Past times/Days before multiple tv channels

Following on from the favourite toys thread, what was your favourite past time activity to relieve the boredom. Basically it was a black and white tv, 3 channels and a coat hanger as an arial

Other than playing for hours on end at football, up to 15/20 a side at times, cock and a hen mister 🤣 our other favourite past times were burn jumps (Duddingston or the Figgate park) with the harder the better, ***** bags got thrown in 🫣

My other favourite was climbing Arthurs Seat but not by the normal ‘tourist’ route, we would try select a different route each time with some relatively hard and others almost impossible, we were young radges though and out of our group only one got a bad injury receiving a broken ankle falling at Hang mans rock, erse 🤣

I used to fish the canal out by the Calders when I was staying at my old man's place. If I was on my own and the weather was good then I'd walk out to Ratho and spend hours reading and watching the float. From about 11 years onwards I'd spend most of the summer in the Chambers Street museum, I absolutely loved that place and it's probably that that turned me into a sapiophile :greengrin


Most of my adolescence was spent at my mother's where I went to school, firstly in Wallyford and then later in Musselburgh. Most of the time like most people would be spent playing football, but also tennis during Wimbledon and played on imaginary tennis courts on the road or even cricket with a tennis ball and using a lamppost as stumps.

The Grand National was also a big favourite where we'd use the front gardens of the terraced houses as a racecourse. Kick the can, kirby and raiding gardens for apples was also popular. Great times until girls popped up on the radar and ruined everything.

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Originally Posted by Hibrandenburg

I used to fish the canal out by the Calders when I was staying at my old man's place. If I was on my own and the weather was good then I'd walk out to Ratho and spend hours reading and watching the float. From about 11 years onwards I'd spend most of the summer in the Chambers Street museum, I absolutely loved that place and it's probably that that turned me into a sapiophile :greengrin


Most of my adolescence was spent at my mother's where I went to school, firstly in Wallyford and then later in Musselburgh. Most of the time like most people would be spent playing football, but also tennis during Wimbledon and played on imaginary tennis courts on the road or even cricket with a tennis ball and using a lamppost as stumps.

The Grand National was also a big favourite where we'd use the front gardens of the terraced houses as a racecourse. Kick the can, kirby and raiding gardens for apples was also popular. Great times until girls popped up on the radar and ruined everything.

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Your 2nd and 3rd paragraphs pretty much mirrors much of my growing up days. Which is why we are all now great people who can handle losing 🙃

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Originally Posted by Hibrandenburg

I used to fish the canal out by the Calders when I was staying at my old man's place. If I was on my own and the weather was good then I'd walk out to Ratho and spend hours reading and watching the float. From about 11 years onwards I'd spend most of the summer in the Chambers Street museum, I absolutely loved that place and it's probably that that turned me into a sapiophile :greengrin


Most of my adolescence was spent at my mother's where I went to school, firstly in Wallyford and then later in Musselburgh. Most of the time like most people would be spent playing football, but also tennis during Wimbledon and played on imaginary tennis courts on the road or even cricket with a tennis ball and using a lamppost as stumps.

The Grand National was also a big favourite where we'd use the front gardens of the terraced houses as a racecourse. Kick the can, kirby and raiding gardens for apples was also popular. Great times until girls popped up on the radar and ruined everything.

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The museum was great for skiving school on rainy days, could spend a good few hours in there 🤣

Sapiophile eh ? Had to look it up !

Football for hours was our go to. Summer in particular was great, home from school, couple of hours playing, tea then out again until all the mums started shouting you in hours later. Not sure that happens anymore. People blame FIFA games and the like but I get the sense people are just far less willing to let their kids out for hours now and either the risk are greater or people are more aware of them. 25-30 years ago feels like a different world.

Rounders and kerby were other favourites. Burn jumps, tarzan swings, the spectacularly un PC 'Japs and Commandos' all get honourable mentions too. As we got a bit braver and more rebellious tap door run was also hours of fun (until you got caught and your dad got told).

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Originally Posted by Pretty Boy

Football for hours was our go to. Summer in particular was great, home from school, couple of hours playing, tea then out again until all the mums started shouting your name. Not sure that happens anymore. People blame FIFA games and the like but I get the sense people are just far less willing to let their kids out for hours now and either the risk are greater or people are more aware of them. 25-30 years ago feels like a different world.

