Click for the Cookham News Front Page
A RIGHT ROYAL RESULT
FOR THE COOKHAM DEAN GRAVITY GRAND PRIX
(1 April 2012)
Cookham
Dean Prepares For Jubilee Flotilla
Her
Majesty the Queen is set to give the booming sport of gravity-carting the
Royal Seal of Approval by competing in this year’s Gravity Grand Prix in
Cookham Dean.
The
organisers have issued a formal invitation inviting Her Majesty to mark
her Diamond Jubilee by leading a flotilla of go-carts through the village
at the start of the annual event, which takes place this year on Sunday,
September 9th.
Peter
Bartlett, chairman of the organising committee, says: “We’ve been on
the Internet and had a good look at the drawings of Royal Barge that will
carry the Queen down the Thames in the Diamond Jubilee Pageant in June.
“We
believe the design can be adapted to create a suitably regal go-cart. We
have a team scouring charity shops and car boot sales across the county
for suitable pram wheels, and we’re told there’s half a can of gold
paint in the storeroom at the Village Hall.
“We
haven’t had a response from the Palace to our invitation as yet, but
we’re pretty confident that the Queen will want to make the Gravity
Grand Prix a highlight of her Diamond Jubilee celebrations. I know that
Tom Copas is kindly hosting a big charity do for the Village on the 4th
June and I am sure that will still be the hottest ticket in town, but the
Queen is bored of beacon lighting and after the disappointment of failing
to get the sport included in the London Olympics, this is just the boost
gravity go-carting needs.”
Her
Majesty will be invited to lead a sedate parade of go-carts around the
village before the race itself. Bartlett added: “If she wants to then
hurtle around Cookham Dean in a tea chest on wheels, that’s great - but
if for the sake of the Empire she wants to delegate the race itself to one
of the lesser Royals, we’ll be quite happy with any fairly well-known
Duke or Countess to pilot the Royal Cart, we’re not fussed.”
As
at Royal Ascot, the Gravity Grand Prix organisers have had to take the
difficult decision to ban spectators from wearing fascinators this year.
“If Beatrice and Eugenie want to come along, we’d advise them to wear
proper safety headgear. Not only do fascinators stop the children from
seeing the race, they provide very little protection from lumps of debris
thrown off by a disintegrating go-cart.”
Now
in its sixth year, the Gravity Grand Prix has become an established
village event. This year’s Grand Prix is expected to see more than 2000
spectators cheer on 30 teams racing hand-built carts. This year we hope to
raise more than £10,000 for the Thames Valley & Chiltern
Air Ambulance.
home
back