The Decline of Cheese Rolling
Cheese Rolling
Gloucestershire's famous cheese-rolling spectacle could be turned into a ticketed festival held over two days.
Organisers said the event "needs to change dramatically" if it is to survive...Members of the committee have now called in Cheltenham-based Events and Management Services to organise the new-look two-day festival for 2011 and has appointed Moose Marketing and PR to handle marketing and help raise sponsorship.
Peter Allison, director of E&MS, said: "We will be looking at ways to include live music and country crafts and we are planning to change the date from Spring Bank Holiday to the weekend of June 11/12.
"We would also like to reintroduce the 'wake' series of rustic games and competitions, like shin kicking, tug of war, dancing for ribbons, wrestling for a belt, grinning through horses collar for a cake, ducking for oranges, bobbing for penny loaves, climbing the maypole and coconut shies.
"We have been in continuous talks with police and emergency services, highways agency and local authorities and we are also in consultation with the immediate Cooper's Hill community.
"Whatever happens, we are determined to make it a family orientated event with proper parking, crowd control and traffic control, with public safety as a priority.
"All this will cost money so, inevitably, we will have to charge an entrance fee for the festival and it will have to be over two days to make it financially viable.
How lovely and twee! Nice safe sanitised countryside. Bollocks to them, I'm with the "unofficial" racers who will still turn up on spring bank holiday and risk all for the chance of winning a tenner.
("with" as in "watching from a safe distance" - I'm not stupid.)