The Cheese Diaries

The Contest

It's the last Monday in May, the sun high in the sky as noon approaches. There is excitement in the air, and the crowd that has accumulated above Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, England, mill about talk amongst themselves in anticipation.

A voice cuts through the air: "ONE to be ready!"

The crowd comes to attention.

"TWO to be steady!" There is silence now as the crowd becomes tense.

"THREE to prepare!" The crowd holds its breath. A seven pound wheel of double Gloucester cheese is released and proceeds to rumble down the steep hill.

"And FOUR to be off!"

And the race is on! The crowd at the top of the hill springs into action, running, rolling, bouncing, stumbling, and throwing themselves down the hill as fast as they can go.

Welcome to the annual Gloucestershire Cheese rolling contest. Winner takes the cheese.

The origin of this contest is not known. One source reports it could have been started by the romans. The purpose of this event has also long been lost in time, though the common belief is that it was an old fertility ritual, or perhaps a way to ensure land rights.

Once the cheese is released, there is something of a free for all to get to the bottom of the hill first. Every year, there are several injuries, the most drastic of which were recorded in 1997 (want to see the video clip?

Because of the number of injuries that have occured in the past, this year's event was cancelled.

Posted by anne at July 18, 2003 06:54 PM | TrackBack