Things that swept the playground

Basically objects/possesions that were popular whilst you were at School - things that everybody felt they had to be in on.

I'll share some ones that I went through at Primary/Secondary School - I expect some people on here around my age will be able to relate to these, obviously there will be a lot of different ones too.

I'm also quite interested to see what things everyone 'had to have' when the older members on here were at School too.

I'll list some of the things from the top of my head - some more might come to me later.

Light-up Yoyo's - No idea really why everybody was obsessed with the idea of owning one of these at primary.

Jawbreakers

Toxic Waste sweets - I remember a 'big' thing in my last years of primary when kids were buying in bulk and selling on in School making a fortune!

Pokemon - I can imagine you will have something to say about this. Bad days they were - when seemingly everything on the yard, football included, halted for these ridiculous playing cards. I never knew how to play the game, I don't think many people did, we just loved to collect them.

Livestrong and Stand Up Speak Up wristbands (amongst others) - We would tell ourselves that we were doing our bit for charity - but let's be honest as kids we wore them to look cool! I remember how hard I tried to get one of those bloody Nike campaign bands, they were just sold out everywhere.

When i was in Primary school everyone seemed to be mad about Pogs...

When i was in Primary school everyone seemed to be mad about Pogs...

Oh my God pogs! How could I forget them badboys! Then they started to come free in crisps didn't they!

Pokemon and the livestrong bands went down well in my school. People would pay like 30 quid for a shiny charizard card if I remember correctly. Massive rip off though, used to have to pay 2.50 for a pack! And they were full of s*** ones. It was only lik 50p for football stickers though. But pokemon was class, on gameboy it was immense, pokemon red I had, then I had gold! Great memories.

I remember those bully bands bein advertised on tv too. Idiots like rio ferdinand saying "I was the one you bla bla"

I'll try and think of some more to add.

Paper football was one of the main things that swept my middle school.

Pokemon and the livestrong bands went down well in my school. People would pay like 30 quid for a shiny charizard card if I remember correctly. Massive rip off though, used to have to pay 2.50 for a pack! And they were full of s*** ones. It was only lik 50p for football stickers though. But pokemon was class, on gameboy it was immense, pokemon red I had, then I had gold! Great memories.

I remember those bully bands bein advertised on tv too. Idiots like rio ferdinand saying "I was the one you bla bla"

I'll try and think of some more to add.

Haha yeah! Then fake ones started to be introduced - the one's that were just stickers, that you could peel off the card. It was annoying when people tried to swap them for your decent ones pretending that they were better.

The wristbands though, jeesh there were so many. I actually still wear my black and white one to this present day at times.

Anyone remember these?

I love this already even if I do say so myself

Yeah they were superb! Do they still exist? Haven't seem them around for time. They were another sweet that people were obssessed with.

Oh and these:



My School went through a stage of selling them at one point - went down brilliantly. Then Jamie Oliver syndrome kicked in.

Haha yeah! Then fake ones started to be introduced - the one's that were just stickers, that you could peel off the card. It was annoying when people tried to swap them for your decent ones pretending that they were better.

The wristbands though, jeesh there were so many. I actually still wear my black and white one to this present day at times.

Ye I remember the fake ones they were pathetic, stupid thing is though hardly any one "battled" with the cards, it was abit pointless tbh. I feel sorry for my parents when I used to ask them to get me some. 2.50 for like 7 cards. The footie stickers were better I reckon, me and me mates used to make teams of them and put em on the table. Then we'd say who'd win in a match! You could put them in the book then. I've still got some stickers and the magazine from the 1998 world cup actually, and it's got players like Taribo west. haha.

I had the racism ones yer, there was alot of variation after the livestrong one. That one was good though, the original like.

The most popular item in our school tuck shop all those years ago were...



Some other classics though...

Sherbet Fountain - brill.

I found it funny how with our tuck shop, when it sold products like Nik Nak's etc it was so popular, must have brought in quite a bit of money. Then when the healthy eating thing came in it was withdrawn after about a month!

