Raising a glass or two for pub race fun day (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Raising a glass or two for pub race fun day

12:18pm Tuesday 19th May 2009 in

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SIGHTINGS of the Dalai Lama visiting the hostelries of Whitchurch were reported last year. He was accompanied by Knights of the Round Table and bright blue Smurfs.

While all of this may sound strange, it is, in fact, part of the tradition and fun of the revived Whitchurch Pub Race.

The pub race – organised by the Whitchurch Festival team, which also oversaw the return of the town’s carnival – pulled in £1,200 which was later divided among different charities at the end of the summer.

The race is set to take to take place again next Sunday while the carnival procession will be heading through Whitchurch on Saturday, June 20 – and both should prove to be equally colourful.

The Gazette archive is full of memories of this event. Thirty years ago the organisers of the Whitchurch Beer Race – as it was then called – were over the moon as the event attracted a record number of entries raising £800 for local groups.

Then the race was quite a risqué affair compared to last year’s pub crawl. The high-spirited event started off at about 8pm at the Sports and Social Club and took in nine Whitchurch pubs, including The Old Brewery and The Yeoman, which have since closed. To add some extra fun, each team member was roped together. With each of the eager participants having to down half a pint at every pub, it is not surprising that carnival committee chairman John Faulkner said: “I guess it must have got out of hand at times, but it was great fun.”

Apparently, members of Whitchurch Cycles team had been rehearsing for the 1979 event since lunchtime and by the end of the day, they claimed to have drunk about two gallons each.

The Old Brewery team managed to get around the route in the quickest time in 34 minutes, but it was Tony Kebby, from Bere Hill, who no doubt turned a few heads.

Although, his team didn’t win, he still insisted on making his mark on the proceedings, running down the main street in pants and climbing the signpost on the town centre roundabout.

Ten years on, many of the competitors insisted they were not in the race for the beer – honest!

In 1989, the event attracted 14 teams of dedicated drinkers, who raised close to £400 for Leukaemia Research.

Stopping off at 11 pubs for a swift half, they had a difficult decision to make – whether to stay and collect some money or hurry on to the next pub. The Sunseekers, who by the look of them would normally have liked to take it nice and easy, were resplendent in Bermuda shorts and sunblock, and came joint first with the Beach Boys. The best-dressed prize went to a team of Draculas who swapped their usual tipple for some real red-blooded ale.

Last year’s event, which saw the race revived after a 12-year absence, attracted 80 competitors in 19 teams. After a staggered start from The Railway Hotel, in Station Road, the teams visited all eight pubs, making their way to Whitchurch Sports and Social Club, in Winchester Road.

Organiser Rob Dunlop, who is chairman of Whitchurch Festival committee, said the event went even better than he had hoped. The Hawaiian Beach Boys made it round the fastest, while Monty Python’s Silly English Kniggits were judged to have the best fancy dress. This year the race will start at the Prince Regent, where teams of three to five dressed in fancy dress will be tied together.

The first team will set off at 5pm and visit The Railway Hotel, The Bell, The Kings Arms, The White Hart, The Red House Inn, The Harvest Home, and finally The Sports and Social Club.

Entry forms and full details are available online at whitchurchfestival.org.uk or from pubs in the town.