0:00:03 > 0:00:07This is the story of children's play and how their games have changed
0:00:07 > 0:00:10in Britain over the last half century.
0:00:10 > 0:00:1450 years ago, the school playground echoed to the sounds
0:00:14 > 0:00:15of traditional games
0:00:15 > 0:00:18passed on from one generation of children to the next.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22But the social revolution that transformed Britain since the '60s
0:00:22 > 0:00:26led to fears that this centuries-old world of children's play
0:00:26 > 0:00:27was disappearing.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31Folklorists documented games and songs from what they believed
0:00:31 > 0:00:34would be the last generation of children to play them.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39# Did you ever ever ever in your long-legged life
0:00:39 > 0:00:42# Meet a long-legged sailor with a long-legged wife
0:00:42 > 0:00:46# No, I never never never in me long-legged life
0:00:46 > 0:00:51# Met a long-legged sailor with a long-legged wife
0:00:52 > 0:00:57# Bye-bye, baby Baby, goodbye... #
0:00:57 > 0:01:01Soon the school playground would be ringing to very different songs.
0:01:01 > 0:01:06Pop music, boy bands and the spread of television into almost every home in Britain
0:01:06 > 0:01:09brought new dreams to the nation's children.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12No boy or girl was too young to be a teenybopper
0:01:12 > 0:01:14as growing up was commercialised
0:01:14 > 0:01:19and everyone was encouraged to be a dedicated follower of fashion.
0:01:21 > 0:01:26My favourite outfit of all time was my Bay City Rollers trousers
0:01:26 > 0:01:29and they had Bay City Rollers down the side and all the tartan
0:01:29 > 0:01:32and I had my Bay City Rollers t-shirt on.
0:01:32 > 0:01:35I thought I was fantastic. I was only about seven.
0:01:35 > 0:01:37I thought it was ace and I wouldn't take it off.
0:01:40 > 0:01:44Hip-hop, the new black music and dance culture of the '80s,
0:01:44 > 0:01:47was much more than a fashion statement.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49Originating in America, it became a source of pride
0:01:49 > 0:01:54and identity for boys growing up in Britain's inner cities.
0:01:54 > 0:02:01To be able to do the best windmill or backspin was so exciting.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05My personal specialist move was the backspin, which I just...
0:02:05 > 0:02:08whipped the legs round and spin, and freeze!
0:02:08 > 0:02:11# Have you ever, ever, ever in your long-legged life... #
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Yet in the multi-cultural playgrounds of modern Britain,
0:02:15 > 0:02:19traditional songs and games survived.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21The worst fears of the folklorists weren't realised.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26But how much have we gained - and how much have we lost?
0:02:26 > 0:02:30This is the rich and surprising story of Children's Play in Britain.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38The mid to late 1950s were the high point of outdoor play in Britain.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41The benefits of the welfare state,
0:02:41 > 0:02:45better health care for children and an improving standard of living
0:02:45 > 0:02:49all helped create a heyday of the singing street.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Girls and boys enjoyed a huge repertoire of games -
0:02:52 > 0:02:56with most of the singing games played by the girls,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59like Laura Hopkins from Manchester.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03In the playground particularly, there's a nice big space.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Boys just charge around. Boys were happy even then
0:03:05 > 0:03:08with just a football and if no football, they'd find a stone.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11But girls like to be organised,
0:03:11 > 0:03:17and we used to play lots of games in a circle holding hands and one was,
0:03:17 > 0:03:22# In and out the fairy bluebells In and out the fairy bluebells
0:03:22 > 0:03:26# In and out the fairy bluebells I choose you. #
0:03:26 > 0:03:29And you'd all hold hands and one would go, weave in and out,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32you'd hold yours slightly raised to make little archways
0:03:32 > 0:03:35and that person would weave in and out and then come to somebody
0:03:35 > 0:03:38and pat them on the shoulder.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40# This little girl I pat on the shoulder
0:03:40 > 0:03:42# This little girl I pat on the shoulder
0:03:42 > 0:03:44# This little girl I pat on the shoulder
0:03:44 > 0:03:45# I choose you. #
0:03:45 > 0:03:48And you were quite honoured then and you'd hold hands
0:03:48 > 0:03:49and both weave in and out.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Ball games were especially popular
0:03:53 > 0:03:58and were often accompanied by repetitive, nonsense rhymes.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03They were part of a children's culture passed down
0:04:03 > 0:04:05from one generation to the next.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Angela Chilvers grew up in Great Yarmouth.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13One of the songs was, "One a-lairy two a-lairy three, four, five,"
0:04:13 > 0:04:16which was just banging the balls up
0:04:16 > 0:04:21against the wall but then you got a bit complicated - you said
0:04:21 > 0:04:24one an uppy, two an uppy three four five,
0:04:24 > 0:04:30one and over, two and over three four five, one and dropsy, two and dropsy
0:04:30 > 0:04:32three four five.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35You kept going until you actually dropped the ball,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37then it was the next person's turn.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42But the uppy was like that, one two three and uppy
0:04:42 > 0:04:46four five six and uppy, but it was better up against a wall
0:04:46 > 0:04:48than it is sitting here doing it like that.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53In the '50s, traditional games like marbles
0:04:53 > 0:04:56could still capture a boy's imagination and on a good day,
0:04:56 > 0:05:00his pockets would be full of marbles won in competitions.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Working-class children played outdoors a lot -
0:05:03 > 0:05:07this was their territory, a stage for hundreds of games.
0:05:07 > 0:05:11Graffiti was frowned upon by parents but was used everywhere by children
0:05:11 > 0:05:14to amuse themselves and mark out their territory.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Tommy Smith grew up in the Glasgow Gorbals.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21As a kid I used to do drawings
0:05:21 > 0:05:25on the pavement and the close walls with chalk, and all my friends
0:05:25 > 0:05:28used to say, "Tommy, do an Indian or a cowboy," things like that,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31I was always getting into trouble with my neighbours.
0:05:31 > 0:05:32They always knew it was me.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34"Look at the mess you're making on the walls'.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Most kids actually drew on the walls, I mean...
0:05:39 > 0:05:42graffiti was everywhere, you know.
0:05:42 > 0:05:48Kids used to put names of the gangs on the wall and different things.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51If someone got somebody into trouble,
0:05:51 > 0:05:53they would put their name on the wall. maybe...
0:05:53 > 0:05:55"Joe's mum's a clype" like a grass.
0:05:55 > 0:06:00If somebody got in trouble and it was Joe's mum that shopped us,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03we'd put on the wall "Joe's mum's a clype."
0:06:03 > 0:06:06The film-makers and folklorists who documented
0:06:06 > 0:06:09the profusion of street games
0:06:09 > 0:06:13that flourished in Britain during the '50s were impressed
0:06:13 > 0:06:17by the children's democratic instincts - especially the girls.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19They were inclusive in their play,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22with friends taking turns in choosing who did what.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24Girls might be the favoured daughter at home,
0:06:24 > 0:06:27but when they came out to play on the streets,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30they were treated just the same as anyone else.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33You didn't have a kingpin outside.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36You were all equal outside.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38The only reason I was a leader indoors
0:06:38 > 0:06:41was because I was first born and I was older than them.
0:06:41 > 0:06:46But when I was outside with my friend June and my friend Pearl and Valerie
0:06:46 > 0:06:48and one or two more of them,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51we were all the same age group so you didn't have a boss.
0:06:51 > 0:06:52Nobody could be bossy
0:06:52 > 0:06:54because if you were, you soon got knocked down.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00Playing together every day on the streets,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03girls inevitably had their disagreements and upsets.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07Most, however, would be resolved by the children themselves
0:07:07 > 0:07:08without adult interference.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12It was all part of growing up and the children of the '50s
0:07:12 > 0:07:16recognise how important this was in teaching them social skills.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20If you were losing, or things weren't going your way
0:07:20 > 0:07:22in the game, you'd go in and your mum...
0:07:22 > 0:07:26no sympathy for you cos she knew what had gone on, that there'd been
0:07:26 > 0:07:28a bit of a disagreement, you know,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32you'd got to sort it out yourself, that's what playing out's about.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37And your mum, you know, would call you bluff and say
0:07:37 > 0:07:41"Better get your pyjamas on - it's probably time for bed anyway,
0:07:41 > 0:07:43"it's getting late. You've got school tomorrow,"
0:07:43 > 0:07:45and that's when you probably thought
0:07:45 > 0:07:47"I'll just go out for ten more minutes,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50"to see if they're still playing that game,"
0:07:50 > 0:07:52or" I've thought of a better game."
