming some sort of buffer for the other boys in the line.
Possibly we did this when playing up against a hedge?
No, I don't think I do. At the grammar school there was a sort of no-man's land between the tennis courts and the games field that was called the bank. We weren't allowed to go beyond the bank and it was a matter of some one-sided debate between us and the prefects as to where the bank ended and the pitches began! The bank, unlike the playground, gave a soft landing and so we only played it there. Mapledene playground was very unforgiving so I'm surprised that it would be played there. If it was I'm sure I didn't take part. British Bulldog, (running between a wall and a parallel line without getting 'caught'?), I remember and liked, Red Rover sound more like a girl's game to me but I might have played it. We must have played some sort of informal tag and there were certainly lots of skipping games.Don't you remember playing this in the third and fourth years at Mapledene ? We also played British Bulldog and Red Rover
amongst many others.
Our British Bulldog consisted of one player in the centre ground between two opposing lines. The rest of the players would run from one boundary to the other where they would be safe. The single player would tag anyone that they could. Tagged players then joined the original player in intercepting the reverse mass run. Eventually everyone would be caught and the ended, the last person being the winner.British Bulldog
Whoops... Thanks have edited.Our British Bulldog consisted of one player in the centre ground between two opposing lines. The rest of the players would run from one boundary to the other where they would be safe. The single player would tag anyone that they could. Tagged players then joined the original player in intercepting the reverse mass run. Eventually everyone would be caught and the ended, the last person being the winner.
The picture above is the game that this thread is calling Polly On The Mopstick.
We had a hi-tech version. We tied black cotton to the door knocker, remote control, lots of fun, no risk!We live in a rural Cretan village with lots of back alleys, so we don't tend to see many kid's games. However, tonight we were on the receiving end of Knock Down Ginger. Loud knocking on the shutter facing the lane, so I put the outside lights one, no one there, but was just in time to see a couple of boys running around the corner into the back lane. I didn't chase them, of course, as this old geezer would be hard put to catch a runaway tortoise!
Maurice
I carnt see any girls in this photo, I must have been a propa tomboy ,reminder of roughy knees lolPolly on the Mopstick View attachment 136472
As I remember it, the team that were "receiving" had to hold up to a chant of "Polly on the mopstick, one two three". The tactics were for the attacking team to wait till the end then send in the fattest kid to cause a collapse. As for British Bulldog, one lonely bloke had to stand facing a stampeding horde. Having caught one of them, there was then two to face the horde, and so on. In the army there was a similar version of this game, called Murder Ball, but that was more murderous.Hi,
We played Polly on the Mopstick at school. Our version had one boy with his
back to the wall, and the rest of the team in single line scrum fashion.
We would chant 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, Polly on the Mopstick Amen,
and the other teams score would be the number who could leapfrog on,
and stay on during the chant.
Kind regards
Dave
That triggered a dormant brain cell or two. Thanks for the memory..There was a similar game to bulldog where you hopped across on one leg with your arms folded and had to knock an opponent onto his two legs (or knock him over).