BEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES by Estelle Morris

BEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES

A multicultural East London heritage project Nuru Islam, born 1944, Bangladesh,

“...with the palm tree lids we called them “Tal... talgasher...tata” big big lids, so we used to cut them short with the bamboo sticks and we used to make little houses and we used to go inside like a tent.”

Roy Graham, born 1935, Forest Gate /Jamaica on Crown and Anchor, You’ve got a table with certain motifs and they match the motifs on the dice. If it comes up, then that’s what you get paid on”.

Vera Wright, born 1927, Redbridge,“You had to

have imagination. Because otherwise you’d be bored like children are now”.

Angela Andrew, child of the 70’s, Hackney on Curb Ball (a.k.a Curby)“You’d have to throw the ball so it would hit the curb. And the fun part was dodging it.”

Nichola Charalambou, born 1972, Redbridge/Hackney,“I do

remember the Sindy wardrobe and the Sindy sofa. She had a fancy red leather sofa. ...And then an ‘S’ engraved...it was a white plastic wardrobe with the gold S above the doors”.

We focus on the toys and games played in East London’s multicultural communities in the last 50 years bestdaysofourlivesproject.wordpress.com

BEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES Is a multi cultural east London heritage project

We’ve all experienced childhood play in different ways - and so we’ve been exploring this special and personal time from the 1950’s onwards. We’ve been discovering, recording and re-creating the memories from a range of communities in the east London boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Redbridge. We felt it was important to highlight the connections between games in different countries as well as across generations, inviting some to go down memory lane and others to learn for the first time. This brochure gives you a taste of what our research and contact with young and old has unearthed for us. Best Days of our Lives has been running throughout 2014 by a talented team of volunteers - more about them at the end of this brochure.

INFORMAL INTERVIEWS

CONTENTS

We spoke to those that grew up in the East End or live there now. Many of these oral histories are now held in local archives or you can find soundbites on our blog. They are also quoted throughout this booklet.

POPUP DISPLAY

PLAY EVENTS

Watch out for our travelling banner that depicts a selection of the voices and games that we thought you’d enjoy.

Our free events involved making giant pom poms and singing school rhymes from all over the world.

1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s Fortune teller ‘How to’ Rhymes & Songs Indoor games & toys Outdoor games & toys Books & comics Kite ‘How to’ 5 Stones/Jacks Marbles Hopscotch Ludo Gin Rummy Credits

p.2 p.3 p.4 p.5 p.6 p.7 p.8 p.9 p.10 p.11 p.12 p.13 p.14 p.15 p.16 p.17 p.18

Project detail and blog posts can be found here: bestdaysofourlivesproject.wordpress.com Like us on facebook and follow us @bestdaysproject

A big thank you to Heritage Lottery Fund for their support

The 1950s East London was heavily bombed during the Blitz leaving around 1.4 million people homeless. Tough living conditions were further compounded by continued rationing. Culturally, however, East London began to change in a big way in the 50s. The first waves of mass immigration from former British colonies took place, which in the process brought new ideas, cultures and new ways of playing to the East End. Born out of the destruction of the Blitz were new play areas for children; bombsites. On these derelict sites, children would make camps, and adventure playgrounds were built here too.

DID YOU KNOW?

Hopscotch was invented by the Romans and was used as a means of improving soldiers’ agility, coordination and endurance.

Making and racing soap box carts (also known as bogey cars) down safe, car-free streets. Charging around adventure playgrounds and not caring if they were 100% safe. Fishing in the canals, streams and lakes using a bit of string, garden worms, sweet corn or bread. Playing hopscotch, marbles, five stones, jacks or lolly sticks, Gobs or Cat’s Cradle. Watching children’s programmes like Sooty and Sweep if anyone local to you had a TV. Being a member of a boy or girl’s club (the Brady club, for example), scouts, cubs or cadets. George Skeggs, born 1940, Brick Lane, on soap box carts, “Oh yeah, things used to fall off, but we patched ‘em up…and you got up again and carried on havin’ fun”.