0:07:55 > 0:07:57As city children grew a little older,
0:07:57 > 0:07:59they looked to extend their horizons
0:07:59 > 0:08:02and dreamt of bigger adventures
0:08:02 > 0:08:05beyond the immediate confines of their street or neighbourhood.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Yet for children living in the poorest areas of the big cities
0:08:09 > 0:08:10and ports like Glasgow,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13the opportunities to explore different places to play
0:08:13 > 0:08:15were few and far between.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21Turf wars between rival gangs in neighbouring streets and districts
0:08:21 > 0:08:24meant that children only rarely dared venture
0:08:24 > 0:08:25outside their own patch.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30Every street had its own gang.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34You could go so far and someone would say, "That's Tommy Smith,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38or George Lee, "They shouldn't be here," so you got chased
0:08:38 > 0:08:40and this was the way it worked you know.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42You'd would chance it.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46You started to chance it and venture further out
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and you thought it was great if you were in somebody else's territory
0:08:49 > 0:08:52and you could get something and go back to your own
0:08:52 > 0:08:54without being caught or getting chased.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56So we had all these...
0:08:56 > 0:08:59alleys and different ways we could get back.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02If we got chased we had it planned.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04We could run over to Pollokshaws Road
0:09:04 > 0:09:06and climb over the coal bins.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Then you knew once you got to Hospital Street you were safe.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13I had cousins and aunts and uncles stayed there
0:09:13 > 0:09:16so this is how your mind worked, you know.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Children who grew up on the remoter parts
0:09:23 > 0:09:28of Britain's 7,000-mile coastline inhabited a very different world.
0:09:28 > 0:09:33Free to roam on the seashore and the rocks, their imagination ran wild.
0:09:33 > 0:09:39Every day brought new adventures for village children like John Harris.
0:09:39 > 0:09:45The beach to us was a playground to explore but not a bucket and spade,
0:09:45 > 0:09:47not a sandcastle thing.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53We explored the rock pools, we wanted to go and find caves,
0:09:53 > 0:09:59caverns - we lived in a fantasy world at times. We were pirates.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06One of the highlights of the year, for country children everywhere,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08occurred when the circus arrived in town.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12This was a time when many smaller circuses encouraged direct contact
0:10:12 > 0:10:14between children and their animals
0:10:14 > 0:10:18to help promote interest in their performances.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22The circus elephants provided a glimpse into a distant exotic world
0:10:22 > 0:10:26that could inspire new fantasy games for the children who saw them.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29We would stand there in sheer excitement,
0:10:31 > 0:10:35to come within feet of an animal.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39I mean, we didn't realise then they come from Africa or Indian.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42I mean, it was a massive animal
0:10:42 > 0:10:48and we were allowed as children to
0:10:48 > 0:10:50walk with the keepers.
0:10:50 > 0:10:52They always, when they unloaded them,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55took them down on the beach and let the elephants have
0:10:55 > 0:10:58a whale of a time on the beach
0:10:58 > 0:11:03and we as children were actually allowed to touch them
0:11:03 > 0:11:04and I never forget,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08one lifted me up on its trunk and...
0:11:08 > 0:11:11I cried with excitement.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22You really felt that your whole life had been lifted,
0:11:22 > 0:11:24long after the circus had gone.
0:11:24 > 0:11:28You were still fantasising you were riding an elephant
0:11:28 > 0:11:31through the beach or somewhere.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34The romance of outdoor play in both city and country in the '50s
0:11:34 > 0:11:38is captured by the love affair of the nation's children
0:11:38 > 0:11:41with steam railways and trainspotting.
0:11:41 > 0:11:46It was an activity that appealed more or less exclusively to boys.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48Girls just didn't get how important it was
0:11:48 > 0:11:51to collect every number of every engine in the land.
0:11:51 > 0:11:54This obsession drove boys to spend much of their spare time
0:11:54 > 0:11:58standing on station platforms in their quest to spot them all...
0:11:58 > 0:12:01..like Barry McQueen.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04You use to have this book and in there it would have every number
0:12:04 > 0:12:06of every steam engine in Great Britain
0:12:06 > 0:12:08on all the regions and, of course,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11the electrics and the diesels when they started coming in.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16What you had to do is spot these trains, then you'd underline them.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Our region was The London Midland region.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22We had Patriots, we had Jubilees,
0:12:22 > 0:12:26the Royal Scots, Princess Royals, Duchesses, Britannias
0:12:26 > 0:12:27and they were the namers.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30Pocket money would be saved up
0:12:30 > 0:12:34and spent on trips to faraway stations and sheds.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38And when you used to get to these, these places
0:12:38 > 0:12:42like Crewe or York and Doncaster and there was nothing to see
0:12:42 > 0:12:45apart from about 100 trainspotters from all over the country
0:12:45 > 0:12:46on the end of the platform.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51But the old world of children's outdoor play
0:12:51 > 0:12:53was about to be swept away
0:12:53 > 0:12:56and it began with an enormous increase in road traffic
0:12:56 > 0:12:59and car ownership from the late '50s onwards.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Busier and more dangerous roads posed a major threat
0:13:01 > 0:13:05to children's safety and to the way working-class communities
0:13:05 > 0:13:07used their streets as a playground.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10To begin with, the children turned the new danger
0:13:10 > 0:13:15into a game of chance, like East End girl, Lorraine Kavanagh.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18That became a play opportunity, unfortunately - you'd play
0:13:18 > 0:13:20chicken in the road and who could get the other side.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26The chicken in the road is who gets nearest the car
0:13:26 > 0:13:29before you get across the other side of the road.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32And, you know, you'd get, "Ohhh!"
0:13:32 > 0:13:34where it was a real close one.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40You are gambling with death
0:13:40 > 0:13:44whenever you cross a road without thinking.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Constant road safety campaigns
0:13:46 > 0:13:50warned of the threat to children's lives.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57However much you may feel like it, never play in the street.
0:13:57 > 0:14:00And never, ever dash out into the road.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04But there was only limited success.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07In the '50s and '60s, the number of children seriously
0:14:07 > 0:14:11injured or killed each year on the roads remained alarmingly high.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15The tradition of playing on the streets was deeply ingrained.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19We were playing and we was so involved in the game.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22I think it was something like five-all or something like that.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26I know we weren't taking notice of what was happening around us
0:14:26 > 0:14:30at the time and a car came round the corner
0:14:32 > 0:14:36and this boy, we didn't have time to tell him
0:14:36 > 0:14:39that this car was behind him. All I heard was a thud
0:14:39 > 0:14:42and then silence.
0:14:48 > 0:14:52He was just covered in blood. It's just bringing it all back to me now.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55I hadn't even thought about it before.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57I can't remember the boy's name.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01Yet, the following day, the street games continued as usual.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05With overcrowded homes, there was simply nowhere else to play.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09After that it became a token, like a trophy, you know,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12the blood in the road was the trophy.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Um, and all kids would look at it and say that that was his blood.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19I mean, thank God he lived.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24The first adventure playgrounds, created from the '50s onwards,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27recognised that the streets were becoming too dangerous for play
0:15:27 > 0:15:30and that children needed a safer alternative.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32In these ramshackle worlds,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36they could take risks without endangering their lives.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39# Good golly, Miss Molly! #
0:15:39 > 0:15:42As the adventure playground developed,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46Chicken In The Road didn't seem so interesting any more.
0:15:46 > 0:15:51Having the risk put in to a place where it was allowed
0:15:51 > 0:15:54to do these things, allowed to have
0:15:54 > 0:15:57the adrenaline rush, allowed to have your heart beating
0:15:57 > 0:16:00at God knows how many beats a minute, that was great.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Older brothers and sisters supervised
0:16:05 > 0:16:09the play of the younger ones, just as they had in the street.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13It was a hidden rule that you had to develop
0:16:13 > 0:16:17and go through the phases and it was just accepted,
0:16:17 > 0:16:20you know, that a five-year-old would not climb up and go on the swing,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22because the other ones would say, "No, no, down,"
0:16:22 > 0:16:26because they knew the danger for that five-year-old.
