Chairman

A brief history on Robert Dover

Dover's Games and Dover's Hill, where The Games are held, are both named after Robert Dover, but why?

Robert Dover

Robert Dover was a lawyer from Norfolk, born, we think, in 1582. In around 1611 Dover came to live locally in nearby Saintbury, then he moved to Chipping Campden and on to Childswickham. All of these homes were within site of the hill which would eventually bear his name.

About a year after his arrival to the area Dover became involved in a traditional Cotswold Whitsuntide festivity which he went on to revitalise it with his own distinctive form of entertainment. It became an annual event which Dover himself oversaw for over 40 years. I wonder if he had any idea that 406 years later we would still be emulating his vision? It's thought that Dover's new revived games received support from local mercer Baptist Hicks.

Baptist Hicks

Hicks' was once one of the richest in England, he knew how to make money but he also knew how to spend it, he commissioned the Woolmarket Hall, The Almshouses and the original Campden House. In fact Hicks was so well moneyed he bankrolled James 1st!

Endymion Porter

Endymion Porter lived a stones throw away in Aston Sub Edge. He was a diplomat and a royalist, he held the post of Groom of the Bedchamber to Charles I. After the inauguration on the games Endymion privided patronage to Dover. Endymion was well connected with courtiers he is said to have supplied his mate Dover with some fine and dandy royal cast-offs to wear while he presided over The Games. Snazzy.

Reg Mansell and Charlie Ladbrook as Robert Dover and Endymion Porter
on horseback at Dovers Games image credit : Campden History Society

by Chairman

The Cotswold Olimpicks - Your Questions Answered

Is the Cotswold Olimpicks definitely on this year?
Absolutely!
We’ve been grafting pretty hard behind the scenes, raising funds and gathering enough helpers to bring The Games back to Dovers Hill for 2018.

When is it?
Friday 1st June.

What time does it all kick off?
The gates open at 5pm, that’s when all the fun begins. You can enjoy our sideshows, food, music, dance and static displays. Then at 6pm there’s a jousting display in the Main Arena.

Ooh tell us more… What else have you got on?
We think that Dovers' Games is the ultimate Cotswold spectator sport, with something for everyone, but for our full line-up it’s best if you take a look at our event timetable here.

Can I bring my dog?
We are very sorry but due to the nature of the event and the fireworks we can’t allow dogs on the hill.

Fireworks??
Oh yes! The firework display lights up the the sky over the Vale shortly after Robert Dover & Endymion Porter escort the Scuttlebrook Queen to light the beacon before the torch-lit procession is led, by the band into the town square for even more merriment and dancing to the live band.

Ah yes, where can I buy my torch for the procession?
On the hill. There will be a stall where you can purchase torches for £3.50.

Can I bring a food onto the hill?
Well yes you can, but we have some mega tasty offerings from local food suppliers this year. The line up looks like this; The Persian Kitchen dishing out authentic eastern kebabs, burritos and burgers created by The Camper Hamper, Trailer Trash cooking up gourmet burgers, premium fish and chips served by The Starchip Enterprise, La Bonne Crepe crafting artisan crepes, traditional Ice Cream from Abigail's Vintage Scoop and hot drinks served from Grouch Coffee.

Can we bring alcohol?
We regret that strictly no alcohol is allowed onto the hill, but after the procession into the town there will be a bar in The Square.

How much is it to get in?
Adult tickets are £6.50
Children 5-16 £2.50
Under 5's are FREE

This year we are also offering a Family Ticket for £15 wick you can buy online but these are limited.

Where can I buy tickets?
This is the first year we’ve had tickets available online here
And from 14th May 'til 31st May you can also buy tickets from Toke's Food & Drink on the high street in Chipping Campden.
On the day of the event there will also be tickets will be for sale at the dedicated stall in the Town Square.

What’s the best way to get to the event?

