Squid and the games we played as children in the 70s
Loathe it or love it; there is no ignoring the phenomenal Netflix series, Squid, that is currently taking the world — or at least my corner/bit of it by storm.
I am in the ‘love it’ camp — totally caught up in the storytelling despite the gore, and there is a lot of it right from the start. If blood and guts are not your thing, then probably best to give it a miss.
For me, Squid is an alluring mix of the 1973 American Science fiction film, West World. Yul Brynner as the murdering android is superb and more menacing than Arnold Schwarzenegger in the first Terminator. But I am wandering from the point. I would add in the ruthless and political machinations of the Hunger Games and the naivety and innocence of Jim Carey in the Truman Show. A mix that I find completely and utterly compelling.
Some scenes had my heart pounding; others brought me close to tears at the sheer poignancy and beauty of the acting. Yet others had me reaching for a cushion to cover my eyes at the casual cruelty being shown on the screen.
I can’t then be the only person who is now reminiscing over the games we played as children, albeit without such dire consequences. Growing up in South London, I remember we spent a lot of time outside, in the area around the back of the flats where the bomb raid shelters stood.
There was nearly always a small crowd of us in the days when children regularly played outside and were not so tightly supervised by adults. I grew up in the 70s.
So, this is what I remember playing in the 70s.
British Bulldog –as I remember it, everyone except for one person lined up against a wall. The aim was to get to the other side without getting caught or tagged. If you were, you joined the person in the middle to catch the others. So as the game progressed, more and more children were there waiting to tag or catch you as you tried to make it to the other side.
I was a fast runner and could zig and zag with the best of them, so I usually made it through to nearly the end. Which only happened when there was just one person left to try and make it across.
Knockdown Ginger — this one was and still is more contentious as it did involve a few of us hopping over to another block of flats, knocking on someone’s door at random, and then waiting until the last possible moment to run away.
Most people would shout at us, ‘bloody kids, ‘and leave it at that — but occasionally someone would decide to give chase, and that is when it got really, ‘exciting.’ Especially if the lift was on a ‘go-slow.’
And please note, I am not suggesting that anyone go out and play this game.
Cannon — this game involved four sticks, three placed against a wall with the fourth lined up across the top. As soon as someone fired the ‘cannon’— that is, someone threw a ball to break up the stick arrangement; it was time to run. The aim was to avoid being hit by the ball while rebuilding the sticks against the wall.
And when we weren’t playing these games, we were either busy putting on dance shows, setting up fights with the children a few streets away or jumping off the 8ft high bomb raid shelters, which is how I ended up with stitches in my knee. But that’s a story for another time.
As the oldest of two, all I needed to do was keep an eye on the time and remember when mum told us to be home — which we mostly did while avoiding any difficult questions about knocking on doors. 😉.
And if it ever happens, I’ll certainly be up for Squid — series two.
Until next time
Janice Taylor