Rounders and kerby were other favourites. Burn jumps, tarzan swings, the spectacularly un PC 'Japs and Commandos' all get honourable mentions too.

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We also now and then played the usual post mans knock, skipping and peevers, well I done that because I fancied one of the lassies, honestly🤣

One game that I loved was ‘Lampy’ it wasnt about punching someone, although that happened often. It was a really rough and tumble game where numbers ranged from 5 to 10 mostly and a ball was blootered up in the air and it was a free for all, dribbling and then taking a shot at the lamp post with the ball, if you hit the lamp post you went through until it was just 2 players and winner who hits the lamp post first. A lot of skill, luck and being a pure thug helped 🤣

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Originally Posted by Bridge hibs

We also now and then played the usual post mans knock, skipping and peevers, well I done that because I fancied one of the lassies, honestly🤣

One game that I loved was ‘Lampy’ it wasnt about punching someone, although that happened often. It was a really rough and tumble game where numbers ranged from 5 to 10 mostly and a ball was blootered up in the air and it was a free for all, dribbling and then taking a shot at the lamp post with the ball, if you hit the lamp post you went through until it was just 2 players and winner who hits the lamp post first. A lot of skill, luck and being a pure thug helped 🤣

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Talking about games that required a bit of thuggery. British Bulldogs was a classic. It was banned in our school playground because someone always ended up injured, sure it was a broken arm that was the final straw.

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Originally Posted by Pretty Boy

Talking about games that required a bit of thuggery. British Bulldogs was a classic. It was banned in our school playground because someone always ended up injured, sure it was a broken arm that was the final straw.

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Yeah I remember it was banned from schools, Im also sure I remember conkers being banned from my school too, or maybe my memory is a bit hazy as it was a very long time ago

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Originally Posted by pollution

Sapiophile eh ? Had to look it up !

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Then I wouldn't be attracted to you :wink:

If Kerby/Kirby/Curby was an Olympic sport we'd be gold medalists.

Two man hunt and kick the can. Games could last for hours lol.

Between the age of 12 and 16, I spent hours fly fishing on the Water of Leith, mainly between Bowling Green Street and Stockbridge but occasionally as far out as Saughton and Currie.

Growing up in Liverpool we lived next door but one to a pub with a bowling green. My Dad never played but when I was 13 one of the pub regulars asked my Dad if I would like to try crown green bowling. I did and loved it, was never off the green, got into the clubs B team then quickly progressed to the A team. Became club captiain, won every single club competition over the years including the Club championship. Looking back it was a fantastic time in my life, especially when playing league games at 13 and being looked upon by my opponent as just a kid and an easy opponent, they soon realised that wasn’t the case. Really miss my days of crown green bowling, have played flat green here in Edinburgh for a good twenty years, enjoy it but it will never match my days as a crown green bowler.

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Originally Posted by Scouse Hibee

Growing up in Liverpool we lived next door but one to a pub with a bowling green. My Dad never played but when I was 13 one of the pub regulars asked my Dad if I would like to try crown green bowling. I did and loved it, was never off the green, got into the clubs B team then quickly progressed to the A team. Became club captiain, won every single club competition over the years including the Club championship. Looking back it was a fantastic time in my life, especially when playing league games at 13 and being looked upon by my opponent as just a kid and an easy opponent, they soon realised that wasn’t the case. Really miss my days of crown green bowling, have played flat green here in Edinburgh for a good twenty years, enjoy it but it will never match my days as a crown green bowler.

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Is crown green bowls a particularly north west England/Merseyside thing?

It's something I had never really heard of growing up in Scotland until I was well in my teens. I had a teacher at school who was massively into it, he was a Scouser as well so just curious as to whether it's a regional thing?

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Originally Posted by Pretty Boy

Is crown green bowls a particularly north west England/Merseyside thing?

It's something I had never really heard of growing up in Scotland until I was well in my teens. I had a teacher at school who was massively into it, he was a Scouser as well so just curious as to whether it's a regional thing?

