Did you ever play hunt the thimble? Probably not. It is not oneof the games we offer to today’s youth. You would probably have trouble finding a thimble in the first place. It was a game I used to have to play when I stayed with my grandmother in Gorton, East Manchester. It was how she thought she’d keep a hyper-active six or seven year old happy. Fortunately, she had a thimble to hand. I would close my eyes and she would place it somewhere on the mantlepiece. It could be anywhere: behind the carriage clock; at the back off the letter rack; behind the postcard from Uncle Jack. Anywhere. Then I had to hunt it, knowing that the mantlepiece was the only place where it could be concealed. Two seconds later I had found it . Yes, it was a short-lived game. We would repeat this three or four times. The fun was soon over. Ah, the kids of today don’t know how to have fun nowadays. Ipads and computer games are no replacement for the humble thimble.

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