Entry fee grates on nerves

The annual cheese rolling event at Cooper’s Hill has been cancelled after threats and abuse. According to the Metro the announcement of an entry fee angered some would-be contenders who took it upon themselves to spit at, verbally bash and threaten the organisers. The competition normally sees contestants chasing a rolling Double Gloucester cheese down a hill. Last year’s competition was also cancelled after a record number of spectators turned up to the 2009 event – far more than could be catered for. One can only hope that the would-be cheese rollers will mature in the next year and allow organisers to charge their £20 entry fee in peace.

Water way to break a record!

Water-skiing is not as easy as it looks, and certainly not as easy as Mexican Fernando Reina Iglesias makes it look. Anyone who has tried the sport will know that keeping your arms straight in counter-intuitive and standing up can be a long and arduous process. However, Sky news reports that the “businessman and lawmaker” for the Partido Verde Ecologista has broken a world record in his home town of Acapulco. Iglesias who hit 153mph on his second attempt did the water “skiing” without the aid of skis! The barefoot record breaker was towed by a helicopter beating the long-standing 135mph record of Scott Pellaton, set in 1989.

Vickers sees red

UK football has been hit by a flurry of disputed red cards in recent weeks. A disagreement over Robin van Persie’s sending off against Barcelona saw Arsene Wenger face disciplinary action (and gave Arsenal fans a scapegoat to pin the blame on if reports in the Mirror are to be believed.) In the Rangers v. Celtic clash El-Hadji Diouf was said to have received two red cards after he refused to leave the pitch immediately. (According to the Telegraph the Scottish Premier League has since refuted the claims)

We all love to have a good whine about an unfair sending off, after all our beloved team couldn’t possibly be responsible for losing the match/league/cup/plot! However few of us have as much to complain about as Dorchester fans after their player-manager, Ashley Vickers, was sent off last week.

Sky News reports that in a tie between non-league Dorchester and Havant and Waterlooville, a man dashed across the pitch, scantily clad in a Borat mankini and a black wig. As the streaker evaded the stewards and continued to prance around on the pitch, Vickers saw red and decided to put a stop to the shenanigans. In a move more at home on the rugby pitch he tackled the man and handed him over to stewards. The referee promptly whipped out his red card for Vickers’ “violent conduct”. The shocked player had to leave the pitch in the 70th minute. Two of his enraged teammates quickly followed and Havant and Waterlooville scored twice in the last 20 minutes to win the match 3-1.

Rain didn't dampen their spirits

We’re notorious for complaining about the weather in Britain. An extremely grumpy man from my village once spent a whole winter moaning about the cold and the rain and the frost and the ice and the fog... When summer arrived in full force we commented on what a glorious sunny day it was... he responded “Hmpf, far too hot for me, can’t abide this dreadful heat, be glad when summer's over.”

Football fans particularly suffer from our attitude to the weather with frozen or waterlogged pitches regularly causing postponements in winter. It appears that Brazilian players and fans are somewhat hardier than the British breed as the Metro reports that they braved torrential rain and a waterlogged pitch to play a championship match in Sao Paulo.

The match between Palmeiras and Sao Paulo was hit by the downpour which flooded the Morumbi Stadium and drowned the pitch. Once the referee decided to postpone the kick-off for an hour some of the supporters chose to frolic in the water. The stands were so drenched that fans were able to swim in front of the seating!
(The Metro has great pictures of this http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/856951-football-fans-enjoy-an-early-bath-at-flooded-morumbi-stadium-in-brazil )

Photo by Chris Upson on Wiki Commons

Thought I'd keep you abreast of all sporting competitions

The third annual naked sledging even in Braulage, Germany proved to be big crowd pleaser. Orange News reported that more than 17,000 spectators could bare-ly contain their excitment as they turned out for the event, which saw 30 sledgers compete for a prize of £1000. Only 30 of the 400 applicants were allowed to take part, although organisers insist that the selection was not solely based on looks. There was bare-faced cheek from one judge, who told Orange News that the close finishes were good “because we’re all very keen on studying the photo finishes!” For those who feel cold just thinking about it rest assured that the topless contestants do cover up with shoes, socks, scarves and underwear bottoms before facing the freezing conditions.