From south Yorkshire, late 50's Junior school - 7 to 11 year olds.

Wallflowers Wallflowers, growing up so high
We are all pretty maids and we don't want to die
Except for xxx xxx she's the chosen one
Turn your back,xxx (first name only)


This was a circling game - almost a ritual and I can't remember the end of the rhyme ( its beat was ti tum ti tum ti tum) or the finish of the game - as the girls circled clockwise (boys were not allowed)as each name was called the girl turned clockwise so she was facing outwards with her arms crossed - the girl on her left lifted her arm up to facilitate the turn.

The end was dangerous - there were sprained wrists and ankles from playing wallflowers. It might have been spinning around faster and faster until someone fell down - possibly.

There was also 'the big ship sails' - where a line of girls threaded under the arms of those at the end of the line - the last girl put her right hand on a wall or held a post to make the first arch. The leader went through each arch, drawing the rest after her, and the row gradually was twisted from facing left with linked hands to facing right with crossed hands. The line broke up when they were all turned - one of our teachers said that it was a chasing game - that when the line broke the girl with her hand on the wall or post had to chase the others, and when caught they formed a line - the last one caught was the one to put her hand on the wall and be the chaser next time, and the one to lead the line.

Skipping - 'lady in a tight skirt can't do this' - jump up and kick forwards and backwards, 'lady in a tight skirt can't do that' - kick out sideways, 'and this and that' - repeat with jumping until failure.

'All in together girls, never mind the weather girls when I count to thirty you've got to be out five ten fifteen twenty twenty five thirty'everyone had to run out of the rope.
Then you have to be in - everyone had to run back and start to jump again - then 'when I say your birthday you have to be out January etc'

If you stopped the rope - some of which were long and heavy, you had to take over from the longest serving turner and they joined in the skipping.

Anne