Ye I remember the fake ones they were pathetic, stupid thing is though hardly any one "battled" with the cards, it was abit pointless tbh. I feel sorry for my parents when I used to ask them to get me some. 2.50 for like 7 cards. The footie stickers were better I reckon, me and me mates used to make teams of them and put em on the table. Then we'd say who'd win in a match! You could put them in the book then. I've still got some stickers and the magazine from the 1998 world cup actually, and it's got players like Taribo west. haha.

I had the racism ones yer, there was alot of variation after the livestrong one. That one was good though, the original like.

Footy stickers were quality but not everybody did those at my school. I remember I went to a 'Swap Shop' in Manchester to finish off the book - think it was 99/00 season.

Girls pretending to be the Spice Girls.. or Boys .. some of the boys did too. Umm Pokemon cards defo.. and POGS.. in juinor school in partcular ..I remember being obsessed. Also like friendship bracelets or bands where if you broke one you had to pay a certain price. YOYO's I remember having a Pro Yo rip off it was!

Mustn't forget these:

I love this already even if I do say so myself

Yeah they were superb! Do they still exist? Haven't seem them around for time. They were another sweet that people were obssessed with.

Oh and these:



My School went through a stage of selling them at one point - went down brilliantly. Then Jamie Oliver syndrome kicked in.

Oh i remember Wham bars, they were the business, pink with coloured sugary bits in it, oh yes!

Girls pretending to be the Spice Girls.. or Boys

Sad but true, i was Baby Spice, my best mate was sporty, we used to copy there dance routines...  I've said too much... 

Mustn't forget these:

I remember playing @ school quite well! it was a serious business though, they say the currency of her Majesty's prisons is sweets, well in that case it was conkers and tips on how to get them rock hard in our school!  One method was to soak them in vinegar for a week (or something similar) crazy days

Does anyone remember the Merlin footy albums? I used to get me dad to buy us a pack when he went Co-Op, Tesco etc for booze and fags! they were like the Pokemon of the nineties with shinys and limited edition galore, however I don't think I ever managed to finish one completely as there was always one or two that were like pure gold

Sad but true, I was Baby Spice, my best mate was sporty, we used to copy there dance routines...  I've said too much... 

Naturally i was Ginger Spice

I must say that this thread is to young for me,what ever happened to Bazooka Joe's,Joe 90, Captain Scarlet,bags of gold,Johnny 7's,Action Man,Sticky Lice,little plastic parachute men,fly-away balls,stilts,cans with string,steries(made up go-carts to the younger ones)one knock,may I,catch the girls kiss the girls the list is endless.
Ya don' know what ya missed.

I must say that this thread is to young for me,what ever happened to Bazooka Joe's,Joe 90, Captain Scarlet,bags of gold,Johnny 7's,Action Man,Sticky Lice,little plastic parachute men,fly-away balls,stilts,cans with string,steries(made up go-carts to the younger ones)one knock,may I,catch the girls kiss the girls the list is endless.
Ya don' know what ya missed.

I remember Captain Scarlet when I was very young. I had an action man and I had loads of those parachute men too. Fly away balls were boss. Talking of that, remember these bad boys?



And these?



Also, games we used to play. Tommy Tomato, British Bulldog, Murder Ball, L-O-N-D-O-N Spells London!

British Bulldog - SU-PERB!

We used to do last one onto the yard is it. Just an immense game that was!

British Bulldog - SU-PERB!

We used to do last one onto the yard is it. Just an immense game that was!

Class wasn't it! Did you ever play Murder Ball? That was even more exciting.

Class wasn't it! Did you ever play Murder Ball? That was even more exciting.

Remind me We might have called it something else!

British Bulldog was called Bulldogs Charge when we were at school.

Murder Ball runs along the lines of everyone beating the crap out of the person with the ball until he gets rid of it doesn't it?

Or i could be very wrong .

British Bulldog was called Bulldogs Charge when we were at school.

Murder Ball runs along the lines of everyone beating the crap out of the person with the ball until he gets rid of it doesn't it?

Or i could be very wrong .

