name for large marbles

[blakeyboy]

When I was a child, in Kidderminster,   big marbles or ball bearings were called 'bolchies'

I cannot find a reference to this online anywhere.

Does this ring any bell with anyone?

 

Strangely, the only thing I've found is that a 'bolche' is a large boiled sweet, if you are Danish....

[Fubar]

Ball bearings of all sizes were "Bollies" in 'Ull. Can't remember what big marbles were called probably summat like "Big uns". We liked to keep things simple.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Fubar
spelling

[1949threepence]

22 hours ago, blakeyboy said:

When I was a child, in Kidderminster,   big marbles or ball bearings were called 'bolchies'

I cannot find a reference to this online anywhere.

Does this ring any bell with anyone?

 

Strangely, the only thing I've found is that a 'bolche' is a large boiled sweet, if you are Danish....

At junior school we used to play using the drain covers in the playground and at the back of the school. They had a partially smooth top and then two circles one inside the other. Can't remember the exact rules we played to now, but it involved getting to the inner circle in as few moves as possible. 

We called bigger marbles (or "marleys") "doubles" and very big marbles "trebles". If anyone wanted to play using the multicoloured marbles, a value was agreed and assigned before the game.

Sometimes we would play two against two (as teams).   

[Peckris 2]

In Liverpool they were "ollies"

[Rob]

Elgin

[Michael-Roo]

10 hours ago, Peckris 2 said:

In Liverpool they were "ollies"

'Ollies' were your regular marbles. The larger ones and ball bearings were 'Bullies'.

[Peckris 2]

On 5/24/2023 at 8:41 AM, Michael-Roo said:

'Ollies' were your regular marbles. The larger ones and ball bearings were 'Bullies'.

Ah. I must have only had regular marbles then!

[Bronze & Copper Collector]

As the years pass, we all, unfortunately, tend to lose some....

[Fubar]

I can't really remember ever having actually played marbles.
My dad was an engineer so I could get an almost unending supply of ball bearings from really small ones to two inch monsters. This meant that I was more of a broker than a player and could supply whatever was required, for a price. Usually in glass marbles at a favourable exchange rate.
Most of my collection ended up being distributed among various cousins when I moved on to motor bikes.
So now I have also lost most of mine........

[Kipster]

On 5/23/2023 at 8:09 PM, 1949threepence said:

At junior school we used to play using the drain covers in the playground and at the back of the school. They had a partially smooth top and then two circles one inside the other. Can't remember the exact rules we played to now, but it involved getting to the inner circle in as few moves as possible. 

We called bigger marbles (or "marleys") "doubles" and very big marbles "trebles". If anyone wanted to play using the multicoloured marbles, a value was agreed and assigned before the game.

Sometimes we would play two against two (as teams).   

When I was a kid in the late 70's/early 80's, we used to do the same. The Pakistani kids in the class used to do a kind of coconut shy but with marbles, and had their various wares lined up at the back of the concave drain grates that were just narrow enough to stop marbles falling through. You paid your entry fee in marbles, and dependent on what you handed over dictated how many shots you were allowed to fire at the prizes. If you hit one and it landed it in the drain cover, you won it. The simplicity of a playground childhood in that era will always stick with me.

But in answer to the question, around St Albans, they were called Giants.

[1949threepence]

1 hour ago, Kipster said:

When I was a kid in the late 70's/early 80's, we used to do the same. The Pakistani kids in the class used to do a kind of coconut shy but with marbles, and had their various wares lined up at the back of the concave drain grates that were just narrow enough to stop marbles falling through. You paid your entry fee in marbles, and dependent on what you handed over dictated how many shots you were allowed to fire at the prizes. If you hit one and it landed it in the drain cover, you won it. The simplicity of a playground childhood in that era will always stick with me.

But in answer to the question, around St Albans, they were called Giants.

Called Doubles in Chelmsford. This would have been late 80's (1987 - 89). Never played it at senior school. Would have done, but nobody seemed interested, so it never happened.

I'd bet every local area had their own accepted different names.

 

[Kipster]

3 hours ago, 1949threepence said:

Called Doubles in Chelmsford. This would have been late 80's (1987 - 89). Never played it at senior school. Would have done, but nobody seemed interested, so it never happened.

I'd bet every local area had their own accepted different names.

 

True that. About 6 miles up the road from me in Hatfield they were called 'dobbers'