GREAT waves of nostalgia start rolling in every time the subject of old-time street games crops up.

And following the recent item about tut-tut trolleys, made from pram wheels and planks of wood, Mrs K. Hughes of Campbell Street, St Helens, mentions an obscure childhood pursuit.

With just about the longest and oddest title on record, it was known as 'Pin, Stoney, Button, A Try,' and was generally played at the end of the skipping, hop-scotch and rounders seasons.

"Am I expecting too much," she writes, "in asking if anyone else remembers that game?"

And Mrs H helpfully describes the rules, equipment, and the way that she and her childhood chums played it.

There was a large old book containing a few coloured illustrations supplemented by an assortment of other pictures clipped out from newspapers and stuck inside.

Sought-after prizes, secreted among the pages, were a few postcards.

The book was opened and shut in a flash while the competitor stuck a pin between the pages hoping to bag a postcard.

"This you rarely did," says our long-memoried reader, "and if you happened to win a postcard they wouldn't let you have another go."

Another back-alley game involved the upturned lid of a Woodbines fag box.

Three holes were pierced in the lid, and the idea was to aim marbles so that they went through the holes and into the lid. A very difficult skill to master.

THANKS, Mrs H, for that glance back to a time when kids invented their own simple pleasures. Anyone else know of an unusual side-street game from the past? If so, please write to me.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.