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Mavis et al
 
Have you assumed - as I have - that the peas referred to are dried rather than fresh ones?  
 
I recall a children's party game (? in the 1950s) which involved picking up dried peas by sucking on a drinking straw and transferring them, one at a time, from one bowl to another.  The winner was the child who transferred most in a given time.   
 
Maybe peas and pins was a variant of that, as Judy suggests, though 35 sounds an odd (in both senses) number.  
 
An aside - when I worked at the Child Development Research Unit at Nottingham University in the late 1960s, John and Elizabeth Newson were equipping a state-of-the-art play room. The child-height sand tray seemed fine until the cleaners complained that the sand ended up on the floor and the surface was being ruined. It was decided to replace the sand with dried peas.  All was well until a 'creative' child decided to pour water into the tray and, unattended over the course of a weekend, the peas decided to sprout!
 
Peter Barnes 



 

> Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:37:52 +0000
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: games played at a fete
> To: [log in to unmask]
> 
> **Please note that if you press the Reply button to respond to this mailing, it will be distributed to everyone on the Childlore List. If you want to make a personal reply, you will need to modify the Reply-To line of your message.**
> 
> Dear Judy, Thank you very much for these suggestions. The 'pencil and 
> lemon' suggestion sounds very convincing, as does the bean lifting. I'm not 
> so sure about the teaspoon and peas because also listed among the games is 
> .'spoon and marble race' which I take to be an egg and spoon race with 
> different materials. Any other suggestions warmly received! Mavis
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "jmckinty" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2011 12:18 AM
> Subject: Re: games played at a fete
> 
> 
> > **Please note that if you press the Reply button to respond to this 
> > mailing, it will be distributed to everyone on the Childlore List. If you 
> > want to make a personal reply, you will need to modify the Reply-To line 
> > of your message.**
> >
> > Dear Mavis,
> > Here are my guesses which may or may not be helpful:
> >
> > I've found a description of a game called 'Pencil-and-Lemon Race'. It 
> > comes from 'The Real Book of Games' by Joseph Leeming (Dobson Books, 
> > London, 1958), and involves players pushing a lemon along with a pencil. 
> > In the book it's a relay race, but it could just as well be an individual 
> > novelty race at a fete, using everyday items like a candle and a potato.
> >
> > In the same book, there's a description of a 'Bean-lifting Race', where 
> > players have to try to pick up a certain number of beans and transfer them 
> > onto a plate, using two toothpicks. Perhaps similar to 'Pin and Peas'?
> >
> > 'Teaspoon and Peas' immediately reminds me of a miniature version of an 
> > egg-and-spoon race.
> >
> > I hope this sparks some more definite responses.
> >
> > Best wishes,
> > Judy McKinty
> >
> >
> >
> > My first thought was that 'Teaspoon and peas' could be a version of the 
> > Egg & Spoon race
> >
> > Mavis Curtis wrote:
> >> **Please note that if you press the Reply button to respond to this 
> >> mailing, it will be distributed to everyone on the Childlore List. If 
> >> you want to make a personal reply, you will need to modify the Reply-To 
> >> line of your message.**
> >>
> >> I am writing up an account of a fete which probably took place about 1936 
> >> as one of the games is called the 'Coronation Race'. Among the games 
> >> played are 'Pins and peas' (there were 35 peas) and 'Teaspoon and peas' 
> >> ( again there were 35 peas.) Also listed is 'Candle and potatoes'. The 
> >> 100 yards flat race I can understand but I wondered if anyone knows what 
> >> the other games might consist of? I'd be very grateful for any advice. 
> >> Thank you . Mavis Curtis.
> >>
> >>