101 places to go – World Pooh Sticks Championships

Considering we have two huge international sporting events taking place this year it can be easy for some of the smaller events to get a look in – even if they offer the same good natured competitiveness and international flavour of their bigger cousins. This week’s recommended ‘place to go’ is just one such event, featuring white-knuckle tension, an array of international talent and some good old-fashioned sporting competition to entertain the crowds.

It may lack the prestige and exposure of The Olympics and Euro 2012 but ‘the big one’ for the people of Dorchester-on-Thames in Oxfordshire is undoubtedly the World Pooh Sticks Championships. Following, the 2011 competition – when 9-year old prodigy Saffron Sollitt won the individual event – we’re going to assume all bets will be off for this weekend’s event. If previous years are anything to go by we could be enjoying a truly multinational competition, with talent from the United States, Japan, Kenya and Australia trying to seize victory and a little bit of national pride.

OK, so we we’re being a little silly, but that doesn’t mean we’re not genuinely enthused for the Pooh Sticks Championships as it’s exactly the kind of quirky event that gives Britain its unique character. We’re also partial to it because it demonstrates that plucky national spirit, whereby, if we don’t win at a sport we’ll just keep on inventing new ones until we do!

If you’d like to warm up for the year of sports by attending the World Pooh Sticks Championships then this year’s event offers a wealth of entertainment. Alongside the two main events there’s also welly throwing, ‘hook a duck’, roll a penny, hoopla, tombola, a book stall and bouncy castle. The Earth Trust Centre is only ten minute’s walk and they’ll be having one of their lambing weekends on Saturday and Sunday. It sounds like the perfect weekend to us. Let’s hope the dry spell continues!

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