For readers who do not live in Briain, here are some photographs from the annual Shrove Tuesday Football Match at the village of Ashbourne in Derbyshire. One of the strangest games in the world. Very possibly the inspiration for the game in Unseen Academicals. If you want to see the game in progress there is a video at this link The rules and history are explained here
Yeah, it's those quiet reserved types that are the worst. One minute they're opening Parliament, the next they're in a bath of baked beans flying down a toboggan run.
Lunatic.. Genius... you tread a thin line Mal. But as you're nearer the North than the South I support you on the genius front
Hehe...my great grandma lives there. In her house, she has one of the old footballs used a long time ago...it's intricately painted and appears to be made of wood...she said all sorts of stories about it...