Sometimes, just for a bit extra fun, we would bet a marble on each race.
In a shop the other day I watched two young ones arguing with their parents how they “needed” a new computer game. The fact that it cost about £80.00 made no difference to the kids whatsoever. The excuses “it’s raining and we can’t go out”, “it’s the end of the world”, “we might as well be dead” and all that were put forward.
What popped into my head were the days of what we called ‘Peg Racing’. All we did when it was raining heavy was to go and look for a couple of wooden pegs and head off to the nearest bank. Now the harder it rained the better, for it meant more water and faster flowing gutters full of rainwater. Sometimes, just for a bit extra fun, we would bet a marble on each race.
Now we had a good patch at Lawson Street where the water raced down then drained on to Burdon Main Row. I might be wrong, but if it rained, snowed or howled a gale it never seemed to bother us at all. But could you imagine saying to a couple of today’s kids, “come outside in the pouring rain and I will show you how to peg race”. The answer I think would be, “time has come to get you certified as insane”.