By Bus - catch one of our official return shuttle busses up to Dovers' Hill. You'll need to buy your shuttle bus tickets (adults £1 children 50p) from the Town Square, not far from where the buses depart for the hill.

By foot - Chipping Campden marks the start of the Cotswold Way, you can take the first part of the route which leads you, by footpath straight onto Dovers' Hill. Head down the High Street and turn right just before the Volunteer Inn, along Back Ends then head up Hoo Lane and look for the event signage.

There is FREE parking in the town. Chipping Campden High School (GL55 6HU) is probably the best spot.
We do have some limited paid parking on the hill.

However you decide to arrive, check for road closures, take care when walking on roads and please park considerately.

How do I enter the Shin Kicking?
Just rock up on the night with your brave pants on and put your name down at the registration area at 6.30pm.

Can I take photographs?
You certainly can. We’d also love to see them too. You can share them on social media with the hashtag #dovers2018 or if you have some really fancy ones email them over to us here.

I there anything else I need to know?
No, just come along and have a cracking night and enjoy the spirit of the games, just as Robert Dover himself would have wanted.

Oh and come back next year, our 2019 event promises to be even bigger and better!!

If you have any more questions feel free to get in touch here.

by Chairman

85 Days 'til the Games!

Well hello there strangers. I thought it was about time I got a grip and let you all know how it's going over here at Dover's Games HQ. It's been a busy few months as we try to pull together all the activities, performers, games etc. and then on top of that produce a handy 131 page, 18,000 word document containing all the risk assessments etc. I thought this was an exaggerated joke at the beginning of my tenure as chairman of the RDGS. It wasn't. The team has been getting to grips with that too. Hey ho, it's a necessary evil and benefits everyone, really.

Suffice to say there is still a lot to do but we really are making progress towards a great games. We have solved the horse situation and we are delighted to announce that Paul Dare will be playing Robert Dover this year alongside Gillian Carr as Endymion Porter. We look forward to seeing them leap about majestically on the hill, on June 1st!

I don't want to give everything away just yet, but there are a few exciting developments this year. We've already posted the food stalls on Facebook, but if you didn't see that, here is the list again: Abigail's Vintage Scoop (ice cream); Grouch Coffee (hot drinks); The Starchip Enterprise (premium fish & chips); La Bonne Crepe (crepes); Persian Kitchen (authentic eastern kebabs); The Camper Hamper (burritos & burgers); Trailer Trash (gourmet burgers); IN THE SQUARE: 2 x Pig Roasts, 1 x Barbecue from R.D. Walker.

We can confirm that the act in the square will be the popular band Get Carter who you may have seen play at The Volunteer Inn before. Either way, coupled to Clearsound's mighty rig and LED screens, we should be in for a treat on the night in the square.

We have been talking to lots of businesses and individuals over the last year and the result is that we've managed to generate a lot of good feeling and the enthusiasm is starting to bubble over now. It''s a great feeling and is reflected in the amount of money we've managed to raise. If all goes to plan over the coming weeks we should be just shy of £30,000, which covers everything the games needs to go ahead and leaves a bit to give us a head start next year. To everyone who has had a hand in getting us there, a massive thank you. We will be announcing our main sponsors very soon when we launch The 2018 Games and start sending out the posters and the flyers.

Fundraising events coming up include the Grand Prize Draw which has some fab prizes donated by local businesses and will drawn at some point over the weekend's festivities in June. Watch this space and social media for updates on where you can buy your tickets.

Watch out for our very own beer coming to Campden soon. A select bunch of our favourite watering holes will be selling Shinkicker Ale so you can drink in the knowledge that the more you consume the better the games will be! At least I think that's how it works...

The second annual Chilli Eating Contest is confirmed for October where you'll get to see Danny Walker defend his title of Chipping Campden Chilli Champion - we're hoping he doesn't get it so easy this year. ;-) The chillies are growing though, as we speak.

