by Charles Dickens 1812-1870

A Full Day’s Play

It was one of those rare occasions when a game of cricket had not been interrupted by the weather, but would the Church be so forgiving?

1836

King William IV 1830-1837

Introduction

Charles Dickens was very much frustrated with the behaviour of religious campaigners who declared that playing games on Sunday was a sin. During one Sunday evening walk, he stumbled across a meadow where there was a cricket match in full swing, not a stone’s throw from the parish church, and he trembled to think what the ecclesiastical authorities would say if they knew about it.

by Charles Dickens 1812-1870

As I approached this spot in the evening about half an hour before sunset, I was surprised to hear the hum of voices, and occasionally a shout of merriment from the meadow beyond the churchyard; which I found, when I reached the stile, to be occasioned by a very animated game of cricket, in which the boys and young men of the place were engaged, while the females and old people were scattered about: some seated on the grass watching the progress of the game, and others sauntering about in groups of two or three, gathering little nosegays of wild roses and hedge flowers.

I could not but take notice of one old man in particular, with a bright-eyed grand-daughter by his side, who was giving a sunburnt young fellow some instructions in the game, which he received with an air of profound deference, but with an occasional glance at the girl, which induced me to think that his attention was rather distracted from the old gentleman’s narration of the fruits of his experience.

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Précis

Writing in 1836, Charles Dickens recalled how he had been on a Sunday evening stroll past a churchyard when he stumbled across a cricket match in the neighbouring meadow. An old gentleman, with his grand-daughter, was among the scattered spectators, holding forth on the game to a young man who was listening politely, but had eyes only for the girl.

Sevens

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

What were the women doing while the men played cricket?

Suggestion

Watching the game, chatting, or picking flowers.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Dickens went for a Sunday stroll. He heard voices. It turned out to be a cricket match.

See if you can include one or more of these words in your answer.

IInvestigate. IIProve. IIISound.

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