Kids time to go out and get your jorries

I was saddened by news that children are missing out on all sorts of fun and games because they are virtually addicted to computer games and social media.

According to a survey (by the Eco Attractions group, since you ask) kids no longer enjoy simple childhood pleasures.

Despite the massive success of the movie Frozen they have no interest in building a snowman in winter and going out to play is an alien concept.

When I was a kid growing up in Glasgow we went out with our pals after school, at the weekends and during the holidays, and only went home if it got too dark or we were hungry. We wouldn’t dream of spending time indoors, even if it was raining, because we wanted to be out with our mates and having fun.

I used to love playing shops behind our tenement where the middens were. We would use a cardboard box for a counter, tin cans which we filled with clabber for stock and newspapers to wrap up the purchases. Of course, it would be banned today because of health and safety, but it was a brilliant game.

We also played two man hunt, kick the can and endless hours of skipping ropes and elastics.

I yearned to be good at playing the ball game against the wall which required real skill and the ability to remember the intricate moves and songs. I’d sit for hours with my pals trading scraps. You put your scraps (usually pictures of cherubs) in an old book. You put one on each page then decided if you wanted to swap them. Getting a full set of angels going from big to really small was highly desired.

Peever (or hopscotch) played with an empty tin of shoe polish on a grid chalked on the pavement was another favourite, and so was five stones. I played fivies endlessly one summer and got really good at it, but I was never as adept at jorries on a stank (marbles on a metal drain cover).

We would also play football, go for walks along the Clyde and generally run about daft. Obesity was never a problem because kids were so active. Our mums cooked proper, nourishing grub like homemade soup and mince and tatties.

A piece and jam kept you going until the next meal, and a very occasional treat was the sweeties you could buy from the corner shop, especially the penny tray. I especially loved MB Bars, dainties and red toffee frying pans as well as Tobermory tatties and sherbet dips. A single Highland toffee or a packet of Swizzles or Spangles would last you all day.

Now far too many kids gobble jumbo-sized bags of crisps and huge family bags of sweets, all washed down with giant buckets of sugary fizzy drinks. Not to mention deep-fried pizzas, burgers, chips, cakes, donuts and other junk food that seems to be what they largely exist on.

There’s nothing wrong with the occasional fish supper or cheeseburger, but just not every day. No wonder kids today are such an unhealthy bunch.

According to this new survey, children spend less than five hours a week outside. Instead, they are hunched over their computers and, sadly, they’ve never known the joy of jumping in a puddle, climbing a tree or building a sandcastle.

It’s a real shame, as it is often the simplest things in life that truly are the most gratifying.