The ongoing call for volunteers is still there. We will always need people to help out on the night and the more the merrier. We will be holding another recruitment evening closer to the games so if you've thought about it but not yet done it, you can register on this site by heading over to the Volunteers Page and entering your details.

So that's it for now I think. The plans from the start of the year are all coming together, we've raised a lot of money and the volunteers are trickling in. I'll be in touch with a bang soon to tell you more about what to expect on the night. in the meantime enjoy the first hint of Spring which (please, please, please) is right around the corner.

Thanks for your continuing support.

Tom.

by Chairman

Chairman's Blog | The half-time whistle...

Hello everyone, it's been a while! It's nearly the start of advent and so much has gone on this year in the Robert Dover's Games Society in order to put ourselves in a position to be able to present a games next year. So many people have been involved in so many different ways in order to get to where we are now, i.e. with a draft schedule for the 2018 Cotswold Olimpick Games.

Obviously there is still a long way to go and arguably the really hard work hasn't even begun yet, but what is heartening is that people have come together from the local area and beyond in order to try and restore this fabulous tradition.

We have made lots of progress in The Society's administration by creating an online infrastructure to store all of our data, photos and contacts.

We have looked at ways which we can sustainably fund the games for years to come and we are trying new ways to recruit volunteers.

We have rebuilt the website on a simple-to-use platform which will serve the games for years to come without the need for expensive upgrades every few years, and we have secured funding to enable us to promote the games in print and online for the next two years - a huge part of future funding will be to ensure the games are well attended.

We have discussed and agreed ways in which we can let the games do more for the town by having more events throughout the year and we've talked to local sports clubs about how we can make this happen.

We have made connections with world class educational people and institutions who have helped us to understand the history of the games, its relevance to the world of sport and how we can promote that for future generations, so that every Campdonian child grows up having learned about the importance of the games in a historical, sporting, political and religious/spiritual context.

We have spoken to local businesses about partnerships and sponsorship to see how we can all help each other, and we have met with our friends at The Scuttlebrook Wake committee to work on the areas where we can do more together.

As we move into the new year, there will be more and more opportunity to get involved as we roll out some cracking events to help with fundraising, education and well, some just for fun! Our social media channels will start to wake up a bit more in the new year as and when there is more to say. We will also try to be more visible in print around the town too, with posters and leaflets informing you of what is happening when.

If we haven't spoken with you yet, feel free to get in touch at any time, or find us at one of our events in the new year.

Fundraising is still very much a priority and we are steadily getting there. You can now see the yellow collection tins around Campden - if you would like one of these in your premises, please let us know by email. 2018 will see a big push on this front as we look to secure sponsorship and investment from businesses who wish to get involved. There will be a charity dinner and quiz at the end of January - just when you're pining for some post-Christmas fun (tickets will be on sale very soon) and a Spring event prior to the games which will be open to everyone. (More details on this one in the coming months).

Suffice to say it's been a busy old 6 months and the new year will be no different for the Games Society, but it's all good fun and it's looking good for June 1st - at the moment. All that remains is for me to wish you all a very merry Christmas. I hope you all have the best time and I look forward to welcoming you to our events in 2018.

Heigh for Cotswold!

Tom.

by Chairman

Chairman's Blog | Autumn Arriving...

Hello everyone, I hope you’re all well and enjoying the first signs of Autumn.

It’s impossible not to feel a little nostalgic at this time of year, just because there’s something so monumental about the shift in seasons and the changing of the clocks and, well, the skies and the colours are so dramatic they tend to remind us of places we’ve been, people we’ve not seen for a while and all that.

I was listening to back-to-back adverts on the radio today which I rarely do and there were two autumn-centric ones in a row, one which bemoaned the arrival of “gloomy” autumn, followed by one urging you take a drive in your Spanish car to see “one last sunset”  - which is it?  People seem to either love or hate the autumn, either for its inspiring reveal of colour, or the fact that it signals the end of summer.  Being a September baby, I’m firmly in the ‘love-it’ camp.

