Girls and Boys come out to play

The moon doth shine as bright as day

leave your suppers and leave your sleep

and come with your play fellows into the street

The above nursery rhyme has existed at least since 1708 and this is the first verse of that rhyme.I don't know how much interaction there was between girls and boys in the eighteenth century, but in the 1950s there was a clear divide between girl games and boy games. Of course there were always tomboys. I wasn't one of those. My girl cousins and friends played with our dolls and they were often included in our games.

Tea parties using our tea sets; and most girls had one of these, were popular and we'd sit our little family of dolls and soft toys around a kindy table. We'd dress them up in their best clothes and serve cordial and fairy bread made by our mums, who we'd interrupt from whatever else they'd been doing. We'd talk to our toys and even tell them to mind their manners and not to be greedy. Also not to put their elbows on the table. Not sure whether they took much notice.

Mock weddings were also popular and we'd rummage in our dress-up box for our mums' old long dresses and net curtains which doubled as veils. We picked flowers from the garden and sang Here Comes the Bride, all Fat and Wide. However, we were usually short of a groom, because any boys that were around didn't want to join in the girls' dumb games and girls didn't like pretending to be men.

Playing shops was another one. These were often set up after a visit to the Royal Show and goodies from our Four Square grocery sample bags and Hoadley's lolly bags ( home of the delectable Polly Waffles and Violet Crumbles) were displayed enticingly on a pretend counter, usually a box or some feature of the garden which formed a natural counter. When our customers, who were friends or often mums who we'd pestered to come outside, we'd quote prices that were far too high provoking an indignant I'm not paying that, it's much too expensive; all in fun. Then of course, we brought the price down and the customers left happy. Can you believe that the price of those sample bags were on average about 3shillings and six pence; 3/6? Some were only 2/6 and the most expensive 4/6.

Some friends had a nurses' kit with a red cape and a pretend stethoscope, so we'd play doctors and nurses. The dolls and soft toys were the patients and we'd apply band aids or bandages. They were of course very sick, but they never died. The child pretending to be the doctor would come with the stethoscope, examine the patient, scratch their head and give a mock diagnosis. The dolls and teddies always recovered remarkably quickly.

Back at school, we played hopscotch and skipping games. Most girls owned a skipping rope, but at school the favourite was the big heavy rope, held at the end by two children. The skippers would queue up behind each other and take turns to run into the rope while it was still turning. The trick was to not trip it up, but to keep skipping. It you tripped, you were out and had to take a turn at turning the rope. Popular skipping rhymes that we recited were Salt, Lemon, Vinegar, Cider, how many legs has a great big spider. Or Marilyn Monroe is a star. S T A R.

Chasey and hide and seek were perennials, although it was harder to find suitable places to hide at school and therefore was better played at home. Many of us had large gardens with all kinds of secret hidey holes. Speaking of hidey holes, cubby houses were popular and could be made up either indoors or out, depending on weather. The outside ones were best, with natural foliage forming walls and nearby fruit trees for food. At my home I had a wonderful cubby which formed a natural arch and had dense green shiny leaves. I just wish I could recall the name of the plant. It was just like a small cave, big enough for two children, some cushions and a couple of dolls or teddies. I loved it and sometimes would even go in there by myself.

Someone who used to join me was my imaginary friend, called Mrs Brickyard. I'm not quite sure where her name came from, except that I made it up myself. She was of indeterminate age; and could be anywhere from my mum's age at the time and a grandmother. I'd tell her things, such as the dolls being naughty and she'd give me advice on what to do; a smack, but not too hard. She'd also prompt me to have another chocolate biscuit for afternoon tea, saying it would do me good and that I deserved it after doing well in an arithmetic test at school.

Playtime back then was very creative and before I finish, I simply must tell you about a very creative but rather mischievous game that my cousin and I played. One afternoon we made mud pies in my mum's garden terracotta pots, which were more like large bowls. We added leaves and red berries to make it look like vegetables. We then stuck a sign on the outside of my gate which said; pies and pasties for sale. We hovered by the gate, giggling, until a car pulled up and the occupants started to get out of their car. We hadn't banked on any real buyers and we ran inside, terrified and guilty. I think it was left to my mum to explain away our misdeed.

I know there are many choices for kids today, especially involving electronics, but I'd like to think that sometimes, somewhere, children are outside making cubby houses and playing hide and seek.

Next chapter will be titled Where the Boys Are, about the antics some of the boys got up to.