Dec 07 2011
Wasn’t skipping a great thing to do? You could do it on your own, you could do it with a pal or with a whole gang of other children. And all you needed was a bit of old rope long enough for the job. My sister showed me one time how to make sure it wasn’t too long or too short. In each hand you held an end of the rope and then you stood on the middle piece and stretched your two arms out as far as you could. She said in this way you could tell if the rope was just right for you. She got a brand new skipping rope for Christmas one year. It had two proper wooden handles at each end. If you screwed off one handle part you could look inside the other piece and see how the rope was knotted and held in place. When I first learned how to skip and run at the same time I thought I was great. I could run real fast all over Cabra West and never be tired. I always got to the shops faster for the Ma’s messages when I skipped there. I didn’t need batteries, electricity or petrol to get anywhere. Meself and the pals had a race from Killala Road to the playground on Fassaugh Avenue. It was great fun lashing past all the oul ones with their babies in the prams and they screaming and roaring after us…’Yous little gets, if I ever get me hands on yeahs…’ Off we’d go singing in harmony..’Look at whose coming down the street, dirty Nellie with Wah Wah feet…’ and not a worry in the world on us. And what was that song about the oul one with 16 inches of Guinness rope to keep her knickers tight??? I hope one of my grandkids gets a skipping rope from Santy this year…guess who’ll be trying it out!!!