It’s Friday afternoon once again, dear readers, and this week Diary is here to update you on the latest charity gravy news.
Bank Holiday Monday saw the 11th annual World Gravy Wrestling Championships the Rose and Bowl pub in Rossendale, Lancashire.
It’s that time of year again when 24 men and women take part in a series of two-minute bouts took place in a big paddling pool of gravy, all in the name of charity. As the World Gravy Wrestling Championships website is keen to stress, this is an event open to amateur gravy wrestlers only. Like the Olympics, any professionals are strictly forbidden.
To make it even harder, all competitors were required to wear fancy dress. A team of local firefighters were in attendance to hose down the attendees.
Congratulations go to Roxy Afzal, aka Foxy Roxy, a neo natal nurse from Manchester, who successfully defended her title, while Joel Hicks won the men’s trophy for the fifth time.
Hicks, aka Gandalf the Gravy, won the first championships back in 2007, so his longevity clearly displays he is the Serena Williams of meat sauce combat.
All participants raised money for a charity of their choice, with the World Gravy Wrestling Championships recommending the nearby East Lancashire Hospice as a cause.
As you can imagine, with face painting, a bouncy castle and a tombola also on offer at the event, hundreds of people come to watch the championships each year.
However, the event may have inadvertently revived feelings of cross-Pennines rivalry. Radio station Capital Yorkshire tweeted in response to the event: “The World Gravy Wrestling championships happened in Lancashire over the weekend. It totally should be here in Yorkshire instead so next year we're going to do our very own Gravy Wrestling match for Yorkshire Day.”
Diary just hopes this friendly rivalry doesn’t escalate into War of The Roses 2: Gravy Edition.
Would you like some more gravy?
The wrestling competition led Diary to investigate what other gravy charity news had taken place this year.
There are a few instances of brave members of the public sitting in a bath of the stuff to raise money for a cause.
Particular kudos goes to postwoman Stacy Grant, from Elgin in the North East, who sat in a bath of gravy in her garden on World Kidney Day earlier this year to raise money for Kidney Research UK.
Grant undertook this challenge despite the fact that she “detests” the sauce, which is what Diary likes to hear.
To impress Diary, a fundraising scheme must involve someone doing something they will genuinely find unpleasant. The only time Diary will donate to a friend sky diving for charity is if they can be sure that the fundraiser has either a chronic fear of heights or wide open spaces.
And finally, in a slightly different example of charity gravy news. Earlier this year, Isle of Man charity Culture Vannin proposed the creation of a National Chips, Cheese & Gravy Day on the island.
According to the charity, the trading name for the Manx Heritage Foundation, the popular meal mixes chips with grated Manx Cheddar and beef gravy.
A spokesman for the charity was reported as saying: “We've just had Burns Night where people connected with Scotland worldwide celebrated the national dish of haggis, neeps and tatties.
"Having a day for chips, cheese and gravy is great fun, giving a shout out to something that has arguably become the ultimate comfort food on the Isle of Man."
However, the Isle of Man's traditional national dish is priddhas an' herrin - a meal of boiled potatoes and steamed herring.
After a positive response this year, there are hopes that the day will now be celebrated on the last Monday of January every year.
Diary has already made a note in its calendar to show support for Manx heritage by eating chips, cheese and gravy on the correct date next year. This is what Diary tends to eat on most cold Monday evenings anyway but it is nice to have an excuse.
Related articles