Roy Thompson, born 1937, Jamaica / Plaistow, on Dominoes, “It’s not something that someone teaches you. You watch the elder ones and follow it from there”. 2

The 1960s The 1960s was the decade of social and political revolution. Strict social hierarchies and norms broke down and were replaced with more liberal values (think miniskirts and bands likes The Beatles or the Stones). Naturally, youth subcultures, such as mods and rockers were also a prominent feature of the decade. By the 60s, Britain had begun to properly recover from the devastation of the war, meaning families generally had greater levels of disposable income than ever before. As a result, toys and games were mass produced in greater numbers, shifting the focus of play from the purely imaginative to the structured.

Michael Zacsinsky, born 1950, Bow,“There’s was a goods yard near Vallance Road. We’d run along the top of goods wagons, jump from one to the other. A very dangerous thing to do’.

Puppet TV shows like Stringray and Thunderbirds Board games like Mouse Trap, Twister and Kerplunk Trolls, Lego, Action Man and Barbies Scalextric and Hornby train models One foot tall Daleks from Woolies Corgi and matchbox cars Watching Jackanory, Dr Who, Watch with Mother, Happy Days or Magic Roundabout Joan Ferguson, born 1960, Jamaica / Newham, on Moonshine Baby,“We’d lie in the road and make an outline of the body. You’d do it obviously with minimum light. So if a car was coming, they’d see the outline, they’d think somebody is in the road, and all the kids would laugh at the adult’s reaction”.

DID YOU KNOW...?

The Magic Roundabout originally came from France and was known as ‘Le Manège enchanté’

The 1970s It is often said that reinventing the wheel is a pointless exercise. The 70s, however, did just that. From skateboards, to roller skates to Choppers, kids everywhere seemed to be rolling around on something or other. Do you remember Raleigh Choppers with the gear lever in the middle? I bet you wanted one! TV was also a much bigger feature of children’s lives in the 70s as TV sets were mass produced in greater numbers, becoming more affordable. I often used to hear my grandmother say how difficult it was to pry my father from the TV. It seems that in the 70s TV had that same magnetic effect that tablets and smartphones have on children, and adults, now.

Raleigh Choppers with the gear lever in the middle Watching The Clangers, The Goodies, Bagpuss, The Wombles, Why Don’t You? Getting loads of penny sweets for 10p Sticker albums like Figurini Girl’s World, Sindy or Felt World Stretch Armstrong and Steve Austin

DID YOU KNOW...?

Roller skates were patented in 1760 by Belgian inventor, John Joseph Merlin. The original design was actually closer to modern inline skates rather than the quad style popularised in the 70s.

Nadeem Shafi, born 1966, India / Manor Park on Steve Austin figurine,“...and he had a bionic eye, on the back of this was a small telescope thing…”

Debbie Charles - born 1966, Hackney on Runouts, “We used to play it anywhere on the estate..some people used to come out on bikes, foot, roller skates or skateboard… you just had to run and catch someone”. 4

The 1980s Fads come and go, and many fads around today had their genesis in the 80s. Do you remember the the likes of Care Bears, My Little Pony, He-Man or Transformers? It’s funny, and, to an extent, interesting when you look at how these fads have evolved into their modern form. My Little Pony, for example, doesn’t really have the same innocent feeling as the original 80’s version. There was also something very similar to loom bands called Scooby Doo’s. The major difference is they did not really function as wrist bands, though they made really cool key rings. Technology also progressed significantly through the 80s, though the rate of development and adoption was not on a par with the 90s...

