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Memories of a childhood in wartime Leith. The trials and tribulations of the period, allied to the camaraderie of the community in facing up to an uncertain future made a lasting impression on John Stewart.
Numerous ball games were played in Leith during my childhood with one particular favourite being 'dodgy'. Forming into a circle with legs apart and each foot touching the person on either side of you, a tennis ball would be dropped into the centre.
All had to wait until the ball left the circle between someone's outstretched legs. This person then had to retrieve the ball whilst the others ran clear.
From the spot where the ball was picked up, it would be directed at one of the scattering others. If it struck him, then that person was out. If it failed to strike or the target caught the ball in his hands on the full, then the thrower was out.
The circle would then reform minus the excluded one and the game begun all over again. A sore face could be the result from the accurately thrown missile at speed and sometimes there were tears.
When a few of us felt like another game involving a ball and with insufficient numbers to make up football sides, we often elected to play 'headers'.
Involving only two persons, each would stand about 15 feet from each other while facing up. The first person would throw the old tennis ball up in the air then catch it with his head and try to direct it past his opponent.
It was the opponent's job to try and stop it passing by him. Then it was his turn to do likewise. The game ended with an agreed number of goals having been achieved.
A game that involved the girls was hide and seek, one person being 'het', that is the one who had to do the seeking, the others would run and hide while the chaser had to cover his/her eyes for a short period.
This meant a fair bit of running around. After being spied, the chaser and the chased had to race back to the den to see who arrived there first.
If it was the one who was 'het', then he/she would then go after another, the 'found' one remaining out of the game.
On the other hand a fellow player who came out of hiding and got to the den before the seeker could free this person. It could be very exasperating for the one who was 'het'!
Kick-the Can was just another form of 'hide and go seek'. This time the den was the can that was standing out in the open. If the can was kicked while the searcher was out looking, then all who had been caught were free to hide again.
The game invariably ended with the searcher saying 'I'm fed up, I'm no playing!'
John Stewart, 2001
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