Car Games

When we first moved to one income – when I was on maternity leave – and child Tahi was 6 months old our car stereo died (just at the start of the trip on the Ferry from Wellington to Nelson!).
Replacing it never crept that high up the priority/affordability list and so we didn’t. I used to sing songs to Child Tahi; when child Rua came along he hated my singing and the only song I was allowed to sing was Lola – one of my favourite songs of all time. Child Rua thought I was singing about one of his favourite book characters – http://www.charlieandlola.com/, no that’s not what you and Mummy are singing about…

Lyrics are below for those of you not familiar with the Kinks song.

Once, when we were in my parent’s car – and they had the radio on – child Rua, then 3, said ‘Mummy where is the other man in the car?’ as he had never heard a radio/stereo in the car before!

One bonus of not having a radio/stereo for five years (we have one now) is that we my boys got used to talking, playing games and ‘making our own fun’. We play endless games of ‘I spy’ – and have even extended it to ‘I hear with my little ear’ and ‘I smell with my little nose’ (generally when we pass a piggery).

Our favourite car games are:

I spy (it is amazing how inventive you can be when you live in the country and there is hills, grass, sheep, cows, fences…ummm)

The car colour game, where you keep count of all the cars you see that are the colour you have selected – this can be tricky if there are not many cars around. We tend to have several colours each and also one person might have ‘all the trucks, motorbikes and motorhomes to count. I saw variation on this on an ad – count the squashed opossums on the road.

Telling stories – my boys love hearing stories about ‘back in the day’, when I was their age. Child Rua likes to tell stories about his own world that he has invented.

Singing songs: Once child Rua became 4 I was allowed to sing songs again.

The desperate song. My mother invented a song when we used to travel down to visit my aunt when we were kids called ‘I think we’re almost there’ (to the tune of The Farmer in the Dell) in which you alternate ‘I think we’re almost there’ with ‘I think I can see (insert people’s names you are going to see).

Now we have a stereo we often just listen to music when we go somewhere in the car and I miss the inventiveness of not having a stereo; however child Rua insists on at least one game of I spy usually.

Lyrics to Lola by The Kinks

I met her in a club down in old Soho
Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry-cola [LP version:
Coca-cola]
C-o-l-a cola
She walked up to me and she asked me to dance
I asked her her name and in a dark brown voice she said Lola
L-o-l-a Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Well I’m not the worlds most physical guy
But when she squeezed me tight she nearly broke my spine
Oh my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Well I’m not dumb but I can’t understand
Why she walked like a woman and talked like a man
Oh my Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Well we drank champagne and danced all night
Under electric candlelight
She picked me up and sat me on her knee
And said dear boy wont you come home with me
Well I’m not the worlds most passionate guy
But when I looked in her eyes well I almost fell for my Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

I pushed her away
I walked to the door
I fell to the floor
I got down on my knees
Then I looked at her and she at me

Well that’s the way that I want it to stay
And I always want it to be that way for my Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Girls will be boys and boys will be girls
It’s a mixed up muddled up shook up world except for Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola

Well I left home just a week before
And I’d never ever kissed a woman before
But Lola smiled and took me by the hand
And said dear boy I’m gonna make you a man

Well I’m not the worlds most masculine man
But I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man
And so is Lola
Lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola
Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola lo-lo-lo-lo Lola