How did you play outside when you were young?
January 20, 2012
It’s been a fantastic day listening to local radio stations as callers have phoned in with their stories about what they liked to play as children and young people. These included a phone in on BBC Radio Suffolk (in the first 20 mins) where Julie told listeners about how she liked making go-carts, playing rounders and going for long bike rides. Steve, who rang in live, reminisced about making dens and playing football in the street as well as going to the Broomhill Park after school.
Links to all of today’s radio shows and newspaper stories have been posted on the Facebook page – though if you’ve heard more please let us know!
So what are your favourite play memories as a child? What did you like doing?
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I was lucky enough to grow up in a small Yorkshire Village with parents who allowed me to ride my bike to nearby villages and to play in the woods, fields and country lanes – even down by the river. There was an imaginary witch who lived in a derelict shed who sometimes cast a spell on us and turned us into frogs. The muddy bank behind my house was where me and my gang started digging a hole to Australia to find a kangaroo and bring it back for my Zoo project. The plan for where to keep the elephants and the Zebras had already been hatched, but I was a bit nervous about having lions in my Zoo. Amazingly when I was 18 I got a job at the nearby Flamingo Park Zoo and spent my 18th birthday inside the cage with the baby oragutangs !
Oh that sounds brilliant! Me & my friend Jo had a 1000 (imaginary!) horses that we had adventures on every playtime and after school. I eventually rode a real horse aged about 10 and was rather shocked that I couldn’t actually gallop and jump fences straight away!
Last week Chris Evans took a phone call from a child who told him it was an exciting day because he was going to build a den with this friend. Chris replied “Fantastic – that’s what every child should be doing!” or words to that effect! Yay!
The best outdoor play I ever got when I was younger (not that long ago, we are only talking 10-15 years here!) was undoubtedly with the cubs and scouts.
Now a cub leader myself I still get to play outdoors!
On a typical camp we may build Bivis (dens that are good enough to sleep in) play various wide games usually in dense forest. and all manner of other outdoor play things. along with adventurous activities like archery, climbing and canoeing
The sad thing is that there are 8 thousand kids currently on waiting lists around the country. mainly for want of adult volunteers.
So If you really enjoyed playing outdoors as a kid and would love to do it again without feeling guilty
why not offer to help out at your local scout group and help today’s kids have some of the same experiences you had!
http://www.scouts.org.uk/join
Dan
Cub leader at 123rd Manchester Scout Group