Shropshire falls head over heels for hula hoops

Anne Callow was addicted to it as a young girl, and it's clear the knack never goes away.

"You put your legs apart, keep your top half straight and wiggle your bum," says the 57-year-old from Shrewsbury, giggling. And off she goes.

It may be nothing more than a simple plastic ring, but in an era of expensive PlayStations and hi-tech toys, the humble Hula Hoop is enjoying a revolution.

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Hula Hoops have been flying off the shelves ever since veteran singer Grace Jones hula-hooped through her routine at the Queen's Jubilee concert with the vim of a 15-year-old in the school yard.

Hula hooping has been a type of exercise and play dating back to the 5th century in ancient Greece. Before it was developed into the well-known colourful plastic toy, it was made of dried-up willow, rattan, grapevines, or stiff grasses. The plastic Hula Hoop was launched by Wham-O in 1958 and sold over 100 million in the first two years.

"I was fanatical about hooping when I was a girl, I loved it," remembers Anne Callow, who runs Anca wool shop in Radbrook. "I could keep it going for hours. Everybody did it, mainly in the road – we were the original hula hoopers! We would play this as well as juggling two balls up a wall."

In fact she recently acquired a modern hoop, with flashing lights in it, and jokingly says: "Hula Hoops have featured large in my life. These days it's better doing it with a G&T!"

When the Shropshire Star takes a Wham-O Hula Hoop on a tour of the county town, there are no end of takers.

As Gaina Smith, 61, who runs Special Days Gift Shop in Shrewsbury, gyrates the hoop she says: "I've got two older sisters and I remember us all having Hula Hoops in what would have been the late 1950s and early '60s. We would have contests to see who could keep it going the longest."

Gaina's technique is to put one foot forward and confine subtle gyrations to the hips. Re-acquainting herself with the toy of her childhood, she demonstrates her impressive talents by being able to hoop and talk at the same time.

"At my granddaughter's fourth birthday party, a girl brought a hoop along and the little ones were all doing it. They have them at nursery now."

Virtual hooping is available as a Wii Fit game, but it's hard to beat the simplicity of a plastic ring.

"It's great for kids. It's cheap, it's fun and it's healthy. It's a change from playing computer games," adds Anne Callow. "It's amazing the fun you can have with just a hoop."

Hula hooping's natural habitat is the school yard. At Greenfields Primary School in Shrewsbury, experts of the game, Dana Johnstone, 10, and

Ben Griffiths, nine, show off their skills, having recently completed a hooping marathon for Sport Relief.

"We both managed to keep it going for half an hour," says Dana. "You just have to make sure your hands are not in the way and just keep going!

I take the Shropshire Star Hula Hoop to Shrewsbury Bakehouse in Castle Gates, but, as proof of the toy's growing prevalence, proprietor Sheila Tuskan-Sager already has her own. And hers is pink and glittery.

"I bought it for work, for team building, because working can be stressful and because it looks like fun," says Sheila, 52, who remembers the hours of fun she had with the toy as a girl.

Debb Parker, 50, who works at the bakery, concurs that it's hard to be stressed while giggling, gyrating your hips and being cheered by passers-by in the Shropshire Star have-a-go Hula Hoop challenge.

In the street, folk are queuing up for a turn. Taxi controller Simon Pippard, 32, keeps the ring revolving for several minutes at his first attempt since childhood, while hooping whirlwind Richy Stevens, 25, stops pedestrians in their tracks with a mesmerising display.

Twenty-five-year-old Richy is in a local band called The Phat Controllers and, like Grace Jones, is now considering introducing a Hula Hoop into his stage act. "Why not?" he says. "I always thought there was something missing from my performance!"

Twenty-eight-year-old Jessicah Kendrick, from Shrewsbury Coffee House, puts in an impressive performance and says: "That's the first time I've done it in ten years."

The Hula Hoop's enduring appeal is clear from the number of people happy to get their hips into a hoop and display talents that have failed to fade. It is clearly a toy for all generations.