Alive and kicking

I like the Cotswolds - I have some very happy memories of spending summers with relatives in and around Painswick. But they do some very peculiar things in that part of the world. As if the annual cheese-rolling jamboree wasn't enough, I also now discover they hold a 'shin kicking championships'.

This month's Countryfile magazine (check it out if you haven't seen it, it's a great read) explains how this contest will form part of the Cotswold Olimpicks on Monday May 29, which take place at the National Trust-owned Dover's Hill.

Founded in 1612, they were re-established in the 1960s and now visitors watch tug o' wars, sledgehammer throwing and a local version of tossing the caber called 'spurning the barre'.

The shin kicking battle does exactly what it says on the tin: shin kickers grab their opposite number's shoulders in a bid to land a sharp blow to their shins.

Contestants wear traditional white coats, they're only permitted to wear soft shoes and are allowed to pack their trousers witdover's Hill, National Trusth straw.

Believe it or not, there is even a body representing the sport (is it a sport?) called the Shin Kickers of Britain (it goes under the wonderful acronym of SKAB). They're even trying to get it made an Olympic sport. And their motto: If it ain't broke, yer not kickin' hard enough....