Last updated 21:28, Thursday, 27 March 2008

ROBERT Coon (letters, March 21) implies that I harbour romantic notions about the Uppies and Downies, and that I have no first-hand experience.

I have never had the temerity to play in it, but I have watched several games from start to finish in Workington, as well as similar games in Ashbourne, Kirkwall and Alnwick.

I have written a long article on all these games, past and present; there is, or was, a copy in Workington Library, also in Carlisle Library and  in the Cumbria Records Office in Carlisle.

My remarks on barricading are simply stating what other towns do.

All towns with the game have met with those wishing to suppress or hamstring it, from time to time. Mr Coon is evidently one of these.

Settling of old scores is a West Cumberland trait, in this and other games, such as ordinary football.

It is commonly stated that Workington's Uppies and Downies has no rules, but it has at least two, namely:

Each side plays towards its hailing place, and secondly the first side to hail the ball by reaching that place and throwing it up in the air three times is the winner, thereby ending that game.

In the 1990s a third rule emerged, that games should give good measure and not finish in only five minutes.

One game I saw that did that was re-started by an indignant local lady who thought that the crowd had been insulted. She took hold of the ball and threw it in again.

Another rule debars the use of transporting the ball by car, bus, lorry or other vehicle while in play.

JEREMY GODWIN

Drovers Lane

Penrith