This week john and geoff take a look at a usersubmitted sport called dwile flonking, from the uk. Dec 19, 2012 the nonflonking team joins hands and dances in a circle around a member of the flonking team, a practice known as girting. A last hurrah for dwile flonking and maggot racing. This book romps through the rolling countryside and along the shingled coastline of suffolk, unearthing the curious along the way. Like stoolball, dwile flonking is still practiced in remote areas of the english countryside. Lewes history group was founded in 2009 and supports an active programme of talks. Dwile flonking is an old english pub game in which flonkers launch a beersoaked cloth off the end of a pole towards circling. A history of the games is included but most importantly it tells you where they can be seen and played today. Centred around the villages of bungay and beccles in suffolk this is a bizarre game made even more. The dwile flonking we all know and love however was first played in 1966 in norfolk. Social relations in a multiethnic, inner city primary school ebook written by paul connolly.
However, this traditional pub sport has been banned in several places because it had violated health and safety regulations. Tales from the strangled ferret book ii the moving. British pathe now represents the reuters historical collection, which includes more than 6,000 items from 1910 to 1984. First published in 1870, this treasury of words that have a story to tell has established itself as one of the great reference classicsthe first port of call for tens of thousands of terms, phrases and proper names, and a fund of fascinating, unusual and. Dwile flonking in halesworth halesworth and district museum.
Dwile flonking does exist i watched some students playing it in 1974 but, as the article says, it was invented by michael bentine as part of his its a square world tv show in the early 60s. This includes chucking beersoaked rags at your friends, otherwise known as dwile flonking. Outside the bucket is another drunk, called the flonker. The books are printed by a longestablished company called clays from bungay in suffolk and, as i saw the name on the outside of the delivery. Whether this is a serious sport or not is up to you to decide, but it does have a semistoried history and even a countrywide ban. Sep 14, 2018 lewes properties put buyers inside an eccentric circle. Dwileflonking dictionary definition dwileflonking defined. You can find the sport of the week right here every week, or subscribe on itunes. Fox tossing and other forgotten blood sports the boston globe. With a number of authors having lived in or near lewes, it features, explicitly or disguised, in a number of books. Hard to think there would be a better place to see it than here where ol tommy paine started forming his thoughts of freedom, rebellion, and democracy. The big book of the uk introduces readers to customs and culture of the united kingdom. Much of the research has been made publicly available in a series of books, also.
Presented like a history book, the novel details the events of the town, starting with lewis and clarks journals and ending with the events in the shows finale. Jun 17, 2016 my toastmasters cc7 speech is a funfocused speech about sussex day. Brewers dictionary of phrase and fable, seventeenth edition. Bbc suffolk going out pubs the art of dwile flonking. Britains most eccentric sports cheese rolling, nettle eating, bog snorkelling and dwile flonking britain is truly home to some of the worlds most eccentric sports. In 2010, a group of enterprising dwile flonking enthusiasts tried to organize the firstever world championships, at the dog inn pub in ludham, great yarmouth. In the history of these pub games is a small history of the communities of the. The flonker dips his dwile tipped driveller a pole 23 ft long and made from hazel or yew in a bucket of beer, spins around in the opposite direction to the girters and flonks his dwile at them. Various shots show the waveney valley dwile flonkers having a drink outside the wherry inn. Talk and exhibition will take place in the rifle hall. Whol was the best history teacher well actually the best teacher in general that i have ever had, and i only got to have him for one year. The sport dates back to at least the 16 th century, when it was depicted in the flemish master, pieter brueghel the elders childrens games. Sandwiched between ecclesiastical penances handed down to adulterers and fornicators, and the odd porcelain incendiary bombs commemorating the zeppelin raids, is an alphabetical cornucopia of strange, spooky and mysterious facts about the county.
Bog snorkelling, dwile flonking, goat grabbing and more. Australia, hong kong and america asking for a flonking rule book. The flonker dips his dwile tipped driveller a pole 23 ft long and made from hazel or yew into a bucket of beer, then spins around in the opposite direction to the girters and flonks his dwile at them. Lewes history group was founded in 2009 and supports an active programme of talks, information and research into the history of the town and surrounding areas. Ferriss history of cosmology and astronomy is a compellingly written, accessible tour of many of the main people behind humanitys biggest insights into the nature of the universe. Dwile is, tellingly, thought to be from the dutch word, dweil, meaning cloth. Jan 04, 2002 racism, gender identities and young children.
