GRANTCHESTER BARREL RACE

Boxing Day 2010

We’re going to reverse the usual order of the race-day report, and this year start with all the thank-you’s.

The biggest thanks go to the valiant straw men & women who kindly lugged the 170 bales onto the course in the morning and then back again in the afternoon, and also swept the road of as much loose straw as we could: for that we have to thank especially Tony & Joe Kennedy, Matt Miller, Clare Curtis and Jonathan Graffy, and John Offord for the kind use of his van.

Thanks also to the Race Officials: the starter James ‘the Rev’ Buxton, and Commentators Adrian ‘quick wit’ Frost and, as a wonderful surprise visit to the village for a day, Toby ‘Charley’s Aunt’ Woolrych. Finally, many thanks to the children Judith and Abigail Barwise, Sophie, Tom & Edward Burkitt and their helpers, who collected over £400 in the buckets for the Church PCC Appeal.

So, to the barrels. Well, “equipment failure” probably best sums it up, or else “a smashing time” (sorry). We had intended to revert to the larger, more wobbly whisky barrels, to slow the race down a bit from last year’s very fast Usain Bolt-style beer-barrel dash. But sadly the whisky barrels seem to have rotted a bit in the meantime, as two fell apart during the first race. Simon Graffy kindly helped rush to get the replacement beer barrels, but one of those fell apart on the penultimate race. So for the final race, we had 3-beer vs. 1-whisky, and gave Trumpington (who were the only team prepared to try the whisky barrel) a controversial 25-yard start. As Adrian Frost commented: “funny that: you give a team a 25-yard head start, and they go and win by 25 yards”!

The Red Lion Men have been rolling together for 5 years and won this year for the 4^th in a row. Red Lion landlord Alan Wainwright explained his inspirational training tactics: “I’ve told them that if they don’t win, they’re sacked!” Green Man landlords Josh Vargo and Shaun Cattermole saw their team move up from 4^th last year to 3^rd this year – keep that trend going in future years, chaps! John Roos and Karolin Rejniak’s Blue Ball Men were 2^nd, and it was great to see a first-time entry from Matthew Knight, the new landlord of The Rupert Brooke, who led his team to a superb 4^th place (as we’ve said in the past, no-one comes last in barrel-rolling, they just come 4^th).

Alan presumably now needs four new barmaids, as the Red Lion Ladies narrowly lost to the Blue Ball Ladies (always a strong team), with the Greeen Man / WIG team 3^rd and The Rupert Brooke 4^th.

In the Open Race, the Steen Machine (village family the Steens plus their relations) rolling in the RL colours finished a strong 1^st, narrowly pipping the RB’s Graffy/Dean/ Gathercole/Matthews team, followed by the GM’s Burkitt/Buxton/Forbes/Foo and the BB’s father-and-son Kennedy/Ludford/ Jackson.

In the County Championships, Barton’s Burwash Manor scored a massive and comprehensive victory, trouncing the other teams with a 2’20” time, and with Josh Wright voted roller-of-the day for his incredible technique (which he later described as “I’m so small that I don’t have to lean over the barrel”). Madingley were a no-show so James Archer, Simon & Hilary Graffy and Matthew Chester valiantly stepped into the breach and formed Grantchester B team, which came 2^nd, a nose ahead of the Grantchester As (first-time roller Michael Carrick, Matt Miller, Colin Hulett and Roger Larner). Coton were represented by Harry Druiff’s team, crazily dressed as Batman, Spiderman etc, certainly adding to the sense of fun but sadly coming 4^th.

In Division 2, Trumpington’s 25-yard head start might possibly have been a contributory factor in their victory, but it was a slowish race at 3’40”. Behind them were Harston, Hauxton (a bit off form: they have won in the past) and Derek West’s Newnham.

A huge thanks to all 80 rollers, and to the estimated 1,200 spectators. See you in 2011 – which will herald Olympic Year!

Francis Burkitt and John Bailey