Ah yes! We used to do one where two teams have goals and basically anything goes wherever the ball is. Basically if you had the ball - you were gonna be decked.

British Bulldog was called Bulldogs Charge when we were at school.

Murder Ball runs along the lines of everyone beating the crap out of the person with the ball until he gets rid of it doesn't it?

Or i could be very wrong .

Ah yes! We used to do one where two teams have goals and basically anything goes wherever the ball is. Basically if you had the ball - you were gonna be decked.

It was basically the same concept as Dodgeball but instead of throwing the ball at people, you'd be kicking it at them. If you didn't control the ball with your feet and it hit you above knees then everyone would run over and kick the sh*t out of you. So you had to be good with your feet. Loads of fun!

Aww man, those yo-yo's were boss.

Footbags were massive in my primary school, it all started when a group of freestylers came in to assembly to show off. Within a week everyone had one

Pokemon was huge when I was in primary school aswell along with whatever "tazos" you could get in the Chip packets at the time.

Slightly off-topic but when I was in fifth grade they had I think it was little digimon things in the packets and while I was in class a crow went to my bag and stole my twisties which whatever was left of them was all over the floor outside the classroom and the response of one of the kids was "hey look what I found, at least you've got your digimon thing." :

Our caretaker at Whitefield Road!

I love this thread! Brings back many memories, even if it was just a couple of years ago for me.

I don't if these were popular else where. But everyone was obsessed with Scoobies in high school a couple of years ago.





You just get a whole packet of strings and make these weird things out of them. I've still got my collection.  

Our caretaker at Whitefield Road!

 

I remember Captain Scarlet when I was very young. I had an action man and I had loads of those parachute men too. Fly away balls were boss. Talking of that, remember these bad boys?



And these?

Spot on. The illustrious Adidas Tango ball - and I think I had all of those YoYo's - the Fanta and Sprite ones as well.

Conkers - yep they were decent although mine we're always grim.

 Swaps?

What was that other annoying footie that was half-casey and half-flyaway?  I remember they didn't used to bounce and they were orange or red.

Aerobie Sprint was excellent!



And I couldn't find any images, but I remember at one time everyone playing footy with those mini Coca-Cola balls, but that was the early 90's.

Something along those lines weren't they? ^^^^^^^^^^

I distinctly remember some of our mates having a few that Coca-cola made for Italia '90.

Those footy matches were great, 9-a-side round the back of the sports hall on a dinnertime.

Happy days 

I distinctly remember some of our mates having a few that Coca-cola made for Italia '90.

Those footy matches were great, 9-a-side round the back of the sports hall on a dinnertime.

Happy days 

More or less, there wasn't any black on them though, I don't think.

Them matches were ace, though the ball used to end up on top of that little building to the left, don't remember what it was for now.

Hahahahaha yeah i think that was our form classroom for a little while.

I remember a few spectacular wind assisted hoofs that ended with the ball on top of the sports hall.

Hahahahaha yeah i think that was our form classroom for a little while.

I remember a few spectacular wind assisted hoofs that ended with the ball on top of the sports hall.

I feel old now.

That's coz we are mate

I admit approaching this topic with some degree of trepidation and reluctance

Yo-yo's were absolutely fantastic! I could walk a dog, or two

Those jacks things that you put on your knuckles.

Pick up sticks.

Pokemon!!!

Razorblades? I think thats what they were called. They had the battle arena and you spun yours against your mate and see who won. Fantastic game.

It was basically the same concept as Dodgeball but instead of throwing the ball at people, you'd be kicking it at them. If you didn't control the ball with your feet and it hit you above knees then everyone would run over and kick the sh*t out of you. So you had to be good with your feet. Loads of fun!

Isn't that raggy? If it hit you above the knee and below the neck, everybody got to dig you. Was much easier when the entire yard wasn't playing

German bas**rds was a good un as well. Another game where you got the sh*t kicked out of you, all for a letter. Pokemon cards ruled Windsor's yard an all, me and me mate Liam used to sell them

Erm Pokemon cards , Yugi oh cards , Bayblade , Scobeedoo's , tali ban scarf. (I am in my teens still)

Razorblades? I think thats what they were called. They had the battle arena and you spun yours against your mate and see who won. Fantastic game.