Adam Miller (left, World Champion) with Mika Pieri on Dover's Hill last month.

September Meeting

The Robert Dover’s Games Society met this month on the top of the hill to have a look at the arena together and to discuss what to do with the site, while looking at it.  We just made it before the night came in and came away with some idea of where things need to be.  Having recently received all the responses to the survey we put out there, it was interesting to be able to take people’s views on what goes on the hill and discuss them with everyone.

The fair is always one that always splits the room, almost 50/50.  Some love it and the rest think it’s had its day.  Where do you go with that!?  Then there’s the question of parking – can we find more?  What if it’s wet?  What about the parade?  What about road closures?  Is there a better way?  It’s a lot to think about but that’s why we started this year’s meetings a bit earlier than usual, to fit it all in.

Fundraising

Suffice to say that we have now gone through a lot of the things I wanted to when I became chairman, in order to put the games on an organised footing going forward.  There has been lots of activity this month including the fundraising sub-committee which was a jolly affair almost brimming with positivity.

We have now identified where we believe we can partner with the local community in terms of sponsorship/advertising/exposure and we have already had companies in touch with us expressing their support and desire to get involved.  We believe we’ve identified about £20,000 worth of sponsorship opportunities so if you or your company is interested, you can now contact Lorrelle at fundraising@olimpickgames.co.uk or me chairman@olimpickgames.co.uk to talk about it further.

Buy Bob A Beer

We will be launching the “Buy Bob a Beer” campaign soon which you will be able to see around the town.  The first posters and collection tins will hopefully be out in time for this Friday’s fundraiser at The Volunteer Inn.  It’s a pub-based collection campaign based on a simple sum that if each member of the town (2,288 people) were able to donate the equivalent of 1 beer (£3.65 average price in Glos) per year, then we’d have enough each year to cover the essentials of the games, i.e. the toilets, security, yellow jackets, skips, fences, etc etc – you get the idea.  So look out for the yellow posters and the yellow collection tins and give what you can, when you can.

Events

For the Quizzers among you – and I know there are loads of ya – there will be a brilliant evening at The Eight Bells in the new year which will include food and a proper quiz.  Massive thanks to Neil & Julie Hargreaves who have offered this.  Watch this space for the date, it will be around that time when Christmas is a distant memory and your resolutions are beginning to crumble.

Don’t forget there’s also a fundraiser at The Volunteer Inn this Friday 6th with some great live music from Brixton Alley and specially reformed Zool.

History

One of our friends at De Montfort University, Prof. Martin Polley is giving a fascinating talk soon entitled Olimpick Games and Olympian Games - Lost & Found.  I'll be heading there and if you'd like to go, you can register for your free ticket here.

Costume

We are in the process of having some new costumes made, in period, to be worn at the time of the games, made by an extremely talented and generous person – I’ll tell you more about that later in the year.

Volunteers

Volunteer Recruitment has been encouragingly steady.  I appreciate it’s difficult to know what you can do to help when even we haven’t even said how we need help but bear with us, we’ll get there.  If you know you want to help and don’t mind at what, you can put your name down at Toke’s Food & Drink in the High Street, or visit them on Saturday 28th October where there will be food, drink, music and lots of chillies – hopefully a chilli eating competition too if we can find enough brave people!

Survey

Thanks to everyone who filled out the survey and also those who left your email.  It is now closed but the information provided was very helpful in making some decisions at committee meetings.

Contact the Games
As I touched on last month, we’ve broken the organisation of the games down into manageable chunks so you can now aim your question at the right people dealing with it (see my last post for the emails).  If you have trouble, please contact me directly on chairman@olimpickgames.co.uk

That’s it for now folks, thanks for reading and let’s talk again after the next committee meeting which is on Tuesday 17th October at The Lygon Arms. You're also most welcome to that, too.

