7 questions on spring and summer traditions

Midweek quiz

If it's a bank holiday in late May, that means it's time for the annual race in which people tumble down a hillside in pursuit of a cheese. How much do you know about eccentric British summer traditions such as this?

Cheese-rollers tumbling

1.) Multiple Choice Question

The annual cheese-rolling competition this year opted for a foam cheese for safety reasons. What was it before?

winner with cheese
  1. Red Leicester
  2. Double Gloucester
  3. Little Wallop
  4. Stinking Bishop

2.) Multiple Choice Question

A championship in the Cheshire village of Willaston demands that competitors charm which creature?

  1. Earthworms
  2. Caterpillars
  3. Snails

3.) Multiple Choice Question

The Cotswold Olimpick Games take place at the end of May. What unusual contest do they include?

  1. Toe wrestling
    A big toe with painted nail
  2. Ear pulling
    An ear
  3. Shin kicking
    A shin
  4. Elbow tapping
    An elbow

4.) Multiple Choice Question

The World Pea Shooting Championship takes place in Cambridgeshire during July. Which one of these is NOT in the rules?

  1. Pea-shooters not to be shared
  2. Pea-shooter cannot exceed 12in
  3. Laser sights are banned for children
  4. You must bring your own peas

5.) Multiple Choice Question

A 22-mile race began in Wales in 1980. Who competes each June?

runner, horse and sheep
  1. Human v sheep
  2. Human v horse
  3. Horse v sheep
  4. All of the above

6.) Multiple Choice Question

The 12th Century tradition of swan upping is celebrated in the Thames each July. Participants do what?

  1. Race boats resembling swans
  2. Swim among the swans
  3. Count swans for the Queen
  4. Bless swans as they pass

7.) Multiple Choice Question

A Dorset pub holds a nettle contest in July. It involves doing what with the stinging plants?

  1. Wearing nettles
  2. Running through nettles
  3. Eating nettles
  4. Stinging rivals


  1. Double Gloucester. Gloucestershire Police warned cheesemaker Diane Smart she could be liable if someone was injured chasing her cheese, so organisers used a foam substitute. The men's race was won by an American, the women's by a local teenager.
  2. It's worms. Competitors may not dig worms from the ground but must use vibrations to call forth the mini-beasts.
  3. It's shin kicking. Competitors used to suffer broken legs but today wear soft shoes and stuff straw down their trousers. A toe wrestling contest takes place in Derbyshire during July.
  4. It's bring your own peas. Competitors must use the peas provided. Laser sights are permitted for adults but not children. Pea-shooters are limited to 12in and must not be shared.
  5. It's human v horse. Riders on horseback compete against runners in the race, which began after a pub discussion over who would win a marathon between man and horse. Most of the winners have been horses, but humans have narrowed the gap.
  6. They count them - it's a census of the Queen's swans. Cygnets are weighed and measured. Participants use traditional rowing skiffs in a five-day journey upriver.
  7. It's a nettle-eating contest. Contestants strip the stalks and eat the leaves non-stop for an hour. The person who has cleared the leaves from the longest length of stalks wins.

Your Score

0 - 3 : Ouch

4 - 6 : Numb

7 - 7 : Fearless


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