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Friday 2 October 2015

You didn’t say ‘peanut’

One of the most enduring games in Grandson’s school playground is one I played sixty years ago. In the fifties we called ‘tick n’hit’. Grandson calls it ‘tig’ but there are many other names.

From Wikipedia -
Tag (also known as it, tip you're it or tig [in regions of Britain], and many other names) is a playground game that involves one or more players chasing other players in an attempt to "tag" or touch them, usually with their hands. There are many variations; most forms have no teams, scores, or equipment. Usually when a person is tagged, they tagger says, "Tag, you're it".

In the playground this morning one boy managed to tag another but almost before he could run off, the tagged boy shrieked triumphantly ‘you didn’t say peanut’. So that was that, he escaped because he hadn’t been legitimately tagged at all.

The rule was new to me and I've watched them play for a few years now. It still looks like fun, but it also struck me how good the game is for learning about life, for avoiding petty failures via new rules others might not be aware of, for turning an apparent fait accompli on its head at the last minute.

Learn the lesson well chaps - learn it well.

5 comments:

Scrobs. said...

I still remember a nasty, withered bitch of a school mistress, Miss Sutton from near Rye in Sussex, who definitely had her favourites at my primary school, and I was never going to be one.

I was furious at being tagged after all sorts of shenanigans and running wild in the playground, and when I was 'tagged' by one of said favourites, I just reacted, by calling 'Had you back'!

Ugly tortuous Bitch teacher snarled and shrieked, that 'You can't do that, haaaaah, haaah, haaah,!

Hideous old harridan'!

People like that were worse than those teachers in 'The Wall'!

By Godfathers, Mr H, you've started me on the march for a large tincture immediately!

Unknown said...

"Before he could run off..... Surely that cannot be right. Did you say RUN off? I don't think you realise that commending a 'tag' with runners is highly irresponsible and you cannot have considered the risk factor involved.
Actually running in a playground is an extremely hazardous thing to do. What if one of the combatants fell over and slightly grazed a knee? Then what?
In the modern version and under elfinsayfty all taggers are required to walk quickly towards or away from one another. Not quite so exciting, and of course not fun, but the important thing is that it keeps the injury count down - which is the main thing to consider.

Sam Vega said...

I might try this technique myself, when I next require a little rule-circumvention.
"Good evening, Sir. I've just clocked you doing over fifty as you came round that bend. You braked sharply when you saw my car and the radar device, but the machine doesn't lie, Sir. Are you the owner of the vehicle?"

"Hi, Officer. I must admit that I was doing well over thirty, but I really don't give a shit about speed limits. I might well fail a breath test too. But then again, Officer, you didn't say 'peanut', did you?"

"Ermm...No, Sir. Fair point. Sorry to have bothered you, and I wish you a safe journey."

Demetrius said...

We had a bubonic plague version which was done by the cry of "your're dead".

A K Haart said...

Michael - poor teachers can do a great deal of harm. Do they realise how much?I doubt it.

Graham - they do run, but it's only a matter of time.

Sam - there must be a comedy sketch in there.

Demetrius - crikey that was a long time ago!