"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Bumble-puppy

 
Bumble-puppy - also known as tetherball - was a game for two players who use their hands to hit in opposite directions a ball that is on a length of rope attached to the top of a pole. The object of the game is to wind the rope completely around the pole. If Deryn Lake's novel 'Death at St James's Palace' is to be believed, it seems to have been in existence in the 1760s at the Queens Head in Marybone (Marylebone) Park, London.
We had an identical game - using a tennis ball on a metal pole - which we used to play at the caravan but we called it swingball.
 
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2 comments:

  1. Don20 April 2010 at 01:20

    And 250 years later... the game is still in full swing here in the US. Kids line up to play at recess, every day. Who knew?

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  2. shabby girl22 April 2010 at 15:22

    I used to play bumble-puppy every day!

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