Tag Archives: funny

The 2017 comedy wildlife photography awards

Out of 3,500 entries from across the world, this year’s funny winners include a laughing dormouse, a shocked seal, and bears caught in the act

St Andrews Seed Sessions

An extract from the book 40 Humourous British Traditions Most people think nothing of mundane activities such as spitting out a seed, flicking a discarded pip from a trouser leg, or squeezing a cherry stone between your fingers until it scoots into the distance. However in St Andrews in Fife these activities are celebrated inContinue reading “St Andrews Seed Sessions”

Carrot and Stick Festival

An extract from the book 40 Humourous British Traditions The carrot and stick approach has been defined as combining a promised reward with a threatened penalty although other people believe that the phrase should read “carrot on a stick,” which is purely an incentive with no implied threat. Both phrases have been incorporated into theContinue reading “Carrot and Stick Festival”

Cat Chasing

An extract from the book 40 Humourous British Traditions Barton-in-the-Beans is a village in the county of Leicestershire in the heart of England. In the Middle Ages it was believed that there were more cats in the village than in any other village or town in the country. This could only mean one thing inContinue reading “Cat Chasing”

Seven-legged racing from Exeter – Part 2

  At 8:30 a.m. the starting judge shouts to the teams, “bare ye legs.” All shaving, lubricating, and massaging of the calves must cease and the Tying Men bind the runners’ legs together using jute stripped from old sacks. The knots are very strong and won’t come apart during the race. The teams line upContinue reading “Seven-legged racing from Exeter – Part 2”

Seven-legged racing from Exeter – Part 1

The festival of seven-legged racing takes place around the cathedral in Exeter on the third Thursday after the second full moon after Ash Wednesday. The seven-legged race comprises teams of six people who race around the cathedral close in an anti-clockwise direction. The prize is won by the first team to cross the finishing lineContinue reading “Seven-legged racing from Exeter – Part 1”

Fingernail Contest in the New Forest – Part 3

There’s also the pulling fingernail contest where people have to pull large weights along just using their fingernails. The objects used include ploughs, buses and Nell Gwynn, a local cow with a reputation for being bad-tempered. A rope is tied to the object and the contestant then digs their fingernails into the rope and pullsContinue reading “Fingernail Contest in the New Forest – Part 3”

The “She Loves Me, She Loves Me not” Contest – Exmoor

This is an excerpt from the book 40 Humourous British Traditions Fans of Lorna Doone believe that Exmoor is a romantic place and so many of them come with a dandelion and play the “she loves me, she loves me not” game – men blow the dandelion and say “she loves me” and then blowContinue reading “The “She Loves Me, She Loves Me not” Contest – Exmoor”

Animal Gambling

Animal Gambling – an extract from the book 40 Humourous British Traditions available on Amazon. Before the days of casinos and one-armed bandits in pubs, people found many different ways to gamble. They would sometimes bet on two flies crawling up a wall; if the wall was missing they’d bet on the number of raindropsContinue reading “Animal Gambling”