Beyblade wasn't it?

I hated that game!

Razorblade loool haha Yh kenny it was beyblede not sure about the spelling though.

Pokemon cards, football stickers, yo-yo's, conkers...same as everyone else.

British bulldogs was awesome although it got banned in our primary school because of people running off crying when they got hurt.  We also used to play a game called red rover I think it was, where you link hands with your team and call a member from the other team then they'll try to break through.  If they fail to do that then they join that team and the winner is the team with the most people at the end.  Anyone else play this?

Cracking thread this, brings back memories.

Haha Beyblade's! I think they were more of my younger bro's era though. Forgot about them, you could buy those circular 'arenas' for them too couldn't you!

Yeah oh how me and my brother would fight over who won the battles .

Isn't that raggy? If it hit you above the knee and below the neck, everybody got to dig you. Was much easier when the entire yard wasn't playing

My word that game shaped my childhood. So glad that someone else other than me and my mates know it as raggy.

Pokemon cards were class too. £2.50 a packet. You could sell a half decent shiny for a tenner.

I remember we swapped this girl a shiny Snorlax for 5 Miaows, because she loved cats. Poor cow didn't see it coming.

All the girls in my Primary school collected stickers, and put them into sticker albums, all different ones furry's, Bubbles, shiney's and cronies... Never understood why they were called Cronies...  Weird.

Oh yeah everyone would have the world cup 2006 book and put stickers in.

Im a lot older than you fellers, but i do remember loads of fights in the playground, they were always in style,
but i also remember

Kios, pod shoes, kickers
That game where loads of bull bearings firing really fast cant remember the name
Top Trumps (my kids now play these too, cant hold a good thing down)
Tie your schoolmates with long grass, and leave them there even after registration
S.P.O. T. against a suitable wall
kick the can
Lucky bags............top notch
Cola cubes, pineapple cubes
Space invaders
Granstand consoles
Chase the other schools pupils and try to batter them...he he

Lucky bags............top notch

I used to LOVE lucky Bags!

I graduated High School in 90'. So that was way before Pokemon and Anime stuff.  For me growing up it was Skate and BMX. Lots of stitches,broken wrists and road rash. For me it was Thrasher Magazine, Tony Hawk, Vision Shoes etc.Listening to Punk/Hardcore like D.R.I,Exploited,Minor Threat,
Black Flag.  It was more about the "Scene" then actual Items.

We used to have these Tazo things which were like pogs that you got in chip packtes. Also had a few games like "bull rush" which is exactly like your game of British bulldog. "Brandies" was another game that was ace you would line up a dozen or so fellas about 10 metres from a wall then one would throw a tennis ball against the wall with some force. The aim was to catch it  once it bounced back, but because it was thrown with such force at such a close distance catching it was nearly impossible and if you fumbled it you would have to make a run for it because who ever picked the ball up behind you or next to you had to "brand" you with the ball until you reached the wall and touched it for safety. It was absolutely boss especially in winter when it was cold and you branded someone from 5m away the pain was almost unbearable.

These:

and these:

I used to love these.

British Bulldog - SU-PERB!

We used to do last one onto the yard is it. Just an immense game that was!

How many times did this game end in tears! Unreal how much fun this was, especially when it was the whole Junior school playing (Boys only - at that time girls were smelly)...

Top Trumps (my kids now play these too, cant hold a good thing down)

Had dozens of those, used to love playing it!

Pokemon, yo-yo's etc..

Funny thing with pokemon, they got banned at our school so me and the other boys had to go and do "illicit pokemon deals" behind the groundskeeper sheds Ah, the days of innocence

Pokemon cards, football stickers, yo-yo's, conkers...same as everyone else.

British bulldogs was awesome although it got banned in our primary school because of people running off crying when they got hurt.  We also used to play a game called red rover I think it was, where you link hands with your team and call a member from the other team then they'll try to break through.  If they fail to do that then they join that team and the winner is the team with the most people at the end.  Anyone else play this?

