Health ’n’ safety? Let kids have fun
I WAS delighted to see a childhood picture of myself and my sister Pamela playing hopscotch in Forgotten Britain In Glorious Colour (Weekend). Pamela is next in line, waiting her turn, while I am leaning against the wall, the middle one of five girls. The picture was taken in 1950 in Pooles Park, North London, when I would have been ten and Pamela would have been 12. We were not aware that we were being photographed. Pamela first saw the photo a few years ago and excitedly phoned to let me know. We have since seen it reproduced several times in newspapers and books, but never before in colour. Pamela and I were also pictured swinging around a lamppost, another activity we enjoyed, along with leapfrog. We would have got in big trouble with our mother if she had discovered that we had been playing in the street! These childhood photographs are special mementos to share with our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
PEARL PHILLIPS-OGLE, Buckingham. I WAS astonished that a headmaster told his pupils not to even touch the snow in case a child was injured by a snowball (Mail). Contrast this with the activities that took place during the snowy weather at my grandchildren’s school, Hall Grove in Bagshot, Surrey. The teachers joined the children to play in the snow and build a fort, named The White House, where some lessons took place. We don’t often get significant snowfall in this country and for the rest of our lives we will remember the fun we had as children in the snow. These childhood memories are truly invaluable and should not be spoiled by adults hidebound by health and safety rules and regulations. Mrs CHRISTINE SKEER, Sale, Cheshire. I DON’T begrudge the parents who took the day off work to go sledging with their children (Letters). If the schools close and there is no one else to care for their children, what are they supposed to do? They might as well make the most of it and enjoy the day with their family.
IRIS HALLAM, Liskeard, Cornwall.