Flippin’ marvellous!
Two women pipe a mournful Amazing Grace to the assembled crowd waiting for the 74th International pancake race to begin.
Shrove Tuesday is still celebrated across many Christian nations and marks the start of Lent. It is a seamless mix of the religious and culinary and is when we can officially celebrate mixing eggs, flour and milk to make a variety of our favourite pancakes.
This year, I visited the home of the pancake race.
Open to women who live or work in Olney
I love that this event has been embraced by this small market town in the middle of Buckinghamshire. They have kept it going (on and off), for over 550 years. That’s impressive, and judging by the number of participants, supporters and media, it’s still celebrated in a fun and welcoming way.
On Shrove Tuesday, everyone was summoned to church to be shriven before the start of Lent the following day, Ash Wednesday.
Today, 21 women gathered with their frying pans and pancakes to dash the 450 yards from the market square to the church door. It’s well organised and marshalled in a friendly manner that invites you to eat, drink and be merry!
Ask around and you’ll be told a variety of stories of how this tradition started. My favourite is that the Sexton was bribed with pancakes to ring the church bell sooner to signal an earlier start to the day’s holiday and fun. Not before the people attended the service where they would be shriven of their sins, before the long Lenten feast.
Amazing American links
Former Olney curate and poet, John Newton wrote the popular hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ in 1773. It was probably first heard without music and settled into relative obscurity in England. Not so in the United States, that has made this hymn their own. I had no idea until today that this work marks John Newton’s remorse as a former slave trader, who during a terrible storm at sea, saw the error of his ways and returned to England and new life as a preacher.
Since 1950, Olney has been twinned with the town of Liberal, Kansas in the United States who were enthusiastically represented and live-linked, although they must have still been asleep! The town’s compete annually with prizes exchanged. I believe Olney is in the lead, just.
Tonight’s meal will be lemon pancakes. What is your favourite recipe?
Links you will need
The Buckinghamshire town of Olney has embraced this tradition and made it its own.
The Cowper & Newton Museum, home of John Newton and William Cowper is open through the year.
My B2b Talking Travel & Tourism newsletter (shared tomorrow 22/2) will focus on how on a small market town has embraced their sense of place and celebrates their stories that link across the world.