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Do you remember this ball game?

(51 Posts)
chicken Mon 28-Jul-25 09:23:35

As a solitary child, I remember spending hours playing with a ball, using the wall of a neighbour’s garage to bounce it back. The game I played went “ Plainsy, clapsy, round the wheel to backsy, touch your heel, touch your toe, touch your knee and under you go.” I’ve no idea where I learned it. I don’t think I could have invented it. Does anyone here remember it? I never mastered the “round the wheel” action, I was always a duffer at anything remotely sporty.

Sweetpeasue Mon 28-Jul-25 18:46:51

Not heard of the words mentioned but 2 balls was a great game and ,dare I say it ,skill.
Against the wall, upsy, dropsy, downstairs, sides ( a downstairs at angle so it also hit wall.)

'Little Minnie bought a Minnie,
Red. white and blue
First she wore it then she tore it
Red ,white and blue.

Also-

Ipsy gypsy lived in a tent
Couldn't afford to pay the rent
When the rent man came next day
Ipsy gypsy ran away.

They were just words and had no meaning to us then.

Shelflife Mon 28-Jul-25 18:56:28

Chicken I remember that well. I played with my sister against the house wall. Although we sang ' around the world to
backsy' Happy memories.

Ashcombe Mon 28-Jul-25 19:01:18

Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Jews
Bought his wife a pair of shoes;
When the shoes began to wear
Nebuchadnezzar began to swear
When the swearing had to stop
Nebuchadnezzar bought a shop
When the shop began to sell
Nebuchadnezzar bought a bell
When the bell began to ring
Nebuchadnezzar began to sing:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall (etc.)

Whingey Mon 28-Jul-25 19:02:13

Nebuchadnezzar the king of the jews bought his wife a pair of shoes when the shoes began to wear Nebuchadnezzar began to swear when the swear began to stop nebacchnezzar bought a shop when the shop began to sell Nebuchadnezzar bought a bell when the bell began to ring Nebuchadnezzar began to sing

boheminan Mon 28-Jul-25 19:11:24

My memory of playing two balls up against a wall in the London 50's is the rhyme (doing the actions to) 'One two, still two, stiff two, one legged two, the other leg two, up two, down two, turn two...out two. Lots of skipping rhymes...I'd be interest if anyone else remembers these skipping rhymes, circle chants...

'In and Out the Dusty Bluebells' circle game
'Blue bells, cockle shells, eevy, ivy over, when I call your birthday, please come in...January' (etc) long rope skipping chant

'On the Mountain Stands A Lady, who She Is I do Not Know'
Skipping and circle game.

There was another rhyme I can only remember little of - 'One, Two, Three O'Leary, I spy sister Mary' (that's all I can remember

There's others but I won't carry on boring y'all

silverlining48 Mon 28-Jul-25 19:15:58

Oh I remember those . I still remember the tune to ‘on a mountain stands a lady,’ who she is I do not know. All she wants is gold and ? all she wants is a nice young man. ….👨

twiglet77 Mon 28-Jul-25 19:30:28

I was the youngest but one in our cul-de-sac and in the 1960s we all played two-ball against the walls along the alleys dividing the blocks of terraced houses. And chalked our names on the walls. They’re probably still there.

Jimjam1 Mon 28-Jul-25 19:47:26

I remember playing with two tennis balls sometimes against a wall. I vaguely remember the word upsy Mother Brown. You juggled two balls in the air. Then over Mother Brown where you bounced the balls against the wall. Cannot remember the rest of the song.

AGAA4 Mon 28-Jul-25 19:55:01

I remember two balls and skipping with a long rope turned by a friend at each end.
House to let
Apply within
When I go out
Mrs (a friend's name) comes in.

Tenko Mon 28-Jul-25 20:44:29

I played a ball game , where you put a tennis ball in one leg of a pair of tights and whacked the ball against the wall , taking it over your head or between your legs . All to a tune which I can’t remember.

Romola Tue 29-Jul-25 14:33:47

Eeny meeny macka racka rare rar dominacka chicka packa dolly rolly rom pom push
It was a counting out chant wasn't it?

Gogo84 Tue 29-Jul-25 14:45:11

I used to play 2 ball against our kitchen door. I asked my mother when I was older if the incessant thud thud didn't drive her up the wall. She said no because she knew that I was enjoying myself.
1 2 3 and under, 4 5 6 and under, 7 8 9 and under 10 and under under. The next one would be the same only over. And various others ad infinitum

Gogo84 Tue 29-Jul-25 14:48:32

And of course skipping for hours. Doing "bumps" ie turning the rope twice as you jumped over it. No wonder I was so skinny as a child and always hungry

Knittypamela Tue 29-Jul-25 14:56:31

We had a rhyme about Mrs. Brown. We always played against my friend's coal shed door. Must have been so annoying for her mum.