Thanks for your Support!

Tom.

by Chairman

Chairman's Blog | First New Committee Meeting, Fundraising & Volunteers

Well, hello there Shinkickers. I trust your August is going swimmingly, despite the lacklustre weather.
There has been much activity within the Robert Dover’s Games Society (RDGS) since my last post, culminating in our monthly meeting last Tuesday at The Lygon Arms. There is so much to discuss it’s hard to know where begin, so we’ve started by taking an overview of the games and split everything up into manageable chunks. The catering team met last night and the treasury meeting is next week before the next full meeting in September.

We were lucky enough to be joined at the meeting by 15 enthusiastic people and there were a few apologies. This is great news as it means we now have a meaningful number of people to get stuff decided and acted upon. The meeting was very productive; following introductions to some new faces, we got on with the business of divvying up the work. Without going into too much detail, there will now be specific groups concerned with looking after the different aspects of the games.

You’ll be able to contact them directly after the next meeting on 19th September:

info@olimpickgames.co.uk – for general enquiries from the public
media@olimpickgames.co.uk – media/video/photo/news enquiries
accounts@olimpickgames.co.uk – anything to do with money
catering@olimpickgames.co.uk – food & drink
ops@olimpickgames.co.uk – Planning, legals and operations.
fundraising@olimpickgames.co.uk – raising funds
admin@olimpickgames.co.uk – the one in charge of all the info
chairman@olimpickgames.co.uk – direct line to the chairman of the games.

At first glance it might seem excessive to have so many email addresses, but it is part of a wider effort to tidy up the administration side of the organising committee. By doing this we will now be able to keep a record of everything that goes into putting on the games which, we hope, will help to ensure their continuity and make it easier for new people to step into vacated roles. In addition to the new emails, we now have a shared, secure, online space in which to store every bit of information concerning the games. This will also be going live at the next meeting and will be accessible to committee members as and when they need it.

In Other Games News

We’re lucky enough to have a young designer come forward who will be helping us to produce promotional material and get it out into surrounding towns and villages as the games approaches and also undertake an audit of the signs in and around the games and the town.

We’ve had at least one person offer to be a rider for us next year but are still looking for a second accomplished equestrian and a supplier of superb horses that are used to dealing with crowds of people. Plenty of time yet but it would be good to get this arranged as soon as possible so if that’s you, or you know someone it might be… Get in touch.

Transparency & Positivity

It’s my belief that it’s easier to organise a community event such as this if you can engage everyone whom it might affect and this is why I try to write a blog post each month at least. One reason is the transparency it offers. If we don’t tell people what’s going on, they can’t jump in and help. Equally, it’s a major part of spreading the word about the games. The more people who are talking positively about it, the better the games will eventually become. Enthusiasm is infectious.

Fundraising

So, in the name of transparency, the headline figure that we are aiming for is a fundraising total, this year, of £10,000.00 to get the games up and running again. We have already managed to put £1,400.00 towards this, and there are a number of events planned throughout the year but obviously we will need the help of Campden to reach our total. So, if you’re doing something crazy for charity and are short of a cause…. You know where to look. Because of this, we will be setting up a donations page too so we can all keep tabs on how it’s getting on. It’s also a great way that people can get involved in their own time, if it’s difficult for them to commit to regular meetings etc.

To break that down into a manageable number, if every resident of Chipping Campden gave £3.75 in one year (about the price of a pint), we’d hit our target for fundraising!

We’ll be putting together fundraising initiatives throughout the year so keep ‘em peeled for how you can help.

Volunteers

We believe that by conservative estimates, we need 50 volunteers on the day of the games. We have to ensure that the site is safe for visitors and largely these voluntary roles will be guiding and directing visitors, taking money and generally being a happy face of the games. In recent years these numbers have dropped dramatically, but having talked to many people since the reformed committee started, I am very confident we can achieve these numbers, so keep your eyes peeled for the meetings we’ll be holding and have a think about what you might be able to do.