Played at the pub the pub games of britain by arthur r taylor phs member arthur r taylor has been researching pub games for nearly forty years and has recently published his ultimate work on the subject played at the pub the pub games of britain. Id love to think that we could keep alive such country customs as dwile flonking. Hello, i wonder if you might like to know that one of the founders of dwile flonking, rob devereux, died a few weeks ago. The sports inaugural world championships were due to be held on saturday at the dog inn pub, in ludham, great yarmouth. I am a helicopter pilot so i dont spend a lot of time on the ground outside of the airfield i know pog right but i have gotten to fly over most of the country. Dwile flonking was used in a promotion by the alliance and leicester building society in 1998 for their current account. Learn about the sport of dwile flonking and find out where black diamonds come from. In the history of these pub games is a small history of the communities of the uk. The lewes speakers festival was created in the mid2010s and brings a range of national speakers to the town each year, on a range of political, literary and historical topics. Rob, along with andy leverett and george high actually invented the game in 1967 whilst pretending that the rules were found in an attic in bungay, suffolk. A game of dwile flonking was played at the beccles festival of sport in. Dwile flonking described by the late kenneth williams, incorrectly, as nurdling even gets its own chapter. There is now a widespread belief amongst those people who have heard of it that its an ancient medieval game, which it certainly isnt.
There were links between parts of east anglia and the netherlands, especially in the eighteenth century, and it is conceivable that the suffolk dialect word was borrowed from dutch. Well, it involves beer and spinning in a fast circle, so naturally its now a favourite local tradition. Coventrys dwile flonking team win world championships. A guide to our wonderful array of bizarre pastimes, this book picks up the baton or possibly the flonking stick in order to champion the sports that really matter. At the age of 17 he went to boston and entered the retail boot and shoe trade.
It differs in every village, but near us it was a game in which a rag the dwile was soaked in beer and passed. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Uk an obscure and intentionally preposterous sport in which teams take turns to dance while avoiding a dwile beersoaked cloth thrown by their opponents. Dwile flonking dwyle flunking resurrected in the late 1960s dwile flonking or dwyle flunking is an outdoor pub game of dubious origin but startling originality. Strange sports, yes, but actual sports nonetheless. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. The earliest known game of dwile flonking took place in 1966 in a small town in england, though some. Dwile flonking at the cotswold olimpicks the dabbler. A couple of days ago, richard wrote about the first house he ever lived in as part of the 73 blog challenge. Ken from america arrives to watch the horse racing but ends up watching the annual dwile flonking match instead. Does dwile flonking really date back to the suffolk harvests of 400.
This pub game, where a soggy dishcloth is lobbed at a ring of players, traditionally takes place outside a tavern. Origin possibly from dutch dweil floorcloth and english flong, an old past tense of fling. Then again, all history is naught but lies and half truths, and none more so than this. Fustigation fury training to fight from the primeval to the. Dwile flonking world championships 11th august 2012, ludham. Dwyle flunking at a pub in england the boston globe. Dwile flonking a traditional norfolk drinking game. Mezzofanti, with his sixtyfour languages and dialects, was perilously like a fool. Aug 06, 2012 dwile flonking world championships 2012. The world of dwile flonking, a traditional norfolk and suffolk pub sport, has been rocked by the theft of the gazunder trophy so called because it goes under the bed being a chamber pot. Jul 15, 2009 unlike most pub game books this one concentrates on the present. The dog inn, in ludham bridge, norfolk, hosts a dwile flonking competition. In mid1960s norfolk, england, it became a favorite activity of locals to gather in a large group, dance to an accordion, and hit one another. Dwile flonking for some enthusiast, this sport can be traced back during the suffolk harvests which was 400 years ago.
I have recently visited one pub in suffolk mentioned in the book where the quoits court was covered up and caravans were parked on it. The flonker dips his dwile tipped driveller a pole 23 ft long and made from hazel or yew in a bucket of beer, spins around in the opposite direction to the girters and flonks his dwile. Liverpool university press is the uks third oldest university press, with a distinguished history of publishing exceptional research since 1899 aunt sally in oxford, toad in the hole in lewes, bagatelle in chester, quoits in darlington and bat and trap in kent they sound like relics of a bygone age, and yet contrary to popular belief the pub games of britain live on. After the waveney valley dwile flonking association appeared on the eamonn andrews television programme in 1967, requests for a flonking rule book were. Dwileflonking11 0 points 1 point 2 points 1 year ago i am in afghanistan right now. Or the sixteenth, depending on who you want to believe. Porson was a sort of learned pig who routed up truffles in the classic garden. The non flonking team joins hands and dances in a circle around a member of the flonking team, a practice known as girting. Dwile flonking had been played since the 16th century at least, and now was at last returned to its rightful place among the regular pub games of suffolk.
In 1856 he moved to chicago to enhance his business opportunities. Inside the bucket is a beerdrenched rag and a stick. Apr 20, 2014 an educational video about an oddball sport from the u. The pastime of dwile flonking involves two teams, each taking a turn to dance around the other while attempting to avoid a beersoaked dwile cloth thrown by the nondancing team. History nonfiction this book romps through the rolling countryside and along the shingled coastline of suffolk, unearthing the curious along the way. The flonker dips his dwiletipped driveller a pole 23 ft long and made from hazel or yew into a bucket of beer, then spins around in the opposite direction to the girters and flonks his dwile at them. In dwile flonking, a group of festive drunks link arms and dance in a circle to traditional music. Aug 04, 2016 this book romps through the rolling countryside and along the shingled coastline of suffolk, unearthing the curious along the way. Dwile flonking dominic bugatto for the boston globe in mid1960s norfolk, england, it became a favorite activity of locals to gather in a large group, dance to an accordion, and hit one another in. In march of 1742, evangeline yallop daughter of the reverend stanley barsham, vicar of darsham, wrote in her diary of her father and her husband george. Dwile flonkingbecame the subjectof a few newspaper articles, and the game even appeared onthe television program the eamonn andrews show in 1967.
