On this Sunday afternoon, families had gathered on the footpath of their London street for a game of hopscotch. It was a simple game, and all you needed to play was a lump of chalk. Julie took the first turn, skipping on one leg, keeping her balance and opening her arms as wide as her frock coat would allow. She was good at the game, having played it during a thousand school break times on the grey concrete of the schoolyard where anyone could be a winner. More athletic than marbles but not as difficult as jacks, all the girls at school loved playing hopscotch. You could play it at any age, and there was no special equipment needed. Some of her friends preferred skipping, with which she competed for players. Skipping caught people’s attention, because they would sing as they swung the rope:
All in together girls
It's fine weather girls
When it's your birthday
Please jump in…
January, February, March, April,
May, June, July, August, September,
October, November, December.
All out together girls
It's fine weather girls
When it's your birthday
Please jump out…
Despite its success as a break time activity, hopscotch had not always been a children’s game, nor was it a recent invention – in fact, a hopscotch court had been found on the floor of the forum of ancient Rome! The game was not only practised in Italy, for Roman soldiers would teach it to the peoples they conquered, and so it spread throughout the empire. Until the nineteenth century it was mostly played by adults, but later became the most popular children’s game in all the world. The hopscotch court also carried a symbolic and religious dimension, for its squares could represent different realms such as Earth, Sky, Heaven or Hell. Some say the earliest hopscotch grids were traced to represent the labyrinth, dwelling place of the terrifying Minotaur.
Julie won her go without too much trouble, and her little brother Thomas clapped. He was not yet an expert in the game, and moreover his balaclava, which his mother made him wear anytime the wind was up, impaired his visibility. But Thomas’ ears were in a fragile state since he’d had the mumps, and under no circumstances was he to take it off. He’d have preferred a little cap like his brother John, who carried himself like a gentleman despite being a four-year-old with a lisp. At school, the other children made fun of John because of his wayward pronunciation, and sometimes Thomas was obliged to box their ears for them. His balaclava had the advantage of making him look hard. Julie waved him over; it was his turn to get to heaven. His grandfather clapped him on the shoulder by way of encouragement; he too had bad memories of hopscotch, but nowadays his creaking joints provided a neat excuse not to take part. For they were a family, and the adults liked to play as much as the children did – after all, you were never too old for a bit of fun!
Alan Alfredo Geday
Comments