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This book presents a unique annotated collection of some 2000 playground games, rhymes, and wordplay of London children. It charts continuity and development in childlore at a time of major social and cultural change and offers a detailed snapshot of changes in the traditions and language of young people. Topics include: starting a game; counting-out rhymes; games (without songs); singing and chanting games; clapping, skipping, and ball bouncing games; school rhymes and parodies; teasing and taunting; traditional belief and practice; traditional wordplay; and a concluding miscellany. Recorded mainly in the 1980s by primary schoolteacher Nigel Kelsey, transcribed verbatim from the children´s own words, and accompanied by extensive commentaries and annotation, the book sets a wealth of new information in the wider historical and contemporary context of existing studies in Britain, Ireland, and other parts of the English-speaking world. This valuable new resource will open new avenues for research and be of particular interest to folklorists and linguists, as well as to those working across the full spectrum of social, cultural, and educational studies.

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Introduction.- Part I: Games and Game Rhymes, Chants, and Songs.- Chapter 1. Starting a Game.- Chapter 2. Counting-out Rhymes.- Chapter 3. Games (Without Songs).- Chapter 4. Singing and Chanting Games.- Chapter 5. Clapping Games.- Chapter 6. Skipping Games.- Chapter 7. Ball Bouncing Games.- Part II: Rhymes, Songs, Beliefs, and Wordplay.- Chapter 8. School Rhymes and Parodies.- Chapter 9. Teasing and Taunting.- Chapter 10. Traditional Belief and Practice.- Chapter 11. Just for Fun.- Chapter 12. Miscellany.

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N. G. N. Kelsey worked as a primary school teacher in London from 1952 until his retirement in 1982. During this time, he collected examples of the language and lore of the children under his care.
Janet E. Alton is an independent researcher based at the Centre for English Traditional Heritage, UK.
J. D. A. Widdowson is Director of the Centre for English Traditional Heritage, UK.
Janet E. Alton and J. D. A. Widdowson have collaborated on projects and publications in linguistics and folklore for over forty years, within the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition (NATCECT) at the University of Sheffield, which Professor Widdowson founded in 1964 and directed until 2004. Janet Alton took a master´s degree in NATCECT, later appointed Honorary Research Associate, and a Leverhulme Fellowship enabled her to begin adding the wealth of annotations and references to Nigel Kelsey´s basic collection. Professor Widdowson founded the Centre for English Traditional Heritage (CETH) in 2000 and he and Janet co-edit the Centre´s e-journal, Tradition Today. Professor J. D. A. Widdowson´s doctoral dissertation was on the traditional social control of children. He is an internationally respected scholar, author of a wide range of books and articles on English language, linguistics, and cultural tradition, and member of all the major learned societies in the field. Hon DLitt, Memorial University of Newfoundland. Hon DLitt, University of Edinburgh. Awarded the Folklore Society´s prestigious Coote Lake Medal in 2000.

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