Colin was quite busy drawing pints of old mouldy in between running the lemon slicing machine he was still getting niggling problems. Suffolk going out pubs the art of dwile flonking bbc. Folklore of the scottish highlands book pdf download. Quite by chance the subject of dwile flonking was brought up on the chat forum of the welsh terrier owners society uk this has led to a great many postings and reminiscences from. British beer and summer festivals notes from the u. Brewers dictionary of phrase and fable is one of the worlds bestloved reference books. Cc7 is called research your topic which was perfect for this subject which covers the miracle of st. Schotts miscellanies claims that a variant of the game is depicted in a 16thcentury painting by pieter brueghel the elder.
Dwile floking given permission to go ahead using alcohol following the ban on using alcohol at the 2010 dwile flonking world championships, north norfolk licencing have had a change of heart and given their permission for real ale to be used during the games. If dizzy bat was just throwing a wet towel at cult. True, such games as knur and spell the poor mans golf, peggy, billets and nipsy once played by yorkshire miners, appear to have died out in recent years, joining in the history books such former favourites as loggats, bumblepuppy, guile bones, noddy board, slide thrust, foxminehost and the mysterious milking cromock. Sandwiched between ecclesiastical penances handed down to adulterers and fornicators, and the odd porcelain incendiary bombs commemorating the zeppelin raids, is an alphabetical cornucopia of. Browse and buy a vast selection of sports books and. Subtitled the most dangerous and bizarre sports in history true enough, but one crucial adjective omitted from that description is cruel, because for every entry on mob football or dwile flonking, it feels like theres about six on the various ways men have killed animals for pleasure. Fox tossing, octopus wrestling and other forgotten sports by. Lewes properties put buyers inside an eccentric circle. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Played in britain is a tenyear research project for english heritage which seeks to record and celebrate britains sporting and recreational heritage, coinciding with the period from the staging of the 2002 commonwealth games in manchester to the 2012 olympics. Toastmasters cc7 speech on the beach sussex day flonking. A great book for anyone with an interest in pubs and social history in general. There is now a widespread belief amongst those people who have heard of.
The traditional east anglian pub sport of dwile flonking has been banned by a council because it breached health and safety drinking laws. Fox tossing, octopus wrestling and other forgotten sports. The circle begins moving counterclockwise at the referees command of here yis. Meet the supernatural animal that haunts the scottish highlands and discover the british sweets that helped hillary and tenzing scale everest. Bowls in beecroft being the official history of beecroft bowling club from 19 to 1946. Fox tossing and other forgotten blood sports the boston.
This first new brewers of the 21st century maintains and respects the books 5yearold tradition, while offering a wealth of fascinating new material to reflect the phrase and fable of a changing world. Dwile flonking is normally played by two teams dressed as country yokels or any other fancy dress including team tshirtsuniform etc. Dwile flonking featured as an element in legal hearings, when assessing an application for a licence extension to cater for the dinner dance of the waveney valley dwile flonking association. Traditional games such as nipsy the poor mans golf, played by barnsley miners, may have died out in the 1990s, joining in the history books such former favourites as guile bones, noddy board, slide thrust, foxminehost, ticktack, and the mysterious milking cromock. The traditional east anglian pub sport of dwile flonking has been banned by a council because it breached health and safety drinking laws, it was claimed. Anne ross is a gaelicspeaking scholar and archaeologist who has lived and worked in crofting communities, which has enabled her to collect information firsthand and assess the veracity of material already published. Is dwile flonking really a centuries old east anglian drinking game or just something some drinking pals dreamed up one afternoon.
Flonking enthusiasts proudly claim this practice dates back to medieval times, originating during the suffolk harvests 400 years ago, but that seems very unlikely. Moody 18371899, american evangelist, was an outstanding representative of popular 19thcentury protestant revivalism. Oct 05, 2011 in 1967, an ancient pub game was brought back into the light, complete with the discovery of an old textthe wavenly rules of 1585to bolster its legitimacy. After the waveney valley dwile flonking association appeared on the eamonn andrews television programme in 1967, requests for a flonking rule book were received from australia, hong kong, and america. Promoted by the federation of childrens book groups fcbg, nonfiction november is an opportunity to encourage children to pick up books about all things factual from science, history and the world around us, to biographies or memoirs of famous people. Whatever the answer, it has now found its way to the internet. Female pioneers often go underrepresented in the history booksespecially in the fields of science and mathematicsbut this tome aims to tip the scales. Download now the folklore of the scottish highlands is unique and very much alive. Dwile flonking or dwyle flunking is an outdoor pub game of dubious origin but startling originality. Sport of the week dwile flonking that one sports show. Oct 12, 2017 these games included a bizarre dance competition that featured the village idiot as a referee, called dwile flonking.
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