Mad dogs and Englishmen

It was Noel Coward who famously pointed out that only "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun". Dating from colonial times, all around the world, the English have a well-deserved reputation for eccentricity. It's still a reality, as evidenced by the annual Bramble Bank cricket match, held earlier this year. The Daily Mail reports:

Members of the Royal Southern Yacht Club and Island Sailing Club faced off in their annual grudge match on a sandbank in the middle of the Solent.

And whereas in normal cricket it's rain that often stops play, in the Bramble Bank match it's a case of tide always stops play, as the teams compete for less than an hour before the waves wash in and swamp the pitch.




Bramble Bank is a sandbar in the centre of the Solent - the stretch of water between the Isle of Wight and the Hampshire coastline. The sandbank is uncovered only once a year - for about an hour - when the lowest tide reveals a temporary 200-metre-long 'pitch'.

During that time the two sides, the Royal Southern Yacht Club, from Hamble, Hampshire and the Island Sailing Club, from Cowes on the Isle of Wight, sail out from the opposite coasts for their match.

The tradition, which began in the 1950s, includes the teams taking it in turns to win and always ends with a celebratory meal.

This year, in front of more than 150 spectators, it was the turn of the Royal Southern Yacht Club to be victors.

. . .

One of the stranger things about an already unusual event is that the rare tide and wind patterns which cause the Bramble Bank lead to a 'mirage' effect, with passing boats seeing cricketers appearing to walk on water.

There's more at the link. Here's a video report on proceedings.

It warms the cockles of this expatriate colonial Englishman's heart, I tell you! The only improvement would be randomly placed mines or depth charges around Bramble Bank, to make getting there an even more sporting proposition!





Peter