It’s Friday and it’s time for some Skittish fun, courtesy of The Weekend Book. This is a book right up my street, full of all manner of games and instruction, written in 1924 but updated regularly up until around 1955. It takes itself not seriously at all, the book equivalent of some bright young things skittering around at a pre-war house party.
Just look at this gorgeous cover –
Today I give you “Up Jenkyns!” A game my grandad taught me and my brother, and is forever associated for me with a piece of cherry cake and a cup of tea. (Although I imagined it being spelt “Up Jenkins”). This was such a popular game that you’ll notice it doesn’t even bother explaining how you play it. So, for the uninitiated, you need two teams of at least two people on each side and a table. The teams sit either side of the table with one side hiding a sixpence (a new 5p is perfect) in one of their hands secretly under the table. Once hidden, the team then puts their fists on the table while the other team has to guess which hand holds the coin, with all the additions mentioned below.