0:16:26 > 0:16:27And it was great to think,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30"I'm eight now - I can have a go on the swing"
0:16:30 > 0:16:33or, "Oh, I'm ten, I can go round there,"
0:16:33 > 0:16:34and start running this bit.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37It was wonderful. It was a great, great time for me.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42In some of the poorest parts of Britain like the Glasgow Gorbals,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45children still enjoyed the freedom of the streets.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48Few here could afford cars, but there were even greater dangers
0:16:48 > 0:16:51facing boys and girls growing up in an area
0:16:51 > 0:16:53legendary for its everyday violence.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59The children were all very familiar with drunkenness,
0:16:59 > 0:17:00crime and even murder,
0:17:00 > 0:17:04and it all came out in their songs and their games,
0:17:04 > 0:17:06as Colin MacFarlane remembers.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11We were out playing football and all the pubs were coming out and it was
0:17:11 > 0:17:14quite a light night in Glasgow, a summer's night
0:17:14 > 0:17:16and these two drunks came out and they were swearing.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20This other guy, much to our surprise, pulled out an open razor,
0:17:20 > 0:17:22one of these shaving razors,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25and slashed the guy with one swoop across the throat.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28As the guy got slashed, he held his throat
0:17:28 > 0:17:31and the blood began to spout into the air like a fountain.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35The guy held his throat and collapsed onto the street
0:17:35 > 0:17:37and the guy who did the murder shouted,
0:17:37 > 0:17:40"If you tell anybody about that, there'll be trouble.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43"Nobody saw nothing!" And then he ran off.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45About an hour later, the police arrived
0:17:45 > 0:17:49and they drew white chalk marks around the guy's body.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52They took the guy's body away and the next day we were out
0:17:52 > 0:17:54in a bright summer's morning playing in the streets
0:17:54 > 0:17:58and one of the girls decided to draw hopscotch marks
0:17:58 > 0:18:01inside the chalked image of a dead man.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06So there we were, all these kids playing hopscotch.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08One of the girls began to sing,
0:18:08 > 0:18:13"Murder, Murder, Polis, three stairs up.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16"The woman on the middle floor, hurt me with a cup.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19"Ma heid's all bleeding and ma face is cut.
0:18:19 > 0:18:22"Murder, Murder, Polis, three stairs up."
0:18:22 > 0:18:23Murder Polis at the time
0:18:23 > 0:18:26meant that you were having a diabolical situation
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and one of the neighbours said to me,
0:18:28 > 0:18:31"It really is Murder Polis living across from that pub."
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Living in cramped tenement slums, the Gorbals boys and girls
0:18:37 > 0:18:40spent almost all their free time on the streets.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43Despite the poverty that surrounded them,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46they thrived on the independence they enjoyed from adult control,
0:18:46 > 0:18:47and living by their wits,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50they managed to turn a bleak urban landscape
0:18:50 > 0:18:54into an imaginative and exciting world of play.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57The Gorbals had a soundtrack and the soundtrack was the kids
0:18:57 > 0:19:00singing in the background playing and no matter what you were doing,
0:19:00 > 0:19:02you'd always hear kids singing.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03You would hear things like,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06"My maw's a millionaire, blue eyes and curly hair,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08"sitting among the Eskimos,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11"playing a game of dominoes."
0:19:14 > 0:19:19When you went into the back courts, there was lots of things to do
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and we'd been to the pictures one day,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24we were watching this thing about safaris.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27It was amazing, this Africa thing - people were hunting things
0:19:27 > 0:19:29and there were elephants running about.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33We thought, well, we've got our own wildlife here, we've got rats.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36We'll start doing a sort of Gorbals Safari.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41So we started to hunt down as many rats as possible
0:19:41 > 0:19:44and we became sort of rat catchers, amateur rat catchers.
0:19:44 > 0:19:50The middle class childhood could not have been more different.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54Outdoor play and fantasies took place in the protected setting
0:19:54 > 0:19:56of suburban back gardens.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00The parents' aim was to guard their children's innocence
0:20:00 > 0:20:03against the dangers of the modern world.
0:20:03 > 0:20:04One way was to encourage
0:20:04 > 0:20:06an appreciation of the wonders of nature.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11Linda Shanson was a dreamy, romantic north London girl.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15I lived very much in my imagination when I was a child.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18I was quite serious a lot of the time,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21trying to figure out what was going on around me.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27I don't actually remember the first poems that I wrote.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29I must of just been playing with words,
0:20:29 > 0:20:33but I have found in my mother's diary where I had written
0:20:33 > 0:20:36one of my first poems, and it goes like this:
0:20:36 > 0:20:40"It was a summer's morning, In the middle of July
0:20:40 > 0:20:44"I dreamt of hours passing Very slowly by
0:20:44 > 0:20:51"I dreamt of all the colours, Yellow, red and blue
0:20:51 > 0:20:55"I dreamt of us together, Me and you."
0:20:57 > 0:21:02Growing up in the suburbs and in semi-rural retreats,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05middle and upper class children enjoyed more traditional games
0:21:05 > 0:21:09like collecting and playing conkers. There was a new reverence
0:21:09 > 0:21:12for what seemed like innocent and natural forms of play
0:21:12 > 0:21:16a world away from the dangers of the modern streets and cities.
0:21:17 > 0:21:20One child who adored conkers was Nimmy March,
0:21:20 > 0:21:25the adopted daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Richmond.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29I remember a song about collecting conkers,
0:21:29 > 0:21:32# Conkers, we're collecting conkers
0:21:32 > 0:21:36# We're trying hard to find the biggest and the best
0:21:36 > 0:21:39# Conkers, I'm collecting conkers... #
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Something about, "it's gonna beat the rest". That sort of thing.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49To be the conker champion was the ambition of most boys
0:21:49 > 0:21:52and they did everything they could to win,
0:21:52 > 0:21:56but Nimmy was determined to beat them at their own game.
0:21:56 > 0:21:58Lots of, you know, wily shenanigans
0:21:58 > 0:22:02going on around conker playing and it was considered very much
0:22:02 > 0:22:05to be a boys' thing, but I really loved it.
0:22:05 > 0:22:09One person would be the challenger,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13holding your string up and holding your conker up and making sure that
0:22:13 > 0:22:15you're not to close to each other
0:22:15 > 0:22:17and working out the length of your string,
0:22:17 > 0:22:21and missing because you were wrong about the length of your string,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25and the disappointment and then, you know, you get the cocky boys
0:22:25 > 0:22:28standing there because they know they are going to win.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35But in '60s Britain, there were only a few remote rural areas
0:22:35 > 0:22:38truly free from the encroachments of modern life,
0:22:38 > 0:22:44where childhood play echoed a centuries-old tradition.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47In years gone by, children's work and play
0:22:47 > 0:22:51had been closely interwoven, all shaped by the changing seasons.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Work often became play for Thomas Jones and his brother William
0:22:55 > 0:22:58on their small family Welsh hill farm.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01I can remember right from a very, quite young age being,
0:23:01 > 0:23:08well, I felt, a very important part of every aspect of the farming.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11I can never, ever remember being bored.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14I can never, ever remember saying to my mum or dad,
0:23:14 > 0:23:16"What can we do next?"
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Rounding up and breaking in the Welsh mountain ponies was one of
0:23:21 > 0:23:26the jobs the children were expected to help with from a very young age.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31I've got a photograph which shows my brother and I,
0:23:31 > 0:23:35he'd have been five. I'd have been three years old,
0:23:35 > 0:23:38actually holding a Welsh mountain pony foal,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41which would have been about six months old.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46Having a tug-of-war with the foal to actually see who was the strongest
0:23:46 > 0:23:50and eventually we would win the battle
0:23:50 > 0:23:55and the foal would become quiet enough to be able to ride.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00'Yes, it's Crackerjack!'
0:24:00 > 0:24:05The coming of television into almost every home in Britain
0:24:05 > 0:24:08would help transform children's play more than anything else
0:24:08 > 0:24:11in the second half of the 20th century.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15The children of the '60s were the first real television generation.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17They began to timetable outdoor play
0:24:17 > 0:24:21around favourite television shows like Crackerjack.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31One avid viewer of '60s children's television was Shabnam Mahmood
0:24:31 > 0:24:33who grew up in Yorkshire.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35TV was massive in our lives.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38I use to come home from school round about 3:30pm, 4pm,
0:24:38 > 0:24:40and the TV would go on straight away
0:24:40 > 0:24:42and I used to watch all the children's programmes.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47Here's a couple of bells that are very easy indeed to make.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49You need one of these bleach bottles,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52and what you do is take the bit off here...
