Thursday, May 16, 2013

Annual cheese roll is down hill all the way

Good news for cheese lovers or those people who believe that cheese can be used for other means than on crackers. Would-be participants are preparing for the annual Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling Festival challenge or competition, scheduled to take place this year on Monday, May 27, 2013.

Chasing cheese down a hill - be still my beating heart! There is something about this challenge that is Monty Python-esque, at least in my eyes.

In the way of background information, the event dates back to the 1800's and features an 8lb - give or take a couple of ounces - Double Gloucester cheese, which is rolled down what is described as a very steep hill.

According to the BBC who keep track of these type of stories, cheese rolling could have been initiated by the Phoenicians who lived in the south-western parts of Britain before the Roman invasion of 54BC, by the ancient Britons, or by the Romans themselves. Furthermore, the first evidence of cheese rolling was discovered in a message to the Gloucester Town Crier in 1826.

The procedure is simple in that participants or cheese rollers/roll-ees  set off to push the cheese down the hill. The first cheese rolls at noon and there are five downhill races, spaced 20 minutes apart. This begs (or at least makes one - me - wonder) as to the rationale behind the race. The winner(s) get to keep the cheese or what is left of it when it reaches the bottom. One wonders how much falls off along the way.

Just thinking...do participants use a stick to propel their cheese down hill or let gravity do the work?
As a person who hasn't tried this type of challenge (cheese is for eating IMHO - then again...) given that the cheese travels down a grassy surface, wouldn't it require some type of intervention i.e. hand/stick to keep it going?

So picture this: cheese slabs sliding and making their way down hill trailed by screaming humans. What if local mice and rat families who make their home on the hill wait on the side-lines to make their moves.

LOCAL RODENT PHILIP
I say, Percy. Do you see what I see?

LOCAL RODENT PERCY
Well bless my stars! Could it be?

LOCAL RODENT PHILIP
(sniffing the air)
The aroma is familiar

LOCAL RODENT PERCY
(smelling the air)
Smells like...

LOCAL RODENT PHILIP
...cheddar would you say?

LOCAL RODENT PERCY
(still sniffing the air)
It might be, although...it smells more like...

LOCAL RODENTS (PHILIP) & PERCY TOGETHER
...Gloucester !

PERCY
I do like a piece of Gloucestershire in the morning. How about you, Philip?

LOCAL RODENT PHILIP
I'm more a cheddar mouse myself but this is an opportunity too good to pass up. Should we?

LOCAL RODENT PERCY
I say we should! Ready?

LOCAL RODENT PHILIP
You take a front chunk and I'll take a back bite and we'll meet back for tea at my hole

LOCAL RODENT PERCY
I say, Philip. You are the best host. What type of tea will we be drinking, today?

LOCAL RODENT PHILIP
For Gloucestershire, only Earl Grey will do. Here they come! Free cheese on the way!

Right now, people reading this who are wondering just how this double Gloucester cheese is made might want to watch this:  http://www.smartsgloucestercheese.com/making.html

For those people who might want to try their hand in this - well - interesting pastime, here is a video of what to expect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GdVnzDFyLg

Some people like to chase their cheese while others prefer to have it served on a plate with crackers. Different strokes for different folk.

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