atherstone ball game

[General Baxter]

any locals go to this?

i missed it was i work, went lasted year and got decked :lol:

http://www.cwn.org.uk/atherstone/images/atherstone-ball-game-000307-w400.jpg

[burgo]

whats the deal with that then

[General Baxter]

you sure you want to no, its a long read what ill post up :wink:

[General Baxter]

well here goes

'A complete free-for-all played along Watling Street (the old Roman Road) at the point where it forms the main street of Atherstone town. The ball is decorated with red, white and blue ribbons and is filled with water to make it too heavy to kick far. The match starts at 3pm when the ball is thrown from a window of the Three Tuns Inn and continues until about 5pm. However the ball may legitimately be deflated or hidden after 4.30pm. There are no teams and no goals, though in the last century the match was played between a team from Warwickshire and one from Leicestershire! Whoever is able to hang onto the ball at the end of the game not only wins the game but is allowed to keep the ball as well

This traditional Shrove Tuesday 'ball game' has been held annually since the early 12th Century and is one of Atherstone's claims to fame. The origin of the game, in the reign of King John, is thought to have been a "Match of Gold that was played betwixt the Warwickshire Lads and the Leicestershire Lads on Shrove Tuesday".

The 'ball' used is specially made each year and is 'thrown out' by a prominent sporting or show business personality. Shop windows are boarded up and traffic is diverted on the afternoon whilst the game, in which hundreds of people take part, progresses along the town's main streets.

The man holding the ball as the klaxon sounds gets to keep it. The ball is specially made by Gilbert of Rugby, who are world famous for their rugby balls.

It is 27 inches in diameter and weighs four pounds.

The battle for possession of ball sways along the full length of the street and back again while onlookers fill the upstairs windows of every building.

These days it is an individual struggle, but when it began in the 12th century it was a team affair with the youth of Warwickshire taking on the youth of Leicestershire for the prize of a bag of gold. No one is quite sure whether the game has taken place every single year since then, but it certainly continued right through the Great Wars in this century.

Bill Dixon, chairman of the Atherstone Shrove Tuesday Ball Game Committee, said proudly:

"Not even Hitler could stop it."

[burgo]

hmmmmm err great, sounds about as gd as the rol prok

[Jack]

Thats nothing... round here the locals like to throw a cheese down a steep hill then all run after it; most of whom then go A over T and end up in casualty for the night.