My Little Pony and Care Bears Scooby Doo’s, which are quite similar to the loom bands of today Watching Grange Hill, Neighbours or He-Man after school Transformers – robots in disguise! Arcade games like Pac-Man, Frogger and Donkey Kong Walkmans and Rubik’s cubes Wanting a BMX, especially after watching E.T Sarah Wilson, born 1985, Essex / Hackney, “We used to play loads of games out in the street. We used to play 40 40 home, sardines”.

DID YOU KNOW...?

Vida Knotuah, born 1973, Ghana / Stepney on Ampe,“You clap your hands and you jump - bring your right or your left leg out and you say ‘you are crooked or you are

Marvel helped to develop the Transformers characters for the animated TV shows. Transformers even had their own Marvel comic book, which ran for 332 issues in the UK, where they can be seen alongside Marvel staples like Spiderman, Thor and Iron Man.

The 1990s The 90s is significant because it seems like it was the last decade in which children played outside, at least in numbers, on the streets and in the playgrounds. Digital technology cannot necessarily be blamed as the 90s witnessed the popularisation of technology we take for granted including computers, the net, mobiles and many games consoles, though the 90s renditions of these technologies were, arguably, nowhere near as developed and therefore addictive as they are today. Nor can the blame lie with crime. The 90s, in terms of statistics, witnessed more crime than the noughties and the twenty-tens, though the figures are, of course, open to debate! It’s difficult to pindown exactly what has changed. Maybe you have an opinion on this?

Pokemon cards and Top Trumps and War Hammer Beanie babies, Furbys, Polly Pocket and Tamagotchi Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – heroes in a half-shell, turtle power! The ‘NES’, ‘SNES’ (both Nintendo), Megadrive, Game Gear, Gameboy, Playstation, N64 Computer games like Tetris, Super Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Lemmings, Civilisation Playing snake on the Nokia 5210, the must-have brick-like phone of the late 90s Scooters with inline blade-type wheels, which seem to be all the rage again! Trying to skateboard and realising it’s a lot more difficult than pressing a button, la Tony Hawk’s. Srdja Mastilovic, born 1980, Serbia / Limehouse, on video games,“They were all pirate... on floppy disks...you’d just get them from friends and get all the cheats aswell.”

DID YOU KNOW...?

It is common for players who are addicted to the unputdownable Tetris to involuntary picture Tetris combinations when they’re not playing the game, an affliction dubbed the ‘Tetris effect’.

Katie Adkins, born 1984, Dalston, on TV Shows, “I liked Art Attack but not Blue Peter, it was Anthea Turner at that time so I wasn’t much into it” 6

Fortune Teller “How To” Fortune Teller is a simple and fun game that most of you, at some point in time, will have played. Other names for the game include Snapdragons, Cootie Catchers, Chatterbox, Salt & Peppers, Paper Flippy Game or simply ‘Pick a colour’. To get started, you will need to make your very own fortune telling device. All you need is a piece of paper and pens in red, green, blue and yellow. The beauty of Fortune Teller is the fact that the fortunes you write in the middle do not have to follow any kind of formula, leading to potentially hilarious results.

Fold your square in half, and half again, to create 2 diagonal folds.

Fold the corners in to meet in the middle.

Sybil Nightingale, born 1943, St Helena Island / Custom House,“We would call this paper game the True Lovers Knot - we would put in ‘I love you, you love me’ - oh silly things like that”.

Flip the sqaure over and fold in the corners again.

Fold the square in half, and pop out the sides to create your fortune teller.

HOW TO PLAY

1. Move your fingers back and forth according to the number of letters in the word for that colour i.e. three times for red. 2. Get your friend to pick a number and, again, move your fingers back and forth according to the number they picked. 3. Ask them to pick another number and lift the flap to reveal their fortune! 7

Rhymes & Songs Our early language development tunes into the soothing voices of friends and family. As we get older, it then takes on fun and exciting fast paced songs with movements. Nursery rhymes, clapping games often merge with traditional folk songs and are passed down orally, this makes for exciting variations across cultures. Explore the Singing Playground 2004 painting by The Rhyme Collector Dan Jones at the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood, it depicts children from all communities dancing together and singing playground songs from around the world.

