The Boat Race

Evenings in the bar could become quite competitive. Challenges between residents from the differernt wings were not uncommon.

One competition was a little more physical (and messy!) than some of the others, the Boat Race

In the Boat race, two teams of eight would line up on either side of a table. Each had a pint of beer on the table. At the start, the first man drinks his pint of beer as quickly as possible, then upturns the empty glass on to his head. Once the pot was on his head the second man would start his drink and do the  same, and so on down the line. The first team to drink their beer and stand with upturned glasses on head, wins the boat race.

A slight variation in the rules were observed  in a boat race arranged with a visiting team. The beer for the Killerton team would be pulled some hours before the race - to give the beer time to settle and warm up. The opponents would receive fresh (cold and gassy) pints!

Malc (Gobbler) Grant was the expert at this event. Although a non-drinker, he was able to, literally, pour beer down his throat – able to finish a pint in well under 4 seconds.