That’s about it for now, folks. I have lots of people to see again this month and we have a financial meeting, a catering meeting, some photoshoots, a radio slot and a visit to the hill to plan the next layout. As usual, you can contact the committee through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, email or via the website, or me directly on the email below. Enjoy the rest of the summer holidays, we’ll be back in a few weeks, conkers at the ready!

Cheers.

Heigh for Cotswold!

Tom.

Below are three pictures which were dug out for us by Martin Polley, Friend of the Games and Sports Historian Extraordinaire (not his official title). They're from 1951. Wonderfully, The lady in the left hand photo, Cynthia replied to our post on social media to let us know that she was crowned May Queen in 1950 and then she passed on the crown to her cousin, Rosemary, (pictured right) in 1951.

Throughout the year, hopefully we can unearth more of the history of the games and we'll bring you some more treats from the past. If anyone has any memorabilia, please get in touch as we'll be preparing an official archive as part of our medium and long term plans.

Note: A while ago, when the games had to be postponed this year, I put a post out about the games being cancelled because of health and safety concerns. If I was writing it today I would probably rephrase it as it was either misleading or was misconstrued. To set the record straight, it was nothing to do with anyone or any institution saying that the games themselves were in breach of any laws concerning health and safety. Rather, it was that there weren’t enough resources to be able to guarantee the health and safety of those attending the games.

by Chairman

Chairman's Blog | August '17

I hope you’re enjoying the summer so far. It’s been all-go at Dover’s HQ with ideas flowing in all directions, lots of meetings with people who have expressed an interest in helping, and various visits to the site of the games with various people to look at various bits and pieces. Incidentally, there is no Dover’s HQ, it’s a fictional place in my head at the moment full of medieval knights, a big wooden castle and other bizarre unconnected items.

A few of us took a walk up to the site at the beginning of the week to get a feel for it without anybody there and to introduce some new helpers who had never really sat and pondered up there. We had a look at where things happen as they are now, and how they might happen in the future. Needless to say we also took in the view, mused on how lucky we are to have the hill to walk on, and then watched as some big rain ambled its way over Worcestershire towards us, overlaid onto a stunning sunset.

On Wednesday we talked lots about harnessing the power of social media to our benefit (we currently receive millions of hits on our YouTube videos hosted by third party outlets - 3.9m on Ladbible's Facebook page alone.) – how, why, and who do we know? We know that The Games regularly features as the “Look at those Crazy Brits” story on loads of major news channels around the world and apparently the shin kicking has even been shown on the state-run news channel in the DPRK. We’re still thinking about how we can best show off the games online, it will no doubt be an ongoing thing.

On Thursday it was uplifting to see so many emails, messages and texts from many different places around the country from people I’ve never met and indeed, some of whom have never even been to Campden. In general they were from well-wishers who have been involved with other, similar style events and people offering advice and meetings. It restored my faith in humanity – not that it had been lost – but you know what I mean!

On Friday I met with Drs Martin Polley and Heather Dichter. They are both from de Montfort University and had offered their ears and ideas on the games. We had a great lunch (as usual) in The Eight Bells and tried to pin down some of the million ideas for the games. Afterwards we took a stroll to The Volunteer to meet outgoing Games Chairman and Historical Ambassador for The Games, Graham Greenall.

Graham had brought the Annalia Dubrensia with him which is the first time I’ve laid eyes on it (it was printed in London in 1636 and bought for the games for posterity and education). It was another great discussion and threw up a ton more possibilities, it was also educational for me as I learned about Campden’s first Olympic medallist in 1908 (Sorry Matt!) and the alleged cheating during the tug o’ war….. That’s probably for a later story. Suffice to say it was exciting to meet people from outside the area who have such a knowledge and passion for our games and those like it from around the country. We look forward to working with them both in the future.