POLAND

SONG

A Children’s partner change dance

MOVEMENT

Two friends, they went dancing (x3)

The first two children, holding inside hands, skip around counter clockwise inside the circle.

But fell while they were prancing. Fahree, fahree, fi, dah.

Keep skipping around. No falling please, even though the words say ‘fell’.

They argued quite intensley (x3)

Stop and in place, hold onto both partner’s hands. Make believe you are arguing. Stretch each arm to straight position. Use a ‘sawing’ motion.

“It’s your fault, I can’t dance here!” Fahree, fahree, fi, dah.

Let go. Take a step back, way from partner and wave partner away with both hands.

Said one right to the other (x3)

Facing each other, partners place their hands on their own waist and sway sideways.

“I’ll find myself another”, Fahree, fahree, fi, dah.

Wave partner away. Each dancer now goes to find a new child (a new partner) to start the dance from the beginning.

Can you guess this famous nursery rhyme? It has something to do with sheep...We challenge you to sing it with the Lugandan words to the tune you know so well.

DWÓM TAŃCZYĆ SIĘ ZACHCIAŁO Dwóm tańczyć się zachciało, zachciało, zachciało. Lecz im się nie udało. Fary, fary, faj, da. Kłocili się ze sobą , ze sobą, ze sobą. “Ja nie chcę tańczyć z tobą!” Fary, fary, faj, da. Poszukam se innego, innego, innego, Do tańca zgrabniejszego. Fary, fary, faj, da.

Baa Baa akaliga Nursery Rhyme Baa Baa akaliga kalina ebyo ya Nze nina Nze nina ensawo Ssatu du

Emu yamama, emu yatata, emu ya kalenzi kato akalima munimiro

Indoor games & toys NIGERIA Ayo

This traditional African Ayo game (also known as Awale) is a favourite of many young people across the African continent, but especially in Nigeria and West Africa. Ayo is played by two people, facing each other, over two rows of six pockets, or holes in the ground. Each player places four seeds or stones in each of their six pockets and the players then take turns of picking up all of the pieces from one of the pockets and dropping one of them into another pocket one by one. The first player to empty all of the other player’s pockets wins the game. And of course, you can now play this game against a computer if you so wish

INDIA

Paramapadham

This is Snakes and Ladders in English; it was created in ancient India before 1892. It is also known as Parama Pada Sopanam meaning ‘Steps to the Highest Place’. Paramapadham was inspired by religion; and was believed to be symbolic of a man’s attempt to reach God. The ladders represent virtues and the snakes represent vices.

VIETNAM Tô tôm

Tô tôm is a Vietnamese card game, usually played by men. The game is often played at festivals. The game has a 120 card pack, each with a person, of which 28 cards are red and 92 are black. The foot of the card gives the rank and suit in Chinese characters.

TURKEY

Yüzük Oyunu

Yüzük Oyunu (The Ring Game) is a guessing game. On a tray there are usually eleven coffee cups, one of which covers a ring. There are two teams. The first team hides the ring under one of the inverted cups. Their opponents try to guess the cup under which the ring is hidden. If the opposite team is right with their first guess, it is their game, and the functions are reversed, the game continues with each correct guess rewarded with points ranging from 11 upwards. The objective is to guess as many times to reach 50 points. Of course this is a simple description of the game, as there are many more rules, either basic ones about making progress or special ones about “what happens if...”

Outdoor games & toys GHANA Ampe

An energetic clapping game where the leader and another player jump up at the same time, clap and kick one foot forward when they jump up. If the leader and the other player have the same foot forward the leader wins a point. If they are different, then the other player has a go and plays against the remaining players. There are variations where you may use an arm, or bend your leg and this is best played in large groups as well as accompanied by chanting of the word ‘Ampe’ to increase adrenalin levels.

