Better out than in

"Every hour a child spends outdoors each week reduces their chance of becoming short-sighted by two per cent."

In between blinking duties, that was a newspaper article my eyes saw over this past week.

I’m genuinely grateful for Waitrose quality sight to date. If these Cantabrigian scientists are correct, then my childhood supports their theory – I played outside at every available opportunity.

(Cantabrigian means 'from/of Cambridge'. I hold my hands up, it was new to me too.)

Anyway, I began to recount some of the outdoor activities that may have contributed to my virtuous vision.

Here’s a selection:

Football

This was always going to be recalled first.

Squint trees or jumpers for goalposts. It’s hard to express the clarity with which the memories from hundreds of evenings at ‘the field’ are seared into my mind.

Mainly fraught doubles tournaments, sometimes sides. The reputation of our Bothwell set-up went before it. Friends from Uddingston thought nothing of cycling three miles just to be a part of those matches.

A special shout goes out to Adam Armstrong here, for all those afternoons and evenings hitting and saving long range shots.

Survival-hunt

You know the drill.

Required the following: 1 x housing estate; 1 x cold evening where you could see your own breath; 2 x ‘het’ participants; 15+ ‘not het’ participants; 1 x unathletic type to suffer the ignominy of being caught first. Could also be played on bikes.

Footy-down

Only played on bikes, with multiple cyclists.

A large square was selected and you had to remain on your bike within that limited space. Competitors interweaved, trying to make opponents ‘put a foot down’ without getting in a tight spot themselves. Proceedings gradually whittled down to one winner. Tactics, psychology, balance and skill.

In my opinion it was never played as much as its ingenuity deserved.

Go-karts

Of the pedal variety. And maybe not so much in my teens!

Kettler anyone? It’s only fair that I be quiet here and give you a moment to reflect. Some of you might be smiling.

Rope-swings

There was always one of these kicking about somewhere.


I'm keen to hear your memories of incredible childhood outdoor gaming......