i've had a drink of fizz but did anyone?

[Return of the Rev]

Did anyone recall having to keep quiet while there dad did the pools on a saturday night? what was all that about!! still had sunday papers!!!

 

[BensGrandad]

It was a ritual on Saturday evening listen to Sports Report and take the scores down then check the pools. My grandad who introduced me to BHA used to go to a whist drive at The Oddfellows Hall in Clifton Rd Worthing every night of the week bar Wednesdays when he sat down with the daily papers and the previous Sunday papers comparing experts views and then doing his pools. I dont think he ever won any money on it but enjoyed himself.

 

[Twizzle]

The solution was to let me fill one line, then he would do his.
Fair enough! And we never won anything either

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

In the old days , the football pools were today's equivalent of doing the lottery. If you made a noise as the results were being read out when Mum or Dad were writing them down you would end up with a smack on the back of the legs.

 

[Norman Potting]

Do football pools still exist? My dad tried to explain them to me on many occasions but I still haven't a clue how they worked. Similarly with Spot the Ball, although I did grasp the idea behind that eventually.

 

[pasty]

Anyone remember something The Sunday People used to do. It was called Pontoon. You basically organised it yourself, but the idea was that each player randomly drew 2 teams, and each week the paper kept a record of goals scored by the teams, and you had to get to 21 goals in an agreed time period - I think it was 5 or 6 weeks.

Dad used to run it for a fund raising committe he was chairman of, and I remember him spending hours on a Sunday morning keeping it all up to do date. Well before every home a computer! Reams of paper everywhere

 

[Safeway]

Similarly with Spot the Ball, although I did grasp the idea behind that eventually.

There IS a clue in the name.

 

[Cian]

My MOTHER, who has no interest in football ever, used to do the pools every week, even worked as a collector at one point. I suspect she picked random patterns on the entry grid as I can't see her having any understanding of the likelyhoods of results.

The company that did them has moved to running a rolling car raffle instead now, probably because pools were too bloody complex to understand.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

There IS a clue in the name.

and it was invisible

 

[Daddies_Sauce]

Done the football pools with my brother-in-law since 1983, we have won once with the grand total of £1.05, we keep threatening to pack it in, but then our numbers might come up next week!

 

[gjh1971]

Do football pools still exist? My dad tried to explain them to me on many occasions but I still haven't a clue how they worked. Similarly with Spot the Ball, although I did grasp the idea behind that eventually.

You had to select 11 matches you think would be a draw, if 8 of your choices came in, chances are you would win something

 

[Tim Over Whelmed]

The sports report theme tune was also the Regimental March of The Royal Army Pay Corps, fact!

 

[BensGrandad]

Thought the pontoon was in the NOTW not the People. A distant relative of mine (mother in laws cousin) won £115k on spot the ball. He was from a wealthy well known family in Crawley Down so didnt really need the money.

 

[BensGrandad]

You had to select 11 matches you think would be a draw, if 8 of your choices came in, chances are you would win something

The pools companies issued little books with different plans in them so you could do different permutations if you wished and the jackpot for years was £75k which was a hell of a lot of money.

 

[tedebear]

I think I remember the pools in Australia, but what I remember more was not being allowed to talk during the cricket when at Grandma and Pops. Never, ever, ever for fear of the wrath of my Pop. So I started to learn the game so I could talk to him during lunch and tea, I don't think he ever got used to his granddaughter liking cricket but he tolerated me a little bit more and in return let me garden with him and let me get my boat licence on his boat, neither of which my sisters were allowed. I miss my Pop. Not sure how this is related to the thread - sorry

 

[Norman Potting]

There IS a clue in the name.

Doooh so much for my attempt at being ironic. My Grandpa had a reason for not doing spot the ball which he trotted out whenever the opportunity arose. His logic was because the entrant couldn't keep a record of his entry (photocopiers hadn't been invented then) that if he won the collector could pocket the winnings and he would be none the wiser!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I think I remember the pools in Australia, but what I remember more was not being allowed to talk during the cricket when at Grandma and Pops. Never, ever, ever for fear of the wrath of my Pop. So I started to learn the game so I could talk to him during lunch and tea, I don't think he ever got used to his granddaughter liking cricket but he tolerated me a little bit more and in return let me garden with him and let me get my boat licence on his boat, neither of which my sisters were allowed. I miss my Pop. Not sure how this is related to the thread - sorry

... and, of course, there were the Summer Pools in the UK, which were all about predicting the results of Australian games. I seem to remember the teams mostly had southern European names, such as Croatia and Hellenic.

 

[BeeGee]

The pools companies issued little books with different plans in them so you could do different permutations if you wished and the jackpot for years was £75k which was a hell of a lot of money.

The idea was to forecast results

Say, any 8 from 11 (permutations) ........ hence called Perms

SCORE DRAW = 3pts
NO-SCORE DRAW = 2 1/2 pts
AWAY WIN = 2 pts
HOME WIN = 1 pts

Short story : Try to get 24 pts for major payout, but dividend for down to 20pts (?)


Billy Connolly used to tell the story about being sent from the room around 5.00pm Saturday evenings and hearing his father sweating over the Pools results.

Billy became convinced that his local team was called Partick Thistle Nil...............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[alan partridge]

I still remember the 'the pools man' who used to come round to collect money and forms.

My dad won 1000 quid on spot the ball in around 1982

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

Doooh so much for my attempt at being ironic. My Grandpa had a reason for not doing spot the ball which he trotted out whenever the opportunity arose. His logic was because the entrant couldn't keep a record of his entry (photocopiers hadn't been invented then) that if he won the collector could pocket the winnings and he would be none the wiser!

Had tracing paper been invented?