This week I’m off to talk about performing arts and watch some people who do something rather exciting, to me anyway – but I won’t say anything on that yet, in case hopes are falsely raised! That will be it before the next meeting on 15th Aug at 19:30

See y'all soon.

Tom.
chairman@olimpickgames.co.uk

by Chairman

Chairman's Blog | Introduction

I am pleased to introduce myself as the new Chairman of the Robert Dover’s Games Society, following on from the stewardship of Graham Greenall who has been a loyal servant of the games for many years. I thank him greatly for all he has done and continues to do for The Games. Graham will continue to be a historical ambassador for the society. (That's me with my family in the picture)

After their postponement in 2017, it is a transitional time for The Games as we look at every facet of how it is run and staged and what needs to change to ensure that the tradition is kept alive for generations to come. We hope to build closer relationships with the businesses and institutions in the town and I will be visiting as many as I can in the coming months.

We have a great group of people working closely together on The Games, but there is always room for more. Whatever your skill sets, age, or abilities, you will always be most welcome to join the growing family of Gamesmakers. We will continue to meet on the third Tuesday of each month at The Lygon Arms in Chipping Campden at 7.30pm.

The mood in the camp is very positive and our priority is to be in a position to stage the event in 2018. To do this, we will be fundraising throughout the year, following on from the heroic effort of The Volunteer Inn & Toke’s who between them raised nearly £1500.00 through hosting the musical event in June – a truly fantastic benchmark. We already have some great events planned throughout the year so keep your eyes on the website and Facebook pages for further details of these.

Lastly and arguably tantamount in importance to putting the games on…… We need some talented Horse-Folk! Each year, Robert Dover and Endymion Porter are represented – on horseback – at the games and we hope to find a new pair to take over these roles. You’ll need to be an experienced rider and have your own steed - A penchant for fancy dress and general jollity is also desirable! While the two gentlemen in question were indeed men, it’s now 2017 and 405 years on, so men & women are both invited to apply for these prestigious positions.

I welcome your suggestions and comments on the games and if you have something which you would like considered by the committee, please email me at info@olimpickgames.co.uk and I will put it on the agenda for the next meeting. Better still, come and tell us your thoughts in person at the next meeting.

That’s it for now. I look forward to serving the games as chairman and helping to get them back up and running for 2018. I’ll be writing on the website each month to keep you up-to-date with what is happening.

Heigh for Cotswold!

Tom Threadgill

Chairman

Robert Dover’s Games Society

by Chairman

Looking Ahead To The 2018 Games

The 2017 games date came and went, and while it was a shame the games didn't happen, Scuttlebrook Wake went ahead as planned and did the town proud.

On the Friday, The Volunteer Inn presented Tommy & The Fuse (who would have been playing The Square) under the covers in the garden, while mother nature did her best to deter the crowd with lashings and lashings of the wet stuff. The Vol footed half the band's cost and raised a further £400 toward the 2018 Games fund - massive thank you to The Vol crew for that.

The floats were once again brilliant, and the town came out in full support of this great tradition. As well as co-funding the band on Friday, Toke's also provided Saturday street entertainment on the High Street, showcasing a funk-trio of incredibly talented musicians which was wonderfully received by revelers on the banks of the West side of the High Street.

A massive thank you and well done to everyone who made the weekend special - a notable shout out also to The Red Lion who donated their float prize money towards next year's games.

Since the revelry, I have spoken to lots of people in the town who have been eager to know how they can help, when the next meeting is and whether there is going to even be a games in 2018. There will be a meeting announced on here and on our social media pages very soon - everybody is welcome - and further announcements will be made in due course about the 2018 games. All I can say is that at the moment, there is a huge desire and a will to bring it back and with the support of the town we will be able to put it on AND guarantee the future of the games.

Bookmark this news page, or sign up to receive it as emails in your inbox, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

by Chairman