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It’s mainly played in the North and Midlands of England, North Wales, and the Isle of Man. Unlike the bowling clubs of Edinburgh nearly every crown green in Liverpool and other locations was at the back of a pub and owned by the breweries. With the mass closure of pubs and the owners wanting to turn the space into beer garden etc, the crown green scene in Liverpool is now tiny compared to what it used to be. The “Wembley” of crown green bowls was the the green at the back of the Waterloo Hotel in Blackpool.

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Originally Posted by Scouse Hibee

Growing up in Liverpool we lived next door but one to a pub with a bowling green. My Dad never played but when I was 13 one of the pub regulars asked my Dad if I would like to try crown green bowling. I did and loved it, was never off the green, got into the clubs B team then quickly progressed to the A team. Became club captiain, won every single club competition over the years including the Club championship. Looking back it was a fantastic time in my life, especially when playing league games at 13 and being looked upon by my opponent as just a kid and an easy opponent, they soon realised that wasn’t the case. Really miss my days of crown green bowling, have played flat green here in Edinburgh for a good twenty years, enjoy it but it will never match my days as a crown green bowler.

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A game I would have loved to have tried. I watched a televised Crown Green bowls many years ago and thought it was great to watch, seemed fast and very competitive compared to our game up here which although competitive looks a bit slower paced, certainly what Ive seen on tv. I think the Crown bowls I watched could have been in Blackpool but it was a few years back

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Originally Posted by Bridge hibs

A game I would have loved to have tried. I watched a televised Crown Green bowls many years ago and thought it was great to watch, seemed fast and very competitive compared to our game up here which although competitive looks a bit slower paced, certainly what Ive seen on tv. I think the Crown bowls I watched could have been in Blackpool but it was a few years back

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It probably was as the Waterloo tournament final 32 were usually televised. The thing about Crown green is it’s you against your opponent, two bowls each and no interference from the rink. There is the odd pairs competition but in general singles games all the time. I wish I was half as good as a rink bowler than I was as a crown green bowler. Also green knowledge is a massive advantage in crown green as you can set a mark anywhere you want. Part of the reason I was so successful as a kid was I was never off the green and knew every inch and different “marks” of it like the back of my hand. At home I was virtually unbeatable in league games.

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Originally Posted by Scouse Hibee

It probably was as the Waterloo tournament final 32 were usually televised. The thing about Crown green is it’s you against your opponent, two bowls each and no interference from the rink. There is the odd pairs competition but in general singles games all the time. I wish I was half as good as a rink bowler than I was as a crown green bowler. Also green knowledge is a massive advantage in crown green as you can set a mark anywhere you want. Part of the reason I was so successful as a kid was I was never off the green and knew every inch and different “marks” of it like the back of my hand. At home I was virtually unbeatable in league games.

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Excellent mate, Im surprised that there arent any Crown greens in Scotland, at least Im not aware of any and Ive not seen or heard the game mentioned up here. It does seem to be as you suggested above more an English regional sport and popular at that. If Im down in England anytime in the future I might try and take in a game

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Originally Posted by Pretty Boy

Is crown green bowls a particularly north west England/Merseyside thing?

It's something I had never really heard of growing up in Scotland until I was well in my teens. I had a teacher at school who was massively into it, he was a Scouser as well so just curious as to whether it's a regional thing?

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I remember it being on the telly away back many years ago, 80s maybe?

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Originally Posted by HUTCHYHIBBY

I remember it being on the telly away back many years ago, 80s maybe?

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ITV actually broadcast the finals at the Waterloo in Blackpool in 2015 and 2016, the first time crown green had been broadcast live for many years. As you say it was regularly shown in the 80’s.

Not much to add to crown green bowls, or bowls in general. It did remind me of a friend many moons ago who was working in his Livingston office before taking his Gran to the bowls final later that day, which was live on the BBC. He nipped into a nearby hairdressers at lunch and was given the worst bowl cut I’ve ever seen. He didn’t have time to do anything about it and had to endure sitting in the front row on live TV with that haircut. To this day I’m still searching for the footage.

The Waterloo still has it stands around the Green i think it used to hold 4000 people. These days the Waterloo pub is big music venue gets a lot of punk/alternative bands on.