Thursday, January 11, 2007
Football in the water? That isnt cricket!!
On the 4th Monday of August (which is a public holiday in the UK) the people of Bourton on the Water in the Cotswolds don their coloured sweaters and play football in the river. Don't ask me..I don't know why!
I do know however that this has apparently gone on for the past 70 years and no one else seems to know why it started either. There's nowt as strange as folk! It is hardly a pagan holiday but it sure is weird. The stream is full of trout if I recall correctly from my visits to this sobre and refined little village and I do wonder where they go whilst these guys are bouncing off the mossy stones. Each to his own I guess.
"The effort of playing in water is tiring so the game is not the normal 90 minutes in length, but despite its brevity (15 minutes each way), hundreds of people come to line the banks and cheer on their respective teams. Sometimes, if the ball comes their way, onlookers get splashed, but on this normally sunny weekend, no-one really minds."
A reliable source tells me this is a great day out. Bourton is a beautiful place to stop (as the picture illustrates) and is a typical Costwold village. I am told that the whole village green is decked out for a fair and being August ( especially with Global warming) the weather will probably be warm....although it is England!
A few links that might be interesting
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/bourton-on-the-water.shtml
http://www.visitbritain.com/mweb-en-ZA/destinationguides/england/South_West/Destinations/bourton-on-the-Water.aspx
Next Posting...we stay in the Cotwolds (because we are here already why travel further than we have to with gas so expensive!) and look at an event that is traced back to Shakesperean times...the Dovers Games.
I do know however that this has apparently gone on for the past 70 years and no one else seems to know why it started either. There's nowt as strange as folk! It is hardly a pagan holiday but it sure is weird. The stream is full of trout if I recall correctly from my visits to this sobre and refined little village and I do wonder where they go whilst these guys are bouncing off the mossy stones. Each to his own I guess.
"The effort of playing in water is tiring so the game is not the normal 90 minutes in length, but despite its brevity (15 minutes each way), hundreds of people come to line the banks and cheer on their respective teams. Sometimes, if the ball comes their way, onlookers get splashed, but on this normally sunny weekend, no-one really minds."
A reliable source tells me this is a great day out. Bourton is a beautiful place to stop (as the picture illustrates) and is a typical Costwold village. I am told that the whole village green is decked out for a fair and being August ( especially with Global warming) the weather will probably be warm....although it is England!
A few links that might be interesting
http://www.cotswolds.info/places/bourton-on-the-water.shtml
http://www.visitbritain.com/mweb-en-ZA/destinationguides/england/South_West/Destinations/bourton-on-the-Water.aspx
Next Posting...we stay in the Cotwolds (because we are here already why travel further than we have to with gas so expensive!) and look at an event that is traced back to Shakesperean times...the Dovers Games.
:: posted by Robyne, 5:05 AM
2 Comments:
Thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog. I live about 1½ away from Bourton-on-the-water, but never new of their strange footbal game. Been to this picturesque village many times, summer and winter, it's a great place to unwind... Derek
Nice work, Robyne,
More please ....
David
More please ....
David
