Cheese Rolling in Gloucestershire
Evidently the next best thing to eating Dutch cheese is running after it as it rolls down a hillside in England.
Yes, that’s the premise of Cheese-Rolling At Cooper’s Hill In Gloucestershire, set for May 25, 2015. The cheese of choice is Gouda, chosen not only for its round shape but because Gouda, Netherlands, is twinned with Gloucester, England (that’s the English term for Sister Cities).
The cheese is rolled — and contestants chase the cheese round (for practical reasons, it’s likely to be Double Gloucester rather than actual Gouda) down the almost 45-degree slope. There are other contests, some uphill, some down. Some all men, some all women, some for kids. But the prize is always cheese.
Last year, the final cheese rolled was a Gouda brought from the Netherlands by a team of Orangemen — and it was shared with the crowd after the event.
For reasons best known to bureaucrats, the event is controversial (it’s considered dangerous to both participants and spectators), and it’s true that there have been some sprains, broken bones and other injuries. Yet, the event thrives (more than 5000 spectators line both sides of the slope to cheer the contestants.
Here’s a video from the 2012 event.
