The Goat Race

Start of goat race

Well the Oxford & Cambridge goat race last Sunday was hilarious :) I wasn’t sure how much of a race it would be, thought they might run off into the crowd for a bit of petting, but when that gate was opened they were off!

Oxford and Cambridge goat race

There was neck and neck racing, overtaking action, it was so quick it was hard to get a photo of it. In the end the little goat Cambridge got to the finish first (I had my money on him too).

Here’s the little winner Cambridge:

Cambridge goat

As an bit of an afterthought I stuