Competitors trying to control their barrel in the annual Boxing Day Barrel Race in the village of Grantchester near Cambridge

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Picture shows competitors trying to control their barrel in the annual Boxing Day Barrel Race in the village of Grantchester near Cambridge.(Dec 26) Teams from the four local pubs compete, usually four at a time to roll the empty barrels up the main street as rapidly as possible without injuring the crowds of spectators who risk life and limb while screaming encouragement from behind a thin wall of straw bales. Cllr Francis Burkitt, organiser, said this will be the 12th year of races since the barrel race was revived. He said: "It started in the 1960s when drinkers from the four pubs in the village challenged each other to roll barrels on Boxing Day, and then lapsed in the late 1970s. We revived it in 2004." He added: "Once again, practising is strictly forbidden, and any team caught training in any other manner than by standing at a bar and drinking, will be immediately disqualified with utter dishonour."

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Size: 4949px × 3299px
Location: Grantchester,Cambridge,UK
Photo credit: © Geoffrey Robinson / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: bank, barrel, barrels, beer, boxing, cambridge, christmas, day, drinking, fun, grantchester, holiday, pub, pubs, race, rolling, tradition, winter