0:24:52 > 0:24:54'Blue Peter used to influence me a lot.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56'One particular thing I remember was,'
0:24:56 > 0:25:00at Christmas time, they got two coat hangers, stuck them together,
0:25:00 > 0:25:02put tinsel round it and hung baubles from it,
0:25:02 > 0:25:05and that looked like a Christmas decoration you could put
0:25:05 > 0:25:09in your front window, and I made that - with the help of Mum as well,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11because she quite liked all that as well.
0:25:11 > 0:25:17Television and radio helped bring a new urban soundtrack
0:25:17 > 0:25:22into children's lives, which would also influence their play.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Rock and roll music and the rise of the teenager
0:25:25 > 0:25:28gave children new dreams.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31They imagined themselves to be popstars.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Derek Cleary from Liverpool spent less time playing in the streets
0:25:34 > 0:25:37and more time at home practising his guitar.
0:25:39 > 0:25:41I enjoyed staying in.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Whereas I'd been that used to being out with all the kids
0:25:44 > 0:25:47and knocking round the block, I'd have kids calling for me.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Any excuse at all, I'd want to stay in.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52I'd go up into the bedroom and I'd get the guitar.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56I'd take the guitar up and I'd start practising on the chords.
0:26:00 > 0:26:02The Shadows were great.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06I went to see them live in Liverpool at the ABC with a friend of mine.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09They were just fantastic, and that just steered me on.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13I was definitely going to start learning some of The Shadows numbers.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16Using his friend's record player, 13-year-old Derek
0:26:16 > 0:26:18taught himself to play by ear.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21We used to go in his back kitchen.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24He'd keep playing it on and off, taking the needle off
0:26:24 > 0:26:27and putting it back on again and taking it off and back on again.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31I'd show him the rhythm and I played the lead to it.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33I think within about six months,
0:26:33 > 0:26:37I must have learned quite a lot of Shadows numbers off to a tee
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and I was chuffed to bits and all the kids loved it.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41I felt like a star. I felt like I was in The Shadows.
0:26:41 > 0:26:47Television could also help inspire girls to play football.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51At a time when they were discouraged from taking up the sport,
0:26:51 > 0:26:54Shabnam Mahmood became the best player in the neighbourhood,
0:26:54 > 0:26:58and, unusually for a northerner, she supported Chelsea.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01'I was passionate about football.'
0:27:01 > 0:27:06Being a northerner I supported Chelsea and I used to play football
0:27:06 > 0:27:10every night with the local boys and I just used to love it.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18Of course, being a Chelsea supporter, when I was playing football,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22in my mind I was Peter Osgood, the number nine,
0:27:22 > 0:27:24dribbling the ball and scoring the goal.
0:27:24 > 0:27:30It didn't occur to me then that they were men and I'm a woman
0:27:30 > 0:27:35and I can't be Peter Osgood, I can't be Ray Wilkins, but in my mind
0:27:35 > 0:27:39I was them on the football pitch, playing in the FA Cup final.
0:27:39 > 0:27:45The '50s and '60s were a golden age of science fiction comics and films,
0:27:45 > 0:27:48pushing children's imagination into new frontiers.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50'Imagine yourself as one of the crew
0:27:50 > 0:27:54'of this faster-than-light spaceship of the future.'
0:27:54 > 0:27:56Forbidden Planet was one of many cult movies
0:27:56 > 0:28:00which popularised stories of heroic adventures in space,
0:28:00 > 0:28:03a fantasy that the toy industry soon began selling to children,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06like Lancashire boy, Steve Wakefield.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10We just couldn't get enough of space.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14I mean, there were American films like Forbidden Planet
0:28:14 > 0:28:18and there was Robbie the Robot, you know, the famous robot.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20We all wanted to have Robbies.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25The '60s space race made the fantasy real.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29Now playgrounds were full of boys playing at being astronauts.
0:28:29 > 0:28:34We were absolutely captivated by the space race then.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38You would start to do the things that space people did.
0:28:38 > 0:28:41We would get washing lines and tie them onto us
0:28:41 > 0:28:46as if we were floating out into space.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50We would make all the movements very slowly, you know what I mean?
0:28:50 > 0:28:54We said, "Oh, we better pull him back in", and we'd have to pull him in.
0:28:54 > 0:28:59But in the mid-'60s, a new threat to children's freedom emerged.
0:28:59 > 0:29:04The body found on the Yorkshire moors yesterday
0:29:04 > 0:29:06has been identified as that of John Kilbride,
0:29:06 > 0:29:12the 12-year-old boy who disappeared from his home nearly two years ago.
0:29:12 > 0:29:13The Moors murders,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17one of the most sensational television news stories of all time,
0:29:17 > 0:29:20marked the beginning of a new era of parental fear
0:29:20 > 0:29:23for children's safety outdoors.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26Child murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley helped to
0:29:26 > 0:29:30change the nation's attitude towards children's outdoor play.
0:29:30 > 0:29:35As the Moors murders story unfolded the horror of child abduction
0:29:35 > 0:29:38and a fear of strangers began to take hold.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41When they were arrested, they were put on trial
0:29:41 > 0:29:48and the details came out of the cruel deaths that these children had faced.
0:29:48 > 0:29:54It was so shocking in those days people didn't really talk about it,
0:29:54 > 0:29:56but as kids we knew something terrible had happened
0:29:56 > 0:30:01to those children, even though we didn't know the details.
0:30:01 > 0:30:05It was almost as if innocence had gone, do you know what I mean?
0:30:05 > 0:30:07And so we...
0:30:07 > 0:30:10Previous to that I'd been able to go off and play down by the canal,
0:30:10 > 0:30:14all sorts of things, but it used to be, "Oh, you can go out for an hour",
0:30:14 > 0:30:16or "Just go to the end of the street."
0:30:16 > 0:30:18That began to curtail what we did.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21The freedom of the streets children had once enjoyed
0:30:21 > 0:30:23would also be curtailed
0:30:23 > 0:30:26by long-running slum clearance programmes, which saw thousands
0:30:26 > 0:30:30of Victorian terraced streets, like these in Salford, condemned,
0:30:30 > 0:30:32to make way for modern estates.
0:30:36 > 0:30:39But the demolition of neighbourhoods often took years to complete
0:30:39 > 0:30:42and the children of the last families to move out
0:30:42 > 0:30:45enjoyed a final opportunity for fun and games in the ruins.
0:30:45 > 0:30:50One of the boys playing here was Paul Ramsbottom.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54You had all these houses, that people once lived in, now empty,
0:30:54 > 0:30:56so it was an adventure area for children.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00We'd go and make dens, and if somebody moved out
0:31:00 > 0:31:03we'd get all the furniture and stack it on the bonfire,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06and if we got bored we used to have target practise with the windows.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09We just used to throw a half brick through them.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12Nobody bothered because they were coming down the following day.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17These children were the last generation to enjoy
0:31:17 > 0:31:20some Salford street games that had changed little for a century.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24They were witnessing the death of a community
0:31:24 > 0:31:28in which home and outdoor play were closely bound together.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30I felt a little bit lost.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34I'd look at the area and I'd see the bulldozer coming down,
0:31:34 > 0:31:37and I'd see me wall falling in
0:31:37 > 0:31:39and I'd think, "I used to sleep in that bedroom.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42"That was my little haven,
0:31:42 > 0:31:45"my world, that little room."
0:31:45 > 0:31:48Bit by bit, I was watching the roof fall in,
0:31:48 > 0:31:52me mum's and dad's bedroom caved in and it was just a rubble.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55I just thought, that's so strange, one minute it's there
0:31:55 > 0:31:57and the next minute it's gone.
0:31:57 > 0:32:01Growing up in the tower blocks that replaced the terraced streets
0:32:01 > 0:32:04would be a very different experience for the next generation.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08On anonymous estates, the dangers posed by strangers
0:32:08 > 0:32:10was a constant worry for parents.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13'A door...'