Cracking thread this, brings back memories.

I remember playing Red Rovers. It got banned in our school because a guy broke a girl's arm.

LP, thanks for posting the Dennis the Menace lucky bag! You reminded me - I was in the Dennis the Menace official fan club when I was a kid!

Used to love playing marbles there were so many different games to play with marbles, and then beating the other guys and winning there marbles was good too.

I remember playing Red Rovers. It got banned in our school because a guy broke a girl's arm.

Haha it was a bit rough at times wasn't it?  You always tried to go for the weak link which tended to be the girls. 

If you went for the big bas**rds you tended to get clotheslined and that wasn't nice.

Haha it was a bit rough at times wasn't it?  You always tried to go for the weak link which tended to be the girls.  

If you went for the big bas**rds you tended to get clotheslined and that wasn't nice.

It was very rough. And the girls weren't the weak links at our school, we used to scratch people with our long nails and scream, and annoy the boys until they ran away.

And we didn't allow the big kids to play, we'd probably be dead otherwise.  

I was in the Dennis the Menace official fan club when I was a kid!

You must have had these then like me:





Do you remember the password to know if someone else was a fan?

DING...

I can't! I also had a little plastic wallet with Dennis on the front.

I was another Dennis fan club member! I got sent a bag and it had stuff that I can't remember in it! I used to think that kid was perhaps the coolest kid who never existed!

We had a strange game that got banned in our school, there was like a massive yellow circular table in the playground, and you would stand on it and run around whilst someone in the middle tried to shove you off, get shoved off though and it would hurt! An then you had to become a puller, and just pull people off it. Got banned after some parent complained when she saw her kid get pushed off!

Fake tattoo's i think was a craze at one point.

Them ones you would peel the front off and then hold a wet towel or something on it for a few minutes.

They came off easy though i think

I can't!

DING: Dennis Is Never Good.

Response is DONG: Dennis Owns Naughty Gnasher.

I wonder if any kids actually used the password?

Fake tattoo's i think was a craze at one point.

Them ones you would peel the front off and then hold a wet towel or something on it for a few minutes.

They came off easy though i think

I remember trying to apply in a place I shouldn't. Luckily I was stopped.

 :

Tattoo too big was it mate   

^ 

I stuck two on, but couldn't reconcile the gap?

I can't find my collection of the England World Cup Squad coins produced for Esso in 1970,Its'a full set in mint condition boxed and even contains Henry Newton.
It even has other stuff with it such as my World Cup Willie badge and other 66 memorabilia.

In the States we had Baseball Cards, Usually 10-12 cards a pack, with gum and then in every 10 packs you would pull a "special: card, limited edition with an authograph or game used material, like a uniform swatch, hologram or piece of a Baseball bat, etc...

Did they have EPL cards or any sort of Football cards in England?

YANK_LFC_FAN: Here's your answer.

There's a craze that recently swept across me and my mates, well we haven't really grown up yet I guess! :

Football cards by the name of Match Attax - does anyone here collect them? I'm in the 08/09 season now and about to complete the whole collection, about 40 cards more to go.

I vividly remember waiting for the school bell to ring, me and our mates would run to a nearby petrol station beside our school, and looking like cheeky idiots we would end up buying many packs of match attax. It's produced in the UK by a company called Topps, and there are many editions to it, base cards, star player, man of the match, limited editions and hundred clubs. There is also a one of a kind, autographed hunderd club Fabregas card. Only 100 of these in the world.

It is stupid I know but it would be interesting to collect the whole album. And nothing beats the adrenaline of opening a card pack!

In the States we had Baseball Cards, Usually 10-12 cards a pack, with gum and then in every 10 packs you would pull a "special: card, limited edition with an authograph or game used material, like a uniform swatch, hologram or piece of a Baseball bat, etc...

Did they have EPL cards or any sort of Football cards in England?

We've got cards similiar to that over here except there for AFL.