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SIDEBAR

The ‘Mad’ Maldon Mud Race

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  • BRITAIN
May 26 2014

A new and improved version of the same competition I covered in 2007 when I’d just started photographing these crazy events.. No longer held in deep winter, this years competition took place on Sunday in much warmer weather, though I don’t suppose the competitors really felt the difference stuck in the mud! Just as crazy, but with about 300 entries and many more spectators.. Bank holiday weekends simply wouldn’t be the same without one, and this one is pure genius! Thank you Maldon x  

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Knabenschiessen

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  • ABROAD
Sep 12 2013

The Knabenschiessen is the oldest and largest festival in the city of Zurich, Switzerland, with roots to the 17th Century. Held on the second weekend of September each year, the reason for this three-day Autumn festival is a target shooting competition, open to all 13-17 year olds from the canton of Zurich, who compete for the title of King or Queen shooter, not to mention the CHF 5,000 (c.£3,400) cash prize and other sponsored gifts. Officially held for the first time in 1899, and originally reserved for boys (knaben), the competition has been open to female participants since 1991. Originally […]

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Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Town Crier Competition

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  • BRITAIN
Jun 03 2012

Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! Hear ye – Town Criers affiliated to the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers gathered in Oxford this Saturday for a competition to celebrate Her Majesty the Queens Diamond Jubilee. 12 Town Criers and their escorts took part in the competition in the historic setting of Oxford Castle. In medieval England, town criers were the chief means of news communication with the townspeople, since many were illiterate. Royal proclamations, local bylaws, market days and adverts were all announced by a crier throughout the centuries. Nowadays many are honorary appointments or employed part time by local councils […]

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Mud Wrestling

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  • BRITAIN
Aug 01 2011

Looking to treat yourself to a bit of exercise and a mud wrap combined into one? Look no further. There’s no need to go and spend a fortune at some poncy health farm, when you can enjoy a full body exfoliation and massage during a bout of mud wrestling at the Lowland Games. Held in Thorney, near Langport in Somerset, Mud Wrestling is the climax of the 4 day long festival, which was held from the 28th – 31st July this year. Started in 1984, the games are more popular than ever with people coming to take part in, or […]

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Outdoors Books of the Year – Winner!!

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  • IN THE MEDIA
May 31 2011
Post's featued image.

The Hay Festival and the National Trust have announced the winners of the Outdoors Books of the Year poll, and ‘A Brit Different’ was among them! Members of the public were asked to nominate their favourite book, published for the first time since 2010, which celebrates in some way the joys of the outdoor. Titles ranged from fact and fiction to prose and poetry, across a wide variety of themes, from gardening and wildlife to extreme sports and travel. Hundreds of votes were received via the National Trust’s website, which ran the poll between 15 April and 20 May. They […]

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Easter Egg Rolling Competition

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  • BRITAIN
Apr 26 2011

With an eggstravaganza of Easter egg events taking place across the UK this weekend, West Sussex National Trust celebrated with their ever popular egg rolling competition. Held at Devil’s Dyke, hundreds of competitors turned out with their hand-decorated hard-boiled eggs to enter this popular Easter custom. With three age categories competing, the under 7’s, 7-13’s, and adults, the egg that made it’s way furthest down the dyke valley won. There was also a special prize for the best decorated egg, a tricky one to judge with so many worthy entries. The valley may be steep, but the ground is well […]

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International Chess Boxing

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  • BRITAIN
Mar 28 2011

The Dome, at The Boston Arms, London, 26 March. With an international line-up, this proved to be Chess Boxing’s first sell-out tournament with 4 bouts to be fought. Chessboxing is a hybrid sport where the participants alternate between playing chess and boxing, with the winner decided by checkmate or knock-out. 11 rounds in total, each bout begins with a round of chess, (4 mins) followed by the boxing (3 mins). On Saturday, Svein Clouston vs Alan Riley (best friends) was the bout many people had come to see, and it was certainly the most exciting, with the advantage swinging to […]

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World Pea Throwing Championships

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  • BRITAIN
Oct 11 2010

It was postponed for a week due to the lovely British Summer, but happily the sun shone yesterday for the 12th annual World Pea Throwing Championships, held at the Lewes Arms pub in Lewes. About 40 competitors entered into three categories, for the mens, ladies and children’s titles, each with 3 attempts. Practically impossible to see where the pea first lands, the distance recorded is to where the perfectly intact vegetable finally rests. Pea spotters hunt it out amongst the debris of the defrosted squashed peas that have gone before. Some are never found, thought to have landed on the […]

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The British Open Crabbing Championship

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  • BRITAIN
Aug 02 2010

There were over 900 entries in the 30th British Open Crabbing Championship held in Walberswick on Sunday. Using a single line and bait of your choice (bacon being strangely popular), the person landing the single heaviest crab during the 90 minutes of competition wins… wins a trophy, medal and £50. It cost just £1 to enter with buckets, baits and lines on sale for those who didn’t come prepared, no nets or hooks allowed. For crab rights activists, don’t worry, as all these crabs were safely returned to the water after weighing, though somewhere they aren’t so lucky as everyone […]

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Newent Onion Eating Competition

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  • BRITAIN
Sep 21 2009

The small town of Newent in Gloucestershire turns all teary eyed on the second Saturday in September as it holds it’s annual Onion Fayre, and with it, the highlight of the day, an onion eating competition. Volunteers from the crowd compete against each other to chomp their way through a nice big juicy onion, in much the same way you would eat an apple, the quickest being awarded with a trophy. The ladies go first with a freshly peeled 400 gram onion each. The men follow, with a slightly larger 600 gram onion, but despite the larger size, the fastest […]

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About this blog

The vast majority of posts in this blog are about quirky & eccentric competitions & festivals. I started it in 2006 in France with a competition I’ll never forget. Where contestants battle it out to become the World Champion Pig Squeeler, or ‘Cri du Cochon’. I had little knowledge back then of quite how far my pursuit of these kind of events would lead me. I’ve travelled all over Britain (and occasionally further afield) to capture our curiosities and quirks. There’s nothing uniquely eccentric about the British, you’ll find people all over the world up to all sorts of weird and wonderful activities, but we do have a remarkable capacity to embrace the madness. ‘A Brit Different’ is the book that was born from it, my labour of love! So what next? There’s always something interesting going on, so watch this space, only time will tell!

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© Emma Wood 2021. Moral Rights Asserted. No part of Emma Wood's photographs may be copied or distributed by any means without her explicit permission.