0:32:13 > 0:32:16They used television to keep children occupied indoors
0:32:16 > 0:32:18and out of harm's way in the streets below.
0:32:21 > 0:32:26Keith Dover grew up in a tenement block in east London in the '60s.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29There were certain things you just couldn't do.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31You couldn't go there, you couldn't go there.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35If you did, you had to say who you were with
0:32:35 > 0:32:37and what time you'd be back.
0:32:37 > 0:32:41Even though I was allowed to play downstairs with various friends,
0:32:41 > 0:32:45I always knew my mother would probably be looking down on you.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Even though that area there was no cars, there was always that sense
0:32:49 > 0:32:54you were being watched and I could only go so far within a certain area.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57I couldn't go out of sight, so to speak.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59'This is my brother, George.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01'This is Mummy.
0:33:01 > 0:33:05'She is always telling us we must never talk to strangers,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07'no matter how nice they are.'
0:33:07 > 0:33:11Public information films, warning of the dangers of strangers,
0:33:11 > 0:33:13helped to create an atmosphere of suspicion,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17a world away from the trust enjoyed in the old communal streets.
0:33:17 > 0:33:21It was instilled into you, "Don't talk to strangers."
0:33:21 > 0:33:23"Don't take sweets off a stranger,
0:33:23 > 0:33:25"don't talk to this person, that person."
0:33:25 > 0:33:30'If someone you don't know offers you something, always refuse.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33'Never, ever, talk to strangers.'
0:33:33 > 0:33:36You'd guess there was other people out there with other motives,
0:33:36 > 0:33:39even though I didn't understand them at the time.
0:33:41 > 0:33:45Even in the middle class suburbs, the out-of-school play of children
0:33:45 > 0:33:48became more structured and closely supervised.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52One of the advantages of ballet for young girls,
0:33:52 > 0:33:54was that it could be turned into a game,
0:33:54 > 0:33:55played in the safety of the home.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59Amongst the many girls of the '60s who dreamt of
0:33:59 > 0:34:03being a dancing princess, was Londoner, Francis Lundy.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05My parents had a lot of classical music in the house
0:34:05 > 0:34:08which I used to listen to a lot because it was there, it was on.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12My mother also used to turn on the television for me
0:34:12 > 0:34:13and put the test card up,
0:34:13 > 0:34:16which played more classical music,
0:34:16 > 0:34:19but I really liked that because I enjoyed dancing.
0:34:19 > 0:34:23I would spend hours and hours making up dances,
0:34:23 > 0:34:27watching my reflection in the screen to see if it was OK.
0:34:27 > 0:34:33All the practise culminated in performances in the back garden.
0:34:33 > 0:34:37We used to find a costume to wear, costumes that we liked.
0:34:37 > 0:34:38We had a big dressing-up box
0:34:38 > 0:34:41and all the friends had these dressing-up boxes and costumes
0:34:41 > 0:34:45from maybe shows that our ballet schools had done with us.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49We used to put them on, get some props, rummage around in the attic
0:34:49 > 0:34:53for things like golden leaves or baubles that we could make
0:34:53 > 0:34:55some sort of story around, put the music on
0:34:55 > 0:34:59and spend the whole day making the dance up,
0:34:59 > 0:35:02and then at the end of the day perform it for our parents.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06With children spending more time indoors, the influence
0:35:06 > 0:35:10of children's television became even more powerful.
0:35:10 > 0:35:15Talent shows like Junior Showtime fostered more brash and popular
0:35:15 > 0:35:20ideas of child stardom that made ballet seem very old-fashioned.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24Boys and girls rehearsed their acts in bedrooms and back gardens
0:35:24 > 0:35:28all over Britain, in the hope that they would win fame and fortune.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33# Never thought I could be a star
0:35:33 > 0:35:41# Never thought I could go so far, But look, Ma, it's me, on TV... #
0:35:41 > 0:35:45A contestant on one of the shows was Linda, who by the age of 12
0:35:45 > 0:35:49had progressed from writing poetry to become a singer-songwriter.
0:35:50 > 0:35:55The song that I wrote was called Mother Don't Interfere.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58I'm not sure whether my mum was too keen on that one.
0:35:59 > 0:36:04I don't remember all of it, but I remember one verse. It said,
0:36:04 > 0:36:08# Mother always tries to help me, Sometimes hinders me
0:36:08 > 0:36:13# Tries to make me see things that I don't want to see
0:36:13 > 0:36:18# Mother, don't interfere Next time that love is near
0:36:18 > 0:36:22# Next time love comes my way, I'm gonna keep it,
0:36:22 > 0:36:24# No matter what you say. #
0:36:26 > 0:36:30By the '70s, 25 years of immigration had transformed British society.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Racial conflict and the political backlash against
0:36:33 > 0:36:39the new ethnic minorities, or anyone from a mixed-race background,
0:36:39 > 0:36:40also crept into children's play.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44There was an upsurge of bullying in the school playground,
0:36:44 > 0:36:49which even extended to predominantly white middle-class areas.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54One of the targets for racial taunts was Nimmy March.
0:36:55 > 0:36:57There was a clapping game,
0:36:57 > 0:37:01this was towards the end of my time at primary school, which was,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04"If you're white, you're all right,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07"if you're brown, hang around, if you're black, stay back,
0:37:07 > 0:37:09"go back, go back."
0:37:09 > 0:37:13And that was one of the things that was...
0:37:13 > 0:37:16levelled, and then there would be loads of giggling,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19because there I was, and it was fairly obvious who it was about.
0:37:19 > 0:37:22Children's television programmes conjured up
0:37:22 > 0:37:24a cosy, traditional world.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28But in the 1970s and '80s, Britain was being transformed
0:37:28 > 0:37:30into a multi-racial society,
0:37:30 > 0:37:34briefly glimpsed by the use of a black presenter.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36# We all put salt On our fish and chips
0:37:36 > 0:37:38# And add a dash of vinegar too. #
0:37:38 > 0:37:42'Adapting to mainstream British culture and finding an identity
0:37:42 > 0:37:43'was not easy for the children of
0:37:43 > 0:37:47'first generation Afro-Caribbeans and Asians.'
0:37:47 > 0:37:50That will be 60p, please.
0:37:50 > 0:37:53A bargain. There you are, Humpty, you sit there.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56'A plate of fish and chips could take on great symbolic meaning.'
0:37:56 > 0:37:59You join in with us, have some fish and chips too.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06'Yasmin Hai grew up in north London.'
0:38:06 > 0:38:12'There was another Asian girl who was as English as I was,'
0:38:12 > 0:38:15and that obviously created problems,
0:38:15 > 0:38:18because I was quite happy that there was someone who I felt my father
0:38:18 > 0:38:21would really approve of, so I quite liked her,
0:38:21 > 0:38:23but she really did not like me.
0:38:23 > 0:38:26She would do everything to make sure I was marginalised
0:38:26 > 0:38:28in any of the games we were playing.
0:38:28 > 0:38:33'Then one day, Yasmin's friend moved in for the kill.'
0:38:33 > 0:38:36# We all put salt On our fish and chips... #
0:38:36 > 0:38:39'We were having school dinners, and even though I was
0:38:39 > 0:38:40'trying to be brilliantly English,'
0:38:40 > 0:38:44I made a cardinal sin of putting black pepper on my food,
0:38:44 > 0:38:48which hinted at the fact that I ate spicy food.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51As soon as she saw that, she ran in and said,
0:38:51 > 0:38:56"You're a curry lover, you curry loving Asian."
0:38:56 > 0:38:58And I was like, "No, I'm not.
0:38:58 > 0:39:01"I eat fish and chips every day, my mum cooks it every day."
0:39:01 > 0:39:04We had this bizarre fight, kind of slanging match,
0:39:04 > 0:39:07with all our English girlfriends watching on,
0:39:07 > 0:39:10not understanding what we were talking about.
0:39:10 > 0:39:11We were trying to outdo each other
0:39:11 > 0:39:14on who ate the most English dishes at home.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17She had steak and kidney pie. I had fish and chips.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20she had sausages and mash. I had rolypoly, whatever.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22We would be making it up.