BANGLADESH Tilo-Express

Tilo-express is pretty much our familiar hide and seek game but more challenging. The difference being that when the person who is ‘it’ goes searching, they have to be very careful to make sure that no one among those who are in hiding, touch them and say Tilo. Whenever someone is found, they say they have found one called Kuddus, he will have to say “Kuddus, express”. In this way, he will have to find out each and everyone in hiding, but at the same time remain alert so that no one from the hiding can come out and touch him without his knowledge. Phew. Did you get all that ?

SOMALIA Fàh

Fàh might be termed the national game of Somali; men as well as children are passionately fond of it. A simple form of fàh, played by children is where each of the two players has three stones of distinctive colour or type. These are placed alternately on the angles formed by three vertical and three horizontal lines. When the six stones are placed, they are moved along the lines. The first who gets his stones in a straight connected line wins the game. If you like the sound of that then seek out the more complex version.

JAMAICA Gig

The “gig” or formally called a “top” is made from scratch with branches from the Lignum Vitae tree. A sharp knife is used to shave it down, and shape it at the same time. Then smoothed with sandpaper. When the sanding is done, a nail goes in the bottom for the point and voila! You have your gig. Wrap your cord around it and you’re ready to play.

Books & comics WEST AFRICA / CARIBBEAN Anansi the Spider

A true trickster! This character is now known universally and was even mentioned in Marvel Comics series The Amazing Spider Man 2003 as the first ever spider man. The story books are tales are thought to originate from the Ashanti people in Ghana. Anansi is actually a West African God.

CHINA

Beauty and the Pock Face

This is a very popular fairy tale which resembles the widely known Cinderella. There are of course cultural variations which makes this version even more exciting; Beauty’s mother, who died of childbirth, returned in the shape of a yellow cow. Also; Beauty, shapeshifted into a sparrow and came to taunt Pock Face while she was combing her hair.

SERBIA

Alan Ford Comics

Originally created by the Italians Max Bunker and Magnus in the late 1960’s, it suffered when exported to new territories but thrived in ex-Yugoslavia and in 2005 was still one of the best selling comics. The comic book is a satirical take on classic secret agents with a heavy dose of black humour - a must have for every young boy.

SWEDEN / FINLAND Moomins

The Moomin stories concern several eccentric and oddly-shaped characters, some of whom are related to each other. The central family consists of Moominpappa, Moominmamma and Moomintroll. Nine books were released including five picture books and a comic strip between 1945 and 1993. These went onto become very popular kids TV shows in the 1970’s and saw a recent revival of memorabilia.

Kite “How To” This is a mega simple step-by-step guide to making your very own kite. You do not need much in the way of materials or skill. So, let’s go make a kite!

2 wooden sticks

Bamboo, wooden BBQ skewers or even straws will do.

Sketch out a template of your kite and cut it out.

Tie a bit of string to both ends of the horizontal stick. Then tie a long bit of string – as much as you will need to fly the kite to your desired height – in the centre of the horizontal string.

Around 10 metres of strong string 2

1 A4 piece of paper 3

Tie your two sticks together, tightly, in the shape of a cross.

Attach the frame to the template by making four holes in each corner, threading a bit of string through each hole and tying it around the frame.

For that old-school kite look, add some ribbons. It also helps give the kite a little bit of extra lift.

Zvezdan Bozinovski, born 1973, Macedonia / Hackney, “In autumn, the windy season...for the whole day, we’d just stay there flying our kites”. 12

Pick a breezy day and go and fly your kite, preferably with a friend or three!

Gippa

Cinco Maria

Five Stones How to play

s a T Kosci Bes Tabas

Five stones is a universally popular game that requires good coordination and cat-like reflexes. Also known as Knucklebones, it has ancient origins and is even mentioned in the Ancient Greek texts, the Iliad and the Odyssey. As the name ‘Knucklebones’ suggest, sheep’s knuckle bones (ankle bones) instead of stones were originally used. You could try and source some for authenticity’s sake, but then you’d really have to think as to the whereabouts of your local butchers!

