They called it Marbles, we calld it Bools

They called it Marbles

Wee Gibby folk called it Bools

Every youngster loved Bools, Lads or Lassies, but Bools ( Marbles ) came in different sizes, the common Bool was called a one'er, the next size up was a two'er, and so on,

For those who have never played Bools, the object is you toss your Bool about 8 to 10 feet away, and your opponent tosses his trying to hit yours, it's your turn next to try to hit your opponents where ever it landed, you take it in turns till a bool is struck then you claim that bool (Marble )

If your opponent has a larger Bool a Two'er, then you have to hit his twice before you can claim it, some lads would have Ball Bearing ( Large ) they would call it a ten'er or a twenty'er, I kept away from these cheat's because you would get half way through the game, and if he saw you were to good for him, say you struck his Bool 6 times out of 10, he would say " Got to go, that's ma Mammy shouting on me " so you could never win

This was a great game going to school, got the " Strap " more than once for being late

Some lads drew a large circle and you were only allowed to play in that circle, we never did that, our back close, was our pitch, or up & down Irwin St. we always carried bools in our pockets, some bools were just plain, but some were coloured with flashes of colour inside, a work of art, I hated losing them