0:39:22 > 0:39:27# You see, I am Wonder Mic and I like to say hello... #
0:39:27 > 0:39:30But as the '80s began, a new black music and street culture
0:39:30 > 0:39:33arrived in Britain that was inspirational
0:39:33 > 0:39:36for Afro-Caribbean children - hip-hop.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Originating in the Bronx neighbourhood of New York,
0:39:39 > 0:39:41it gave birth to a new cool -
0:39:41 > 0:39:43breakdancing, rapping and DJs.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45It gave a voice to the young black generation,
0:39:45 > 0:39:48celebrating their culture
0:39:48 > 0:39:51and protesting against the racism they faced.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53The hip-hop scene was irresistible
0:39:53 > 0:39:55for many young boys growing up in London.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57They were often introduced to it
0:39:57 > 0:40:00by older brothers, like 10-year-old Jonzi D.
0:40:01 > 0:40:05I remember my brother playing me a track
0:40:05 > 0:40:08by a group called the Sugarhill Gang.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10When I heard this track...
0:40:10 > 0:40:14# I said a hip hop the hippie the hippie, to the hip hip hop
0:40:14 > 0:40:17# A you don't stop a rockin' to the bang bang boogie, say up jumped. #
0:40:17 > 0:40:18..I could remember it.
0:40:18 > 0:40:22The excitement that surrounded early New York hip-hop
0:40:22 > 0:40:26and the breathtaking feats of the first breakdancers
0:40:26 > 0:40:27inspired boys like Jonzi D
0:40:27 > 0:40:30to develop and perfect their own routines.
0:40:30 > 0:40:32We didn't have
0:40:32 > 0:40:37that much access to quote unquote "real breakdancing technique".
0:40:37 > 0:40:38We just got the little bits
0:40:38 > 0:40:41that we got from things like Buffalo Gals,
0:40:41 > 0:40:44which was a great video.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48We'd all get little clips of it and practise together.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51My personal specialist move, which was the backspin.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56I just whipped the legs around, spi-i-i-in, freeze.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59# I got chills, they're multiplyin'. #
0:40:59 > 0:41:01Around this time, the American hit film Grease
0:41:01 > 0:41:05also captured the imagination of British children,
0:41:05 > 0:41:08with its celebration of the retro chic of the '50s teenager.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11- # It's electrifyin'! # - The most iconic scene,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14when Sandy sexes up her image and wins Danny's heart,
0:41:14 > 0:41:17was acted out in school playgrounds all over Britain.
0:41:17 > 0:41:19# You better shape up
0:41:19 > 0:41:21# Cos I need a man. #
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Yasmin Hai's survival instincts were again pushed to the limit.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27I wasn't allowed to see this film,
0:41:27 > 0:41:30but I had to pretend to the other girls I had seen it.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33In fact, I said I'd seen it three or four times.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38This was a film which basically took over the playground.
0:41:38 > 0:41:39Everyone was playing it.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42You'd get into groups of girls and you'd act out a scene.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48For some reason, I'd got it wrong and someone said,
0:41:48 > 0:41:52"Actually, that's not how you do it." I said, "Yes, it is."
0:41:52 > 0:41:53They said, "No, it's not,
0:41:53 > 0:41:57"because actually she throws the cigarette down, then stubs it out."
0:41:57 > 0:42:01She doesn't do whatever I'd done. And I felt so embarrassed,
0:42:01 > 0:42:03"Oh, my God, I'm gonna be found out, this is it."
0:42:03 > 0:42:06# The one that I want, you are the one I want, ooh-ooh-ooh. #
0:42:06 > 0:42:11And then luckily, I dreamt that night that John Travolta and I
0:42:11 > 0:42:15had walked down my road together arm-in-arm, and I felt so convinced
0:42:15 > 0:42:18that I was really bold in my assertion.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20I said, "No, this is what she did."
0:42:20 > 0:42:24Because I sounded so forceful, everyone believed me.
0:42:24 > 0:42:25# Friends
0:42:26 > 0:42:27# How many of us have them? #
0:42:27 > 0:42:32The hip-hop scene, with its home-grown bedroom DJs and raps,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34spoke to black children
0:42:34 > 0:42:38who had to grow up fast in a tough urban environment.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41Improvised rapping gave boys a rare chance
0:42:41 > 0:42:43to express intimate emotions on personal issues
0:42:43 > 0:42:48that deeply affected them, like making and breaking friends.
0:42:49 > 0:42:50# Friends
0:42:51 > 0:42:53# Ones we can depend on. #
0:42:53 > 0:42:58There was one track by a group called Houdini that was called Friends.
0:42:58 > 0:43:02MIMICS TRACK # How many of us have them? #
0:43:02 > 0:43:07I remember at the time, I fell out with a lot of friends of mine.
0:43:07 > 0:43:13So that tune just rang so true to me. It really meant stuff, you know?
0:43:13 > 0:43:17And I'd sing it and make my own little version of it.
0:43:17 > 0:43:18# Friends
0:43:20 > 0:43:22# How many of us have them?
0:43:22 > 0:43:25# Let's be friends. # RAPS: I don't need them at all
0:43:25 > 0:43:28Cos when they wanna play ball
0:43:28 > 0:43:30I can't play because I am not good
0:43:30 > 0:43:32But I don't care it's my neighbourhood!
0:43:32 > 0:43:33Huh!
0:43:35 > 0:43:37From the mid-70s onwards,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40the influence of television was so pervasive,
0:43:40 > 0:43:43children stayed up later to watch cult shows
0:43:43 > 0:43:45like The New Avengers.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48Secret Agent Purdey,
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Joanna Lumley, became the new role model for fashionable young girls,
0:43:51 > 0:43:55who all dreamt of having a Purdey haircut.
0:43:55 > 0:43:58Dawn Bodey grew up in Warrington.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02I remember just wanting that haircut.
0:44:02 > 0:44:04I had to have that haircut.
0:44:04 > 0:44:08"Mum, can I have my hair cut like her off the Avengers?"
0:44:08 > 0:44:11Running in and getting that haircut.
0:44:11 > 0:44:13I remember the woman saying to me,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16"Do you want all that lovely hair cut off?"
0:44:18 > 0:44:20I went, "Yeah."
0:44:20 > 0:44:24And I had my lollipop, and I walked back down Prescot Road
0:44:24 > 0:44:26and I saw my friend, Leslie Strettle.
0:44:26 > 0:44:28She said to me,
0:44:28 > 0:44:31"Your hair looks lovely." I said, "Do you want my lolly?"
0:44:31 > 0:44:35Childhood became more commercialised as the toy industry used television
0:44:35 > 0:44:38to target ever younger children
0:44:38 > 0:44:41with dreams of a glamorous jet-set lifestyle.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44Most popular for girls was the American fashion doll, Barbie.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48ADVERT: 'What do you give Barbie? The glamorous star
0:44:48 > 0:44:51'who has everything, who has a wardrobe of fabulous clothes.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54'The girl who rides her own thoroughbred stallion called Dallas.'
0:44:54 > 0:44:57With less opportunities for outside play,
0:44:57 > 0:45:01children spent more time in their bedrooms playing fantasy games
0:45:01 > 0:45:05inspired by their favourite television programmes.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09This was doll's house heaven for Dawn Bodey
0:45:09 > 0:45:11and her younger sister Michelle.
0:45:11 > 0:45:13We would play with little Pippa dolls,
0:45:13 > 0:45:15which are half the size of Barbies,
0:45:15 > 0:45:19but we would invent other things. My mum might have an ornament,
0:45:19 > 0:45:23so we would bring the ornaments in. We'd have a big den set up
0:45:23 > 0:45:28on the floor and we'd make things out of bandages and plasters.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32We had a little Fonz doll so he would be included.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36Starsky and Hutch that my mum had knitted cardigans for.
0:45:36 > 0:45:37We would play for hours.
0:45:37 > 0:45:40I got like an apartment really,
0:45:40 > 0:45:44and Dawn loved it. She thought it was fabulous.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Sometimes we'd sit for hours,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50pretending that we was living in this apartment.
0:45:50 > 0:45:52# 99 red balloons... #
0:45:52 > 0:45:55But where they could, children still enjoyed running free,
0:45:55 > 0:46:00letting off steam in playing fields and play spaces on the new estates.
0:46:00 > 0:46:04The boys' heroes and the games they played remained quite traditional.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07War games and football, amongst the most popular.