Mojack26 Tue 29-Jul-25 16:19:01

No

Allira Tue 29-Jul-25 16:36:37

nanna8

We used to play 2 balls juggling them against the wall and sometimes 3 balls throwing the three balls up in front of your face. I got to be very good at it and could do 2 balls with one hand. Certainly couldn’t these days !

So did I!
Always two balls against the wall.

Once one went through the kitchen window and the broken glass landed in the cake mix - Mum was not best pleased!

Shawlands2000 Tue 29-Jul-25 17:02:33

I remember that rhyme so well, along with lots of others, one ball or two. I lived in the officers' quarters of Greenock prison in the 50s and 60s. We played against the prison wall, and if the ball disappeared over the wall, we used to go to the prison gate and ask for it back. Most of the time, we got it back, but if they were in a grumpy mood, we were told to buzz off. Great memories. ❤️

Madmeg Tue 29-Jul-25 17:46:58

I am most upset reading this cos these playground games were my absolute love at primary school, and in the narrow passage between our terraced house and the next block - and I was damned good at them - but can barely remember a single rhyme. It upsets me cos my memory of childhood is usually superb!

Paperbackwriter Tue 29-Jul-25 17:51:28

I remember most of these. I think the lyrics were probably varied on a regional basis. At our primary school, the games went in seasons. Winter involved a lot of skipping and playing British Bulldog but summer was sitting around with Jacks (can stilll do it!) and something called Dabs - aka five-stones. 5 different coloured cubes and many different ways of dealing with them.

Paperbackwriter Tue 29-Jul-25 17:53:02

Tenko

I played a ball game , where you put a tennis ball in one leg of a pair of tights and whacked the ball against the wall , taking it over your head or between your legs . All to a tune which I can’t remember.

They hadn't invented tights when I was at an age to play this one!

Paperbackwriter Tue 29-Jul-25 17:53:58

Romola

Eeny meeny macka racka rare rar dominacka chicka packa dolly rolly rom pom push
It was a counting out chant wasn't it?

Now I hear it as a grown-up it reminds me of the shepherds' counting sheep. Whole other language.

LadyO Tue 29-Jul-25 19:23:25

Oh yes to Jacks - loved it. Also 2 balls against the wall. Grew up in Bristol, our slightly odd rhyme went like this:
PK penny packet
First you chew it then you crack it
Then you stick it to your jacket
PK penny packet!
The game got increasingly harder as you went along, underarm, overarm, one bounce, reverse bounce, through the legs etc… gosh I loved it.

Eddieslass Tue 29-Jul-25 20:16:01

My friend and I used to play for hours, taking it in turns with two balls on the outside of my shed. It was 7 times catching it off the wall, 6 letting it bounce on the floor once after the shed, 5 bouncing it off the floor, four up in the air, catch, then against the wall, three under arm then over arm against the wall, two just overarm, and 1 bounce off the wall, catch, and drop it through hands to floor and catch again. Anyone else remember this game?

twiglet77 Tue 29-Jul-25 22:27:32

www.google.com/gasearch?q=2%20balls%20against%20the%20wall%20songs%20lyrics&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5

One, two, three O’Leary was the tune we used to chant!

madeleine45 Wed 30-Jul-25 08:02:23

Oh yes, I remember all those games and two ball came in and out of fashion especially with us girls. I was a bit of a leader of my little group so of course we would play endless gameso f 2 ball against the end wall, until my exasparted mother would come out and say thats enough girls go and play somewhere else! There were ball games and skipping games that you did on your own trying to whizz the rope round twice etc. But in the school playground we wooul have girls at either end of quite a thick rope. so it went

Jelly on a plate, jelly on a plate
Wibble wobble wibble wobble
Jelly on a plate.

Then we also played with the big rope where quite a lot of girls jumped in and jumped over the rope as we swung it round. We would then shout out a letter and I think we said in the beginning something like grocer or stationer. So as they shouted out the letter you skipped over the rope and had to say something beginning with that etter that you could buy from that shop. If you did the wrong letter or couldnt think of something you were out and had to come out from the rope, the winner being the last one left in . Or we would shout names of countries , easy in the beginnning but of course getting harder as we went along. You couldnt say the same as anyone else or you were out. Iwas quite good at geography and loved saying islands like NEW guinea or madagascar etc. I think once this eye improves I shall find that skipping rope from the cupboard and give it another go - but probably take it with me in the car and go up the moors so that the neighbours ,cannot confirm their belief that I am quite an odd person!!

Of course today I shall be singing songs from Cleo Lne but now of course mst have a go at some Tom LEHRER SONGS . tHE vATICAN RAG AND THE masochism tango come to mind!! Have a good day folks