Art and Garden Sessions - 11 - 1pm every Wednesday

Every Wednesday over summer Kathleen and I are running free art and gardening sessions in the Pembroke House Pocket Garden for children and families. This week was the first session of the holidays and was a great success! 

We had two mums from Victory House attend with their children, as well as our neighbours the Tang family.

We played a plant train game, suggested by eight year old Hannah, which consisted of Kathleen and I naming plants for the children to find joined together in a train. They then took samples of the plants including lavender and peas for their project books and drew a picture of them using sketching pencils. 

We also watered the garden using the hose and watering cans (reminding ourselves we need a can per child to avoid some rather messy tussles) and planted some seeds - Pak Choi and cress. From last week the Tang's seeds have begun to grow, with peas, radish and salad seeds sprouting in the sunshine already. Just a few weeks more and we will be able to eat them!

Eleanor Shipman

PLAY SWAP

Game Collection from Latin American dance group Gotitas de Sabor

On Saturday afternoon I went to visit the Latin American dance group Gotitas de Sabor (www.gotitasdesabor.com) in an empty shop unit at the edge of the Heygate to collect some new street games from the children. 

Monica, the director, welcomed me in to the group and kindly allowed me to chat to the young people and gather some games from them to add to my ever growing archive. The children were very enthusiastic and taught me some brilliant new games such as Splat!, Family It, Shooting and Stuck in the Mud. 

Eleanor Shipman

PLAY SWAP

Game Collection from Victory House Mum's Group

Janiece, a fantastic Outreach Worker from Victory House School, invited me to attend the mum's coffee morning she runs today to talk to the women about games from their childhoods and to invite them to attend PLAY SWAP sessions with their children over summer. 

The women were brilliant to work with, engaged and open to thinking back to days of playing outside as children across the world. Some amazing games were contributed: Rounders from Zambia, Hide and Seek and Pone from Ethiopia, Ready from Africa, Skipping from Sierra Leone, Nwanchu, Standard Living and Bolu Bolu from Nigeria and Football and Hide and Seek from Poland.

I was made to feel hugely welcome by Janiece and her lovely group, and very much hope to head back again soon to get playing. 

Eleanor Shipman

PLAY SWAP

Street game songs from the Lunch Club - and Lottie's 87th Birthday

The lunch club gave me some street game songs today, which some of them sang as children on these very streets. I am hoping to involve these in a short film I am currently planning as an archive of the PLAY SWAP project and street games collected from Walworth and Southwark in general. 




'Valencia, throw the ball up the wall. Tra laa laa laa.'
Linda


'Two little dicky birds sitting on a wall,
One named Peter one named Paul,
Fly away Peter, fly away Paul,
Come back Peter, come back Paul.'
Linda


'A gypsy said to me,
Would you like a cup of tea?
I said No No,
I like Co-coa
Down - in - the - glen.'
Janet


'Over the garden wall,
I let my baby fall,
My mother came out,
And gave me a clout,
Wondered what all the fuss was about,
Over the garden wall.'
Janet


'1, 2, 3 O'leary
My balls went down the airy*,
Give us a clip and ask for Mary.'
*basement
Joan

'High Jimmy Naker,
1, 2, 3 - All over!'
David

Surrey Square School - play time with over one hundred children...

PLAY SWAP at Surrey Square today was an extravaganza of new games. From Duck Duck Goose to Wink Murder, Sly Fox to Mr. Bear, the children and their teachers shared some fantastic games.

Eleanor Shipman

PLAY SWAP

PLAY SWAP Event with children and parents at Surrey Square TODAY!

This afternoon PLAY SWAP is visiting Surrey Square School to collect games from local parents and pass them on to and play them with local children. Pembroke House Lunch Clubbers have also been invited to share games previously collected from their childhoods growing up in the Walworth area. 


Looking forward to learning and playing more local games from around the world...








Eleanor Shipman
PLAY SWAP

More Kerbie and inventing new street games with a broom and some cones...

For PLAY SWAP today local boys Connor and Freddie came out to play Kerbie and Football (until the ball got stuck on the roof). We then invented some new games with a marble we found and a broom we had previously used to retrieve the ball from under a car.

The boys documented the afternoon with the disposable cameras left over from last week. Looking forward to seeing the results...

Eleanor Shipman

PLAY SWAP

Apple Crumble - Games with songs

I was recently donated a whole load of songs from Southwark, Walworth and Deptford recorded and archived in 1908 by local people who learnt them from their grandparents. 

At the Pembroke Academy of Music four girls showed me a contemporary local clapping and singing game called Apple Crumble.

Perhaps we could create some new singing games...