0:46:07 > 0:46:10To be good at football was the easiest way to win respect
0:46:10 > 0:46:13and popularity amongst a group of boys.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15And one added bonus,
0:46:15 > 0:46:18you got to be first pick when the teams were chosen.
0:46:18 > 0:46:21Craig Livingstone grew up in Congleton.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25One of the perks was you could pick the sides.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27Or if somebody else was picking the sides,
0:46:27 > 0:46:31they would be like, "If you're having Craig, I'm having him."
0:46:31 > 0:46:34It was always nice to be picked up first.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37You would be like, "Who should we get?" "Don't pick him. Pick him."
0:46:37 > 0:46:39You know what I mean? You'd have an input.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41Even though you weren't picking,
0:46:41 > 0:46:44because you were like... "I'm having Craig." ..the first picked.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47It'd be like a football manager.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51"What do you reckon?" "Don't go for him. Pick him."
0:46:51 > 0:46:52"Yeah, we'll have him."
0:46:52 > 0:46:54# It started with a kiss. #
0:46:54 > 0:46:57However, for girls to be popular,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00you had to look good, or so it seemed to the children of the '80s.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04The fashion industry was putting pressure on girls
0:47:04 > 0:47:07to look ever more glamorous so that even 10-year-olds
0:47:07 > 0:47:10couldn't always face the world without make-up.
0:47:10 > 0:47:12I wouldn't go to the shop without my make-up on.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16I wouldn't go anywhere without my mascara, my blusher.
0:47:16 > 0:47:18And I'd go, "Yeah, I'll go to the shop now, Mum."
0:47:18 > 0:47:21And the shop, literally, was 20 yards away.
0:47:21 > 0:47:23I wouldn't go out without my make-up on.
0:47:23 > 0:47:25I'd go in my pyjamas, as long as I had make-up on.
0:47:25 > 0:47:27# Video killed the radio star... #
0:47:27 > 0:47:29Girls couldn't wait to grow up.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32The first bra was a symbol of sex appeal.
0:47:32 > 0:47:37But boob size could also be a source of embarrassment and teasing
0:47:37 > 0:47:39in the playground, as Michelle Bodey
0:47:39 > 0:47:41and her older sister Dawn discovered.
0:47:41 > 0:47:44The boys used to sing a song to Dawn and it went,
0:47:44 > 0:47:46"She's got big tits you wanna see,
0:47:46 > 0:47:48"You wanna know her name, it's Dawn Bodey."
0:47:48 > 0:47:51Then I remember my friends singing, "She's got no tits,
0:47:51 > 0:47:54"you don't wanna see, you wanna know her name, it's Michelle Bodey."
0:47:54 > 0:47:58Then one day, Michelle thought she'd discovered
0:47:58 > 0:48:01the secret of how to develop bigger boobs.
0:48:01 > 0:48:04When I was 11 and I first went into high school,
0:48:04 > 0:48:06I remember a girl in my form
0:48:06 > 0:48:10had big boobs. I remember saying to her, "Why have you got big boobs?"
0:48:10 > 0:48:13She said to me, "Because I put vinegar on them."
0:48:13 > 0:48:15I remember going home, going into the kitchen cupboard,
0:48:15 > 0:48:18looking around to make sure that Dawn wasn't around,
0:48:18 > 0:48:22getting the vinegar out and actually putting vinegar on my boobs.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25And the next day, waking up thinking, "Are they any bigger?"
0:48:26 > 0:48:30One of the few new commercialised trends
0:48:30 > 0:48:33of the television age that encouraged outdoor play
0:48:33 > 0:48:36was the craze for BMX racing, which gripped the imagination
0:48:36 > 0:48:39of boys in the '80s. Like so many other children's fashions,
0:48:39 > 0:48:40it arrived from America.
0:48:40 > 0:48:44The new lightweight performance bikes were the ultimate boy's toy
0:48:44 > 0:48:48for 8 to 12-year-olds. Owning and racing a BMX bike
0:48:48 > 0:48:49was like a coming of age ritual
0:48:49 > 0:48:52for boys who wanted to prove their independence.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55Soon as you got a bike, it was like you'd got a set of wings.
0:48:55 > 0:48:59Because you'd go, "I'm going out on my bike, just around the corner."
0:48:59 > 0:49:02You'd be gone, right to the far end of the estate,
0:49:02 > 0:49:04meet up with such-and-such who's got a bike
0:49:04 > 0:49:06and he'd pick such-and-such up.
0:49:06 > 0:49:08Next thing, there'd be 20, 25 of you,
0:49:08 > 0:49:11thrashing around on BMXs, going hell for leather.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14# Boys don't cry... #
0:49:14 > 0:49:17The BMX obsession created a thriving industry
0:49:17 > 0:49:20of magazines and fashionable sportswear,
0:49:20 > 0:49:24all designed to feed the macho fantasies of every young boy.
0:49:24 > 0:49:27I remember when you got your pocket money,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30you started thinking about buying BMX clothing.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33You'd have your gloves and then your BMX racing suit
0:49:33 > 0:49:36and you were whoever was the world BMX champion, that was you.
0:49:36 > 0:49:40You were instantly transformed. It was like it gave you superpowers.
0:49:41 > 0:49:47However, by the late '80s, watching TV had overtaken everything else
0:49:47 > 0:49:49as children's most popular activity.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52- Who watches Neighbours? ALL:- Yeah!
0:49:52 > 0:49:55Much of their viewing was cartoons and soaps.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59- Who watches Ghostbusters?- Yeah!
0:49:59 > 0:50:04There was growing concern with the physical and psychological effects
0:50:04 > 0:50:08of children's ever increasing daily diet of television viewing.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10Healthy outdoor play was continuing to decrease,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14but the biggest home entertainment for children was just beginning -
0:50:14 > 0:50:16video games.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Manchester boy Nathan was hooked on Frogger,
0:50:19 > 0:50:23one of the first iconic video games of the '80s.
0:50:23 > 0:50:28Frogger was essentially like a very, very simple game. You get one frog
0:50:28 > 0:50:31to the other side of the screen by dodging traffic
0:50:31 > 0:50:33and logs that are swimming by and stuff,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36and it was really simple, but really addictive,
0:50:36 > 0:50:40and a lot of my childhood was spent just trying to make
0:50:40 > 0:50:44this virtual frog just survive, basically, in this virtual world.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49The interactive element which gave the players control
0:50:49 > 0:50:52over their fantasy characters was new and exciting.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56Early video games proved even more attractive and addictive than TV.
0:50:56 > 0:51:01It was just a great way to escape, like, the mundane life
0:51:01 > 0:51:03that I was leading at the time.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05I say "mundane". It wasn't terrible,
0:51:05 > 0:51:09but it was just like home life, there wasn't much else to do.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11My mum always wanted to keep an eye on me,
0:51:11 > 0:51:15what with her being a single mother and not wanting to, you know,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19let me out of her sight so much, so this was the perfect partnership -
0:51:19 > 0:51:22games and my mum, and then I'm in the house.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25But for younger children, whose TV viewing was restricted
0:51:25 > 0:51:28and who were encouraged to play outside,
0:51:28 > 0:51:32there could be a very different fantasy world on their doorstep.
0:51:32 > 0:51:33Even in back gardens,
0:51:33 > 0:51:36there was a secret world of nature to be explored
0:51:36 > 0:51:40which, for an imaginative child, could still conjure up
0:51:40 > 0:51:44fantasies of a fairy kingdom. This was the fantasy playground
0:51:44 > 0:51:48of Jennifer Breen. Her much older brother and sister
0:51:48 > 0:51:51decided to make it even more amazing for her.
0:51:51 > 0:51:54I believed in fairies, I used to play
0:51:54 > 0:51:58with imaginary fairies in the garden and, um,
0:51:58 > 0:52:00what my brother and my sister used to do,
0:52:00 > 0:52:03every morning they'd say, "The fairies have come, Jen. "
0:52:03 > 0:52:06So I'd be like, "Oh, my God, where? Where are they?"
0:52:06 > 0:52:08So they'd take me out to the garden,
0:52:08 > 0:52:11and they'd show me these white spots on leaves,
0:52:11 > 0:52:15and they'd say, "Look, that's where they've been dancing."
0:52:15 > 0:52:18I'd be like, "Oh, my God, the fairies love me, they've come to see me!"
