GARDENING

from Eumundi Voice - Issue 62, 16 February 2023

ON THIS DAY

White Passion Flower

White Passion Flower is an amorous name for a bush villain. A native of Brazil this thin stemmed, climbing vine with broad, pale green, threelobed leaves and large, pretty white flowers is one of three passion fruit vines that have become pests across Qld.

The games of life

Conkers, knucklebones, marbles, ciggy cards, British Bulldog – oh what memories when we played outside, kids talking, laughing, squabbling and competing with no worries about safety or getting hurt. Life was too much fun until it grew dark and Mums screeched orders to get home “Now!”.

Games were almost always competitive and required conversation, cooperation and group decisions. They were often led by the biggest kid, the policeman’s kid or the bossy girl from the local shop. Me!

Post-war Coventry bombsites were a wonderful playground to hide and pelt stones at the “Micks” from St Osburg’s. That ended when my father angrily reminded me of our Irish surname and that his family were devout Catholics. I told the gang it was a dumb game.

One Guy Fawkes bonfire night on 5 November I suggested instead of a stuffed effigy we could dress my little brother in old rags as the “Guy” and wheel him around the streets, collecting money to buy fireworks. Mum heard. I painfully recall her punishment.

Conkers are the hard nuts from horse chestnut trees. Held by string through a hole in the middle, our polished weapons ferociously bashed other conkers causing many bruised hands and tears. We’d sit in gutters playing with the knucklebones from pigs, while posh kids had metal or plastic ones called “Jacks”. We’d toss five in the air, immediately trying to catch them on the back of our hands. Boys announced their approach by the rattle of their treasured glass marble bag. Winners flicked the most into the pot and kept those of the losers.

In segregated schoolyards girls enjoyed skipping games where a girl on each end turned the rope in patterns and others jumped in until another entered. We sang in rhythm, “Cinderella dressed in yella went upstairs with a fella”. Girls loved cardboard cut-out dolls and designed paper fashions which clipped to their shoulders. I built a stage from cardboard, making characters from fairy stories.

For the boys, bouncing two balls against the wall without dropping one was skilful but whoever managed three was champion. Boys also played British Bulldog, a vicious game where everyone raced from one side to another with the Bulldog in the middle wrestling them to the ground. They then helped with catching. When Bulldogs outnumbered runners it became a massacre. You can imagine teachers’ and parents’ reactions today!

Almost everyone smoked so we collected the cigarette cards inside packets which featured footballers or film stars. We saved and swapped – a precursor of our grandchildren’s Pokémon cards. Ahhh, the games of life.

Eileen Walder