To start the game, all five stones or knuckles are held in the palm of your hand and tossed up into the air. You then have to try and catch as many stones as possible on the back of your hand. If you do not manage to catch anything, your turn is over, and the next player repeats the same process.

If you do manage to catch any stones (well done!), to prepare for the next phase of play, you keep one stone in your hand and put the remaining four stones on the floor. You then toss the stone in your hand into the air and try to pick up one stone from the ground and catch the stone you tossed a moment ago in the same go. If you are not successful, your turn is over.

Jacks Gobs

Five stones across the world

If you are successful, however, you keep repeating this process. The game becomes progressively more difficult as you have to pick up an extra stone off the ground for every turn. Eventually, you will have to try and pick up all four stones from the ground and catch the single stone you tossed into the air in one go.

Rochelle Scholar, born 1963, Redbridge,“Then there were these difficult ones when you had to pick up two and go round the world before you pick up the next one, or put a jack into another hand, into a basket or something like that.”

If you are from the UK, you might know a popular variation called Jacks where a ball is used instead of a stone, and the player has to pick up ‘Jacks’ (which are usually made from metal and have six points), after throwing the ball on the ground, and before the ball bounces for a second time. In 1950s Ireland, the game was called ‘Gobs’. Gobs also made it’s way to East London, and five pebbles, usually quartz, or tiny sacks were used. Five stones is called by different names all over the world. If you are originally from India, you might call this game Gitta or Gippa. In Poland it is known as Kosci; in Spain it is called Tabas; in Brazil it is known as Cinco Marias and in Turkey, Bes Tas.

Marbles How to play

Marbles is a simple game that has universal appeal among people from countless cultures and nationalities. In its most basic form, the game requires two players and two marbles. To start, one player rolls a marble. Then the other player rolls his/her marble with the aim of hitting the other player’s marble. If contact is made, that player wins the marble (it can be thought of as a kind of simplified, miniature version of Bowls). If not, the same process is repeated until contact is made. In the UK most played on drain covers. Where are those drain covers now? Marbles come in a huge variety of different colours, designs and sizes. Part of the fun of the game is collecting and winning both common and particularly rare marbles. Do you remember any of the following?

Aggies Allies Benningtons Bumboozer Cat’s Eyes Chinas Clearies Comics Commies Corkscrews Glassies Jack Milkies Onion Skins Teelies Sulfides Swirls

Marbles across the world In China, a hole is dug in the ground (usually in sand) and players try to hit each other’s marbles into the hole. Again, the player who does this wins the other player’s marble(s). In India, it’s known by many different names including Goleelu, Kanchata, Kanchey or Goli Gundu. The marble is held tautly in the forefinger of the left hand. Then the finger is stretched back like a bow-string, and the pressure of the forefinger of the right hand releases the marble or golli.

June Lee, born 1944, Poplar,“You could either call them glarnies or marbles. And the biggest one I believe was a jack.”

Mumtaz Ahmed, born 1968, Uganda / Roman Road,“It’s such a simple thing looking back on it. It didn’t cost a thing, but it was really enjoyable….I had jars of them (marbles) for years and years…. Passed onto my children”.

Hopscotch Remember grabbing the chalk, creating your ‘design’ on the pavement and then hopping through a series of numbered squares? Hopscotch is simple yet demanding, requiring a high degree of coordination and balance. It’s believed by some that the game had its origins in Roman Britain where it was used by Legionaries – Roman soldiers – to improve agility. The Roman version is a quite a bit more extreme than the game that is played today; the court could be up to 100 feet long and the troops did the exercise in full battle gear, making it a real test of battle fitness. Others believe Hopscotch had its origins in Ancient China, where the object of the game was for players to reach heaven, the puck being a representation of the soul.

i s a t k Aya

Alejandro Palma Allepuz, born 1988, Spain / Stepney, on Hopscotch, (why he called it Tejo) “That comes from the word ‘teja’ in Spanish - the material you use to build a roof, slate, because you can use that to draw on the floor”.

Esca

rgot

e v a e H

Silvana Maimone, born 1966, Australia / Sicily, “We’d have tournaments and there were so many variations...you’d it on one leg, then the other, then with two stones.”

ll e H &

Hopscotch around the world

In France there is a variation of Hopscotch called ‘Escargot’ where the course is shaped like a spiral, hence the name, which literally translates to ‘snail’. Players have to hop around the spiral into the middle of the course and back out again. Players can mark a tile as their own and rest there. Everyone else, however, has to hop over tiles that are owned. As more and more tiles are taken up, the course eventually becomes impossible to complete. In German-speaking countries there is a variation of Hopscotch known as ‘Heaven and Hell’. In this game, advancing players need to kick the stone from square to square, and cannot stop at the ‘Hell’ square which is the second-to-last in the court. In Cyprus and Greece they play ‘Ayaktasi’, where the player throws a stone into a square in the usual way, but the game is played in stages and only ends once the stone has landed on all possible squares. In Albania there are additional challenges such as hopping backwards, spinning in each square and hopping like a frog.

Ludo The board game ludo may seem simple enough with its four players and four primary colours which denote where a player’s ‘home’ is. However, the games from which Ludo is derived, Pachisi, is slightly more complicated and has its origins in Ancient India around the year 600 AD. In modern day India, Pachisi is still played in its original form and as is regarded by many to be the national game of the country. Even though there are subtle differences between Pachisi and Ludo, the general objectives of both are the same.

Ludo across the world

Ludi

Maggie White, born 1947, Newham, on Ludo, “As you were getting near to the finish, it would get quite competitive, and, yeah, people would get angry, especially if the winner was unbearingly smug about it”.

Ludo is popular all over the world and is called a multitude of names, though there does seem to be a common theme in the naming of the game that revolves around Ludo’s uncanny knack of frustrating and even infuriating some players! In Germany, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and countries that make up the former Yugoslavia, the names used roughly translate to ‘Don’t be angry, man’ or ‘Man, don’t get irritated’. The brand names under which Ludo is sold, which include ‘Sorry!’, ‘Aggravation’ ‘Frustration’ and ‘Trouble’, also reflect this general theme. In Jamaica, where Ludo is often called ‘Ludi’, the boards are usually handmade and come in a variety of patterns and colours,often the ones that are used for Jamaica’s national flag; red, yellow and green. Alcohol and money are often involved, which given the already frustrating nature of the game, can lead to many a heated argument and, of course, fun times! Two die as opposed to one are used, and players usually bring their own, which have been known to be weighted to facilitate cheating!

In Spain, the game is called Parchis, the name of which reflects its closeness to the original Pachisi played in India. Each player has four pawns and a dice cup and the object of the game is similar to Parchisi; players race to get their pawns out of the nest, around the board, onto the colour track and into the centre. Pawns can be ‘eaten’ by other players, which results in the devoured pawn being sent back to the nest and the other player advancing by 20 squares.

Rupert Stewart, born 1953, Jamaica / Hackney, “You make your own board...depending how good your artwork is…. with a ply board, use masking tape, paint it and a coat of varnish.”

Gin Rummy Gin Rummy is a two player card game that was reputedly invented in 1909 by New Yorkers Elwood T. Baker and his son C. Graham Baker with the intention of speeding up the standard Rummy game. There are two theories as to how the game came into being. One holds that Gin Rummy evolved from Whisker Poker, which was shortened to ‘Whiskey’, then ‘Rum’ and eventually, ‘Rummy’. The other theory holds that it was derived from the card games, ‘Khanhoo’ and ‘Kon Khin’, which were played in China in the 1800s.

Sally Medcalf, born 1959, Ilford,“Gin Rummy and things like that...forgotten the rules now. We used to play that more when we were teenagers and actually at school people would have packs of cards and we’d have a little game in break time.”

mmy u R t c a r Cont

Gin Rummy across the world

Chinch

ón

Gin Rummy is a game that is played all over the world with slightly different variations existing. In Sweden, the game can be played with three to eight players and more closely resembles a game called Contract Rummy. Although the general object of the game is the same for Gin and Contract Rummy – to collect sets and runs in so-called melds (or matched sets) – the Swedish version requires 15 deals, with the objective being to be the first to acquire a predetermined meld (e.g. 1 x pair + 1 x sequence) and thereby gain the least amount of penalty points at the end of the 15 rounds to win the overall game. This is in contrast to the English rules, where the player who first acquires 100 points is the winner. In Spain and Latin American countries, the game is known as ‘Chinchón’. The main difference between the Spanish and standard version lies in the cards that are used; in Spain, a standard card deck is made up of 40 or 48 cards as opposed to a standard 52 card deck used in the UK.

Credits Our volunteers have been conducting oral histories, transcribing, researching archives, organising events, writing blog posts, making toys, creating videos, documenting the projectâ&#x20AC;Ś you name it. A massive thanks to them all.

Paula Linan Jenny Lindvall Margarita Lishkova Kirsty McFarlane Silvana Maimone Phil McGeary Sally Medcalf Alejandro Palma Allepuz Petra Schmidt Jayne Taylor

Cynthia Almech James Blampied Vidhi Bose Maeve Croghan Menen Gebrehiwet Nhung Dang Fidelma Hanrahan Avery Harold Pascale Keenam Vida Knotuah

Design and Illustrations by Estelle Morris

We partnered with a range of venues and community groups to hold events, run workshops and oral histories.

Ilford Womens Group Maximal Learning Museum of Childhood Oxford House Redbridge Museum Royal Docks Activity and Learning Centre The Field Community Centre The Fun Palace The View Tube Tower Hamlets Local History and Archives

Bow Boys School Bromley by Bow Centre Capital Age Festival Contact the Elderly CLR Business Consultancy Eastside Community Heritage Forest Gate Over 50â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Homerton Adventure Playground

John Fitzpatrick, born 1957, Ilford on choosing whose door to knock on in Knock down ginger,

Helen Gibbs, born 1950, Hackney,“We didn’t

have a lot of money. But the thing is, we used to enjoy ourselves.”

“Every now and then, we’d pick on someone who’d gone indoors...so their parents had called them in. We knew that they would know that it was us.”

Irene Holt, born 1932, Whitechapel/Hackney, on street football,“No one seemed to complain unless it hit a window!”

Rosemary Berry, born 1957, Bow on that game...

“There was a wheel we used to draw on the floor, and we used to go around it. We’d throw a dice and say it was a 4, you’d go around it four times. Oh what was the name..!”

Dan Jones, born 1940, Shadwell, on Hey Jimmy Knacker,“Like a second row rugby scrum!”

Lilian Blackstone, born 1930, Bow, on Grottos, “You’d be on the pavement

and you’d build it up and have loads of cards standing up and it would be your grotto. People would throw money for you if your grotto was good”.

Peter Forrest, born 1934, Redbridge on Chain He, “Again, you

have an anchorman and you have one chaser who catches anybody who then joins the chain and it goes on...until one person is left. All holding hands.”

Margaret Mason, born 1934, Bow on roller skating,

Maggie Freake, “Someone would be King of the Golden River...the others would probably try to get across the pretend river and get together and guess the King’s favourite colour for example...and maybe if they guessed right they’d become King of the Golden River”.

“It was a big building in Forest Gate and you’d go on a Tuesday and you’d get a free ticket for a Thursday.”