0:52:18 > 0:52:22And then one day I found a J written in white,
0:52:22 > 0:52:26and the next day there was an E and next day an N, another N.
0:52:26 > 0:52:31"They're spelling out my name, they want me to be an honorary fairy!"
0:52:31 > 0:52:35And I kept all the leaves in this little box for years.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40In the '90s, Britain's public schools
0:52:40 > 0:52:42still provided the most secluded
0:52:42 > 0:52:46and disciplined world of all in which children could grow up
0:52:46 > 0:52:48free from what were regarded
0:52:48 > 0:52:51as the contaminating influences of popular culture.
0:52:51 > 0:52:54But this new middle-class generation, like their predecessors,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57weren't going to miss out on a chance to break the rules.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01For the most part, it was all good old-fashioned innocent fun.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05Chris Sowerbutts went to Charterhouse.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09I guess the whole point of a boarding school
0:53:09 > 0:53:14is very much to have you all quite uniformly under control.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17And so the most fun game was trying to break
0:53:17 > 0:53:20that little bit of control, if you like,
0:53:20 > 0:53:23sort of stretch the rules as far as you can without getting caught
0:53:23 > 0:53:25and them having to call your parents
0:53:25 > 0:53:28and say you've been a naughty boy or something like that.
0:53:28 > 0:53:329.29, right, one more minute. Good. Good night.
0:53:34 > 0:53:35'You have all this fun
0:53:35 > 0:53:39'during the day, and all these great experiences with your friends,
0:53:39 > 0:53:42- 'but it's really when the lights go down...'- Good night.
0:53:42 > 0:53:46- See you tomorrow.- '..that's when the real fun happens.'
0:53:46 > 0:53:48There was one guy who had a cricket bat,
0:53:48 > 0:53:51and we had a very, very long corridor, so he would stand
0:53:51 > 0:53:54at one end with the cricket bat, and we'd all sort of pop out
0:53:54 > 0:53:58and throw a tennis ball down there, and he'd just whack it back at us,
0:53:58 > 0:54:00and everyone's heads would be popping out,
0:54:00 > 0:54:02and it was just silly fun like that.
0:54:04 > 0:54:09But the pull of pop culture became irresistible for most boys and girls
0:54:09 > 0:54:15from around the age of eight. Every year, a new boy band emerged
0:54:15 > 0:54:19designed to cash in on the fantasies of pre-pubescent girls.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21'90s heart-throbs Take That, with Robbie Williams,
0:54:21 > 0:54:23were one of the most successful.
0:54:23 > 0:54:26# We've said goodbye
0:54:26 > 0:54:29# The taxi cab is waiting... #
0:54:31 > 0:54:35Tweenagers were targeted by the fashion industry and encouraged
0:54:35 > 0:54:38to keep up with the latest trends, helping to create a new
0:54:38 > 0:54:42and cruel popularity contest in school playgrounds.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46Things like pop stars
0:54:46 > 0:54:49and clothes, stuff that I'd never even taking any notice of,
0:54:49 > 0:54:52suddenly became everything.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59There was lots of sly kind of conniving name-calling,
0:54:59 > 0:55:03and codenames were used. Like when we were in the playground,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07just playing, I remember one codename would be Pepsi.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10So we'd all be standing in a circle, and they would say,
0:55:10 > 0:55:13"Oh, I hate Pepsi. Pepsi's disgusting.
0:55:13 > 0:55:16"Why would you drink Pepsi? It's so horrible!"
0:55:16 > 0:55:19And you know that they'd be talking about you,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22That was just their way of being able to openly bitch about you
0:55:22 > 0:55:25but, you know, they were talking about Pepsi.
0:55:25 > 0:55:29But one thing, I always used to do this, every single time, I'd be like,
0:55:29 > 0:55:33"Oh, yeah, I hate Pepsi. Pepsi's rubbish, Pepsi's horrible."
0:55:33 > 0:55:36That would be another reason for them to snigger and start laughing.
0:55:36 > 0:55:38# I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want... #
0:55:38 > 0:55:40The Spice Girls took children
0:55:40 > 0:55:44to new levels of posing and fashion fantasy.
0:55:44 > 0:55:47In 1996, they burst onto the British pop scene
0:55:47 > 0:55:49with their first hit single, Wannabe.
0:55:49 > 0:55:51Their mission was girl power,
0:55:51 > 0:55:54to show that girls were every bit as good
0:55:54 > 0:55:56or better than boys.
0:55:56 > 0:55:58I remember walking to school,
0:55:58 > 0:56:00and the girl I was walking to school with
0:56:00 > 0:56:02said, "Have you heard that song, Wannabe?"
0:56:02 > 0:56:05I was like, "Yeah, oh, my God, it's amazing."
0:56:05 > 0:56:09It was just such a huge thing. It was like a sudden wave
0:56:09 > 0:56:12over every girl of that age.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15But girl power was much more about fashion than feminism,
0:56:15 > 0:56:17and the emphasis on image and dress sense
0:56:17 > 0:56:20was not always as empowering as they pretended.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23Hi, I'm Scary Spice, Mel B.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25Hi, I'm Sporty Spice, Mel C.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27We were each one of the Spice Girls.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30One of them was Scary, one was Posh, and I was Baby Spice.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33So that was another of the codenames, they'd go,
0:56:33 > 0:56:36"Oh, I hate Baby Spice. Why would you like Baby Spice?
0:56:36 > 0:56:40"She's rubbish!" And I'd be sitting there going, "That's me!"
0:56:40 > 0:56:42- ALL:- Hi, we're the Junior Spice Girls,
0:56:42 > 0:56:47and we're here to show YOU what girl power means to us.
0:56:47 > 0:56:51The Spice Girls set the trend for the next decade with boys and girls,
0:56:51 > 0:56:55both rich and poor, more conscious of their image than ever before.
0:56:55 > 0:56:58The commercial interests that tried to turn children into consumers
0:56:58 > 0:57:03continued to encourage them to see shopping as the best game of all.
0:57:03 > 0:57:06Nevertheless, younger children's imagination
0:57:06 > 0:57:08and their instinct to play, run free
0:57:08 > 0:57:11and have fun remain as strong as ever.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15ALL:# I went into a baker's shop To buy a loaf of bread
0:57:15 > 0:57:18# Bread, bread He asked me what my name was... #
0:57:18 > 0:57:21Laura Kerr grew up in London in the '90s.
0:57:21 > 0:57:26We used to spend quite a lot of time in the playground
0:57:26 > 0:57:30playing skipping games, and we had all those pat-a-cake games as well,
0:57:30 > 0:57:32which came from different schools,
0:57:32 > 0:57:34and different people had their own versions of it.
0:57:34 > 0:57:35And one that I can remember,
0:57:35 > 0:57:38because it's really weird, they do stay in your head.
0:57:38 > 0:57:43# I went to a Chinese restaurant To buy a loaf of bread, bread, bread
0:57:43 > 0:57:46# They wrapped it up in a £10 note
0:57:46 > 0:57:48# And this is what they said, said, said
0:57:48 > 0:57:52# My name is Elvis Presley, boys are sexy
0:57:52 > 0:57:54# Sitting in the back seat, drinking Pepsi
0:57:54 > 0:57:56# Have a baby, in the Navy
0:57:56 > 0:57:57# Boys go kiss kiss, girls go whoo! #
0:57:57 > 0:58:00And then the girls used to lift their skirts up.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04# They're silly old men from China, ah-so! #
0:58:04 > 0:58:08Despite fears that the old playground games were disappearing,
0:58:08 > 0:58:12traditional children's play has survived into the digital age,
0:58:12 > 0:58:15but it is children aged nine and under who are the main torchbearers
0:58:15 > 0:58:19for the nation's centuries-old skipping and chasing games.
0:58:19 > 0:58:24In an era of commercialisation that encourages boys and girls
0:58:24 > 0:58:27to grow up ever faster, younger children
0:58:27 > 0:58:29still proudly uphold the rich tradition
0:58:29 > 0:58:32of Britain's outdoor play.
0:58:32 > 0:58:34# Here we go Looby Loo all on a Saturday night. #
0:58:34 > 0:58:38CHILDREN SING IN BACKGROUND
0:58:50 > 0:58:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd.
0:58:53 > 0:58:56E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk