1. Instigated all out neighbourhood war through a seemingly innocent game of tip the can
2. Stole pots and pans from the house to do maximum damage during a water fight
3. Hit a tennis ball against the back wall for hours and hours, inspired by Wimbledon
4. Caused a younger kid great distress by convincing them they picked a piss-in-the-bed
5. Waited with baited breath for the ice cream man, grubby coins in grubby hands
6. …Then running pell-mell at him, yelling for screwballs and 99s
7. Had endless arguments over who had to be ‘on’ and what was ‘fair’
8. Let a Mr Freeze melt, then drank the sugary syrup water (and debated which flavour was the best) (It’s blue)
9. Poked the melty tar on the road with a stick
10. Watched the programmes that came on RTÉ2 after the kids’ shows, like Lovejoy and Sally Jessy Raphael
11. Looked in the Argos catalogue and dreamed of having one of those freestanding pools
12. Tried to dig the deepest hole possible on the beach, which was extremely important work
13. Surfed the waves on a boogie board you insisted on buying with your pocket money (and which was never heard from again)
14. Captured a poor caterpillar or spider and made him your ‘pet’
15. Covered the pavement outside your house with scratchy chalk drawings
16. Or ‘painted’ it with a brush and some water
17. And pretended not to hear your mam when she called you home for tea. What’s that? Can’t hear anything. Better stay outside
