Wacky Nation (50 Unbelievable Days Out at Britain's Craziest Contests)

James Bamber and Sally Raynes provide an indispensable guide to the UK's most absurd, bizarre and even foolhardy - but curiously British - 'sports' imaginable.From Cheshire's World Worm-Charming Championships to the cricket match played on a sand bank in the Solent every year, there's a rarely-spoken-of British tradition of holding very strange contests and weird world championships in which getting muddy, sick and a little upset are not mere side effects but positively celebrated. Welcome to the wacky nation...James and Sally present 50 of the oddest contests you'd never imagined existed. With a strong practical, get-involved-if-you-dare streak, "Wacky Nation" charts these unusual days out, with ratings for Spectator Fun, Pain Factor, Training Required, Chance of Becoming World Champion and more. There are tips on winning or simply remaining unscathed, based on the intrepid authors' own experiences, alongside numerous absurdly comic anecdotes.Keen to chase a Double Gloucester down a hill? Desperate to learn the fine arts of skiting and gurning? Harbour a strong desire to hold the World Nettle-Eating title? Wacky Nation is here to help.A sports-book-gone-wrong fortified with a strong dose of Monty Phython, "Wacky Nation" is both the potential start of some oddly British family fun and a sneak armchair look into the twisted world of bizarre British life.