Race is flipping hell for Brits
2008-02-05 19:35
London - A traditional Shrove Tuesday pancake race in Britain was tossed off the menu due to overbearing health and safety regulations, newspapers reported.
The fun event in Ripon, northern England, is an annual Shrove Tuesday charge along a city street by schoolchildren, choristers and office workers, flipping pancakes as they go.
But the organisers felt forced to scrap the merriment this year due to the sheer cost of complying with regulations.
Organiser Bernard Bateman said Harrogate Borough Council wanted to charge them £250 to close Kirkgate Road.
Insurance risk assessments and paid medical staff in case of any injuries or accidents would also have been required.
"The main issue is the cobbled street that people could slip on. This stupidity never happened previously. It's a shame these issues stop the children enjoying such a traditional event," he told The Times.
"The policing costs are just as bad. The police wanted in excess of £1 200, which is just ridiculous."
The race, revived 10 years ago, is started by ringing Ripon Cathedral's ancient Pancake Bell, which has rung for 600 years.
New-fangled health and safety regulations are regularly blamed for ruining seemingly harmless traditional British fun events, triggering tabloid newspaper blasts at bureaucrats.
Shrove Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras or Pancake Day, traditionally celebrates indulgence before the annual Lenten period of abstinence in the Christian Church.