Games played as a kid.

[bobh]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Reading ToBW’s memories of playing bits of Tennis and Pitch and put when the relative sports were on TV, got me thinking.
When I was a kid, before Play stations, Xboxes, and mobile phones were around, and everywhere was fields ��, me and my fellow Elyites, would pass the time playing 9 hole golf at Ely race course, outdoor bowls at the green in Plymouthwood Rd, tennis (at the same park as the bowling green, swimming at Empire pool and darts in anyone’s house whose Mum would let them put a dart board up.
Nothing seemed expensive then, as none of us had much dough anyway.
Used to save up and sometimes buy a putter or an iron at Giles Sports, and used to frequent Fry’s darts shop in Caroline St to buy stems and flights.
My Aunty used to work on the till in Asteys, so after coming out of Empire pool we’d nip over there and if she was on, we’d get a free bottle of pop and crisps.
Another favourite in the warm weather was swimming in Ely River. To this day, can’t believe I survived that ��
Saturday mornings at the Regent cinema, watching Flash Gordon and cartoons was another great memory. The mass exodus downtown the steep steps of the cinema when it finished was more dangerous than a F1 race.
If you fell, you were history!
Used to play cricket up at Ely Rec. One day we’d acquired a real cricket ball. I was batting, and caught one as sweet as a nut, only for it to smash into the face of the hardest kid in Ely at the time. I didn’t hang about to see if he still had any teeth left, I just dropped the bat and ran home as quick as a rat up a drain pipe.
Being from the bottom of Ely, we’d regularly fight with the top of Ely, and sometimes we’d amalgamate and fight Fairwater and Pentrebane in Birdies Lane.
I remember one particular day we were scrapping with Fairwater, and I had a brand new pair of shoes on my Mum had bought me. We were a bit outnumbered that day, and as we retreated back a bit, I noticed one of my new shoes had come off during the scrap.
I had to quickly decide the easiest option. Go get my shoe back and risk a bit of a kicking, or go home and face my Mum. I decided it would be less painful to retrieve the shoe ��
Don’t know why I’m rambling on about yrs gone but it’s a Sunday morning, so why not.

Tennis?
Pitch and putt?
Posh git.

We called those big ball bearings used with marbles "bompers" too.

Way up the top of the Ebbw valley, we made "gambos", a lethal go-cart type thing out of a plank and some pram wheels.

[William Treseder]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Tennis?
Pitch and putt?
Posh git.

We called those big ball bearings used with marbles "bompers" too.

Way up the top of the Ebbw valley, we made "gambos", a lethal go-cart type thing out of a plank and some pram wheels.

We called them Bompers as well. I had a 30 bumper which I lost to my mates older brother I was gutted. I told his old man that he had forced me to play, and he made him give it back to me.
He said he was gonna kick my head in, but luckily for me he never carried out his threat.

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Go over Glan Ely fields fields with a football and play for hours on end.

Only thinking about them last week.

I used to be with the 4th Whitchurch Scouts (poor relation of 1st Whitchurch) near Forest Farm and Melingriffith canal ... making the Datch arrows was part of the Bush Craft badge!

They did go a long way if the release was just right. Were they a hunting method a few centuries ago?

Apart from getting a straight stick and some string, I forget how to make them fly. Any ideas?

Most were made from bamboo. However, a mate made one from a section of fibreglass fishing rod.
Just make a single cut in the non-pointy end, bend two playing cards in half and insert as flights.
The string needed to have a knot at one end. This would help secure the string about 60% up the body length of the arrow - wrap the surplus string around your hand and at the same time pinch the arrow near to the tip, and..... throw!
The secret seemed to be in the tension of the string. :thumbup:

[insider]

Re: Games played as a kid.

At a certain time of year I became obsessed with bird nesting.
Thinking back I now realise it was cruel but done out of adolescent curiosity.
It gave me an incredible knowledge of the nature that surrounded me.

[splott parker]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Memories of playing cricket over Greenway Park, one of the boys uncles used to join in, he always used to bat last. There were times we wasn’t getting home until gone 9pm as he insisted everyone had to ‘field their innings’:hehe:

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Go over Glan Ely fields fields with a football and play for hours on end.

At a certain time of year I became obsessed with bird nesting.
Thinking back I now realise it was cruel but done out of adolescent curiosity.
It gave me an incredible knowledge of the nature that surrounded me.

We all did it.
However, you're right, looking back it was wrong to do.
I remember one late summer's evening climbing on the factory roof of Excelsior Ropes on Western Avenue. We were after seagulls' eggs.
We got dive-bombed by the gulls and it must have attracted the attention of people from miles around - not least the company's security guards, who chased after us.
To add insult to injury, we found that we weren't able to blow the eggs because they'd reached the 'yucker' stage.

[jeepster]

Re: Games played as a kid.

At a certain time of year I became obsessed with bird nesting.
Thinking back I now realise it was cruel but done out of adolescent curiosity.
It gave me an incredible knowledge of the nature that surrounded me.

The same for me the love for nature is still with me today :thumbup:

[Michael Morris]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Being from the bottom of Ely, we’d regularly fight with the top of Ely, and sometimes we’d amalgamate and fight Fairwater and Pentrebane in Birdies Lane.

I'm from Archer Rd originally until I was 14 and then a few years next to the Racecourse before moving away and buying my own house

So Plymouth Woods through to St Fagans, Trelai, Birdie's Lane, The Regent, Grand Avenue, Ely Bridge, Victoria Park were all in walking / bike distance.

Town on the bus for Empire Pool, Sasparilla, Wimpy, Spillers, a platform ticket at Cardiff General/Central (can't remember when it changed).

School at St Francis then Mostyn.

Often ended up playing football off Heol Trelai on the park opposite The Highfields. That was a long haul home when it got dark and cold.

Our house in Archer Rd had an outside toilet (we had one inside as well in the upstairs bathroom).

[William Treseder]

Re: Games played as a kid.

I'm from Archer Rd originally until I was 14 and then a few years next to the Racecourse before moving away and buying my own house

So Plymouth Woods through to St Fagans, Trelai, Birdie's Lane, The Regent, Grand Avenue, Ely Bridge, Victoria Park were all in walking / bike distance.

Town on the bus for Empire Pool, Sasparilla, Wimpy, Spillers, a platform ticket at Cardiff General/Central (can't remember when it changed).

School at St Francis then Mostyn.

Often ended up playing football off Heol Trelai on the park opposite The Highfields. That was a long haul home when it got dark and cold.

Our house in Archer Rd had an outside toilet (we had one inside as well in the upstairs bathroom).

Did you live anywhere near the Fowlers, when you were at Archer Rd ?

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Go over Glan Ely fields fields with a football and play for hours on end.

Scrumping in the large gardens of Cyncoed, usually before the fruit was ripe!

Of course, the owners would pick the ripe fruit themselves :hehe:
The rich-pickings for us Gabalfa/Llandaff North kids would be the middle-class areas of Whitchurch.
But it would almost always be stomach curling unripe fruit.

[Underhill1980]

Re: Games played as a kid.

I'm from Archer Rd originally until I was 14 and then a few years next to the Racecourse before moving away and buying my own house

So Plymouth Woods through to St Fagans, Trelai, Birdie's Lane, The Regent, Grand Avenue, Ely Bridge, Victoria Park were all in walking / bike distance.

Town on the bus for Empire Pool, Sasparilla, Wimpy, Spillers, a platform ticket at Cardiff General/Central (can't remember when it changed).

School at St Francis then Mostyn.

Often ended up playing football off Heol Trelai on the park opposite The Highfields. That was a long haul home when it got dark and cold.

Our house in Archer Rd had an outside toilet (we had one inside as well in the upstairs bathroom).

I went to the Church School at the bottom of Archer Rd and my Mum still attends the church. I’m a defector and heading to hell.

[Des Parrot]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Bogeys!!! I forgot about them. Had a few of those over the yrs. scaffold plank, 4 wheels (sometimes all the same size,) cross frame with rope or string to steer, no brakes.!!

I crashed mine that often, my old man welded a roll cage on it!

[William Treseder]

Re: Games played as a kid.

I crashed mine that often, my old man welded a roll cage on it!

😂

[MOZZER2]

Re: Games played as a kid.

spent many hours playing kerb ball as a nipper

not sure you could classify as a game but spent many hours down hills on my skateboard

[beakerboyblue]

Re: Games played as a kid.

Used to play British bulldog in the street as there wasn’t many cars in those days,used to use a old skate and a book to sit on to go down the hill days before skateboards