Post by Madhatter on Feb 19, 2007 21:19:03 GMT
Pancake Day, Mardi or Shrove Tuesday to the rest of you.
But in Atherstone...
It's that time of year again. No, not the panto season, but Atherstone's Shrove Tuesday Ball Game. Throwing the ball in next Tuesday (February 20) to herald the start of the centuries-old tradition will be television newsreader and presenter Kay Alexander, who lives locally.
She will be stepping in the footsteps of a long line of celebrities, including comedians Ken Dodd, Larry Grayson and George Formby, along with record-breaking strong man Paddy Doyle.
The game itself, now in its 808th year, is generally believed to date back to the reign of King John when a 'Match of Gold' was played between the Warwickshire Lads and the Leicestershire Lads.
But Atherstone historian John Austin believes its origins could go back even further than that.
What is played in Atherstone is a very ancient game of football, he says in his book Hats, Coal and Bloodshed.
He believes it is a version of camp-ball, the original form of football, played by Romans as part of their military training.
It is possible, he thinks, that the game was played by troops stationed at Mancetter, then known as Manduessedum.
In the early days the 'ball' could have been a stone, a lump of wood - or even a convict's head!
Later it became the custom to use an animal's bladder, inflated to form a kind of balloon.
Today the leather ball, shaped like a squashed sphere, is specially made.
New traditions have evolved as the years pass and it is now decorated with red, white and blue ribbons, which are kept as trophies by anyone in the crowd lucky enough to grab them.
And special colours are added to mark special events - black for the deaths of Mr G Cheshire in 1941 and Bertie Ford in 1995, and gold for the 50th anniversary of the Queen's coronation.
According to Ball Game Committee member Harold Taft, the custom has continued through wars, strikes, bad weather and epidemics.
It's never been stopped - not for bad weather, roadworks, foot and mouth outbreaks, or war, he says.
Even Hitler couldn't bring it to a halt.
In fact, during the last war balls were stuffed with tobacco and sent to British troops in France and North Africa.
However, over the years there have been attempts to halt it on health and safety grounds.
In 1901 the police and local authority warned that players could be prosecuted under bylaws which banned the playing of football in the street. But the game went ahead regardless.
In 1973 there was another bid to end the tradition, when angry traders complained about damage and loss of business.
These days shops and offices board their premises up to protect them and the ball is weighted to reduce the chance of it being thrown or kicked on to roofs - once upon a time it was filled with a couple of pints of beer, which sprayed over the contestants when it burst!
To those who have never encountered the Atherstone Ball Game it may seem as if there are no rules at all.
It looks like a riot, with hundreds - or even thousands - of players and onlookers surging up and down Long Street as they battle it out for the ball.
But there are some rules, mainly designed to protect people and property from injury and damage.
The game can only be played in Long Street, between the Memorial Hall and Regal Court Flats - anything beyond those two points, or down any of the side roads is off limits.
In addition, the ball must be kicked as far as each boundary at least twice during the afternoon,
Events start with a Golden Penny thrown to the crowds from the upper window of Barclay's Bank, with handfuls of sweets for children.
The ball will be 'thrown in' by Kay at 3pm. To start with, things are usually fairly friendly, with spectators and players enjoying a kick-about.
Eventually the 'friendly' players drop out, and only the serious contenders - some playing as individuals and others showing a more united approach as a team - are left when the final struggle begins at 4.45pm.
A klaxon sounds at 5pm, signalling the end of the game, and whoever is left holding the ball is the winner.
Stories by www.tamworthherald.co.uk
See also
www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fa-cup/biography/history-of-football
But in Atherstone...
It's that time of year again. No, not the panto season, but Atherstone's Shrove Tuesday Ball Game. Throwing the ball in next Tuesday (February 20) to herald the start of the centuries-old tradition will be television newsreader and presenter Kay Alexander, who lives locally.
She will be stepping in the footsteps of a long line of celebrities, including comedians Ken Dodd, Larry Grayson and George Formby, along with record-breaking strong man Paddy Doyle.
The game itself, now in its 808th year, is generally believed to date back to the reign of King John when a 'Match of Gold' was played between the Warwickshire Lads and the Leicestershire Lads.
But Atherstone historian John Austin believes its origins could go back even further than that.
What is played in Atherstone is a very ancient game of football, he says in his book Hats, Coal and Bloodshed.
He believes it is a version of camp-ball, the original form of football, played by Romans as part of their military training.
It is possible, he thinks, that the game was played by troops stationed at Mancetter, then known as Manduessedum.
In the early days the 'ball' could have been a stone, a lump of wood - or even a convict's head!
Later it became the custom to use an animal's bladder, inflated to form a kind of balloon.
Today the leather ball, shaped like a squashed sphere, is specially made.
New traditions have evolved as the years pass and it is now decorated with red, white and blue ribbons, which are kept as trophies by anyone in the crowd lucky enough to grab them.
And special colours are added to mark special events - black for the deaths of Mr G Cheshire in 1941 and Bertie Ford in 1995, and gold for the 50th anniversary of the Queen's coronation.
According to Ball Game Committee member Harold Taft, the custom has continued through wars, strikes, bad weather and epidemics.
It's never been stopped - not for bad weather, roadworks, foot and mouth outbreaks, or war, he says.
Even Hitler couldn't bring it to a halt.
In fact, during the last war balls were stuffed with tobacco and sent to British troops in France and North Africa.
However, over the years there have been attempts to halt it on health and safety grounds.
In 1901 the police and local authority warned that players could be prosecuted under bylaws which banned the playing of football in the street. But the game went ahead regardless.
In 1973 there was another bid to end the tradition, when angry traders complained about damage and loss of business.
These days shops and offices board their premises up to protect them and the ball is weighted to reduce the chance of it being thrown or kicked on to roofs - once upon a time it was filled with a couple of pints of beer, which sprayed over the contestants when it burst!
To those who have never encountered the Atherstone Ball Game it may seem as if there are no rules at all.
It looks like a riot, with hundreds - or even thousands - of players and onlookers surging up and down Long Street as they battle it out for the ball.
But there are some rules, mainly designed to protect people and property from injury and damage.
The game can only be played in Long Street, between the Memorial Hall and Regal Court Flats - anything beyond those two points, or down any of the side roads is off limits.
In addition, the ball must be kicked as far as each boundary at least twice during the afternoon,
Events start with a Golden Penny thrown to the crowds from the upper window of Barclay's Bank, with handfuls of sweets for children.
The ball will be 'thrown in' by Kay at 3pm. To start with, things are usually fairly friendly, with spectators and players enjoying a kick-about.
Eventually the 'friendly' players drop out, and only the serious contenders - some playing as individuals and others showing a more united approach as a team - are left when the final struggle begins at 4.45pm.
A klaxon sounds at 5pm, signalling the end of the game, and whoever is left holding the ball is the winner.
Stories by www.tamworthherald.co.uk
See also
www.icons.org.uk/theicons/collection/fa-cup/biography/history-of-football
