I think it's regional differences...

winterwhite

My mother came from the NE, she taught us the whole of Chick, chick, chick, chick, chicken (which I'm pleased to be reminded about).

I beg your pardon Mrs Arden there's a chicken in your garden - but never to say 'Pardon', dunno what the point of that saying is.

Egg and chips (chips and egg sounds odd - suppose you wanted two eggs?

Baps

My Mum used to sing the chicken song but with the lines:

"I haven't had an egg since breakfast
And now it's half past three"

I sing the chicken/ egg/ Easter song to my ( somewhat bewildered) grandchildren. Then I compound the felony by chanting " mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy..." BTW I think that ivy is poisonous.
"

Pardon me for being rude,
It was not me, it was my food.
Just popped up to say "hello"
Now it's gone back down below.

DH taught me that MissA, his mother must have taught him.

My mum would have had a fit if she found out I even knew it.

I must have been told by another child, but i do like silly poems.

"It's raining over Bill's mother's". I don't know which region that is from.

"If you can see the Wrekin, it's going to rain. And if you can't see the Wrekin, it's already raining."

"Going all round The Wrekin" means someone is waffling on and not getting to the point.

MissAdventure

My mum would have had a fit if she found out I even knew it.

I must have been told by another child, but i do like silly poems.

Oh, perhaps my MIL didn't teach him 😁

If you sing the Andrews Sisters original song, chocolatelovinggran, your GC's will probably send for the men in little white coats!
"Maresy dotes and dozy dotes and little lambsy didies".
(No, me neither - but my Mum would sing it to me.)
I remember 'your cat's had kittens in the garden' (Monmouthshire)

Totally thrown by Chips & Egg - when I first heard it in Shirley Valentine. It's regional but really sounds odd....like saying Custard & Jelly or Cream & Strawberries or, Tonic & Gin 😵‍💫

The original famous saying of William Morris was
'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful', but as small children just getting in the way we were sometimes referred to as 'neither use nor ornament'.

lizzypopbottle

Jam and bread (NE) or bread and jam?

Has to be jam and bread for me- I’m now singing the reprise of Doh Re Mi . . .

Anyone know this one?
One Two Three
Mother caught a flea
Put it in the teapot and made a cup of tea
Flea jumped out
Mother gave a shout
Down came father with his shirt hanging out

Oh yes CoolCoco
A family favourite.

Ah yes, remember that one!!

I have never heard of a few things on here.

Saying pardon or I beg your pardon was a very strict no no.
We were expected to say What!

I do remember hearing the new to me version of mares eat oats…who knew?
I certainly didn’t know the words and sang:
Mersey dotes and dozy dotes and little lambs a dying. Whenever I didn’t clearly hear the lyrics of a song, no problem,
I re wrote the song with my own lyrics. Years later, I realised just how many songs I was singing the wrong lyrics to.

From the NE pardon Mrs Arden there's a cabbage in the garden

Witzend

Never heard the Mrs Arden thing.
Egg and chips here. (Outer London childhood)

One difference I used to notice, a friend from Sheffield used to refer to what I would call fairy cakes, as buns. To me buns would be made from a yeast mix, not a sponge cake mix.

Not many people know that 😃

Egg and chips
Sausage and mash
Bread and jam
Bread and butter

Never heard the Mrs Arden and I love the chook,chook, chook

Sorry not pardon. Or what did you say.

Southern Ireland and London

I'm going to lower the tone here: in Mid Kent we said " Beg your pardon Mrs Arden but your cat's pooed in my garden" Sorry.

Used to sing the similar version of Maresie dotes and doesie dotes and liddle lambs eat ivey, a kiddle eat ivey too, wouldn’t you?, as GrandmaFrench, maybe both our Mums were Andrews Sisters fans. I can remember Mum explaining it to me when I asked what it meant,

We were never allowed to say pardon but told to say I beg your pardon or what.

And Shirley Valentine saying chips and egg was just weird.

West country here. Never, ever heard the Mrs Arden expression or anything equivalent. It's egg and chips, bread and jam, sausage and mash.

I would have said "what did you say" and not pardon as a child. Now I would say "sorry".

My mother did say neither use nor ornament though.

Grandmafrench

If you sing the Andrews Sisters original song, chocolatelovinggran, your GC's will probably send for the men in little white coats!
"Maresy dotes and dozy dotes and little lambsy didies".
(No, me neither - but my Mum would sing it to me.)
I remember 'your cat's had kittens in the garden' (Monmouthshire)

Totally thrown by Chips & Egg - when I first heard it in Shirley Valentine. It's regional but really sounds odd....like saying Custard & Jelly or Cream & Strawberries or, Tonic & Gin 😵‍💫

The original famous saying of William Morris was
'Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful', but as small children just getting in the way we were sometimes referred to as 'neither use nor ornament'.

🎶“Mares eat oat and does eat oats
But little lambs eat ivy “🎶???

A kid'll eat ivy too
Wouldn't you-oo?

How strange that we were taught it's polite to say 'Pardon?' and extremely rude to say 'What?' 🤔

I know a ditty nutty as a fruitcake
Goofy as a goon and silly as a loon
Some call it pretty, others call it crazy
But they all sing this tune:
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
Yes! Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?
If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey
Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy"
Oh! Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you-oo?
A kiddley divey too, wouldn't you?

Mrs White, had a fright, in the middle of the night.
Saw a ghost, eating toast, halfway up a lamp post.

My friend who came from Liverpool always said when surprised by something ‘well I’ll go to the foot of our stairs’. Always made me laugh, I had never heard that saying before

MissAdventure, It was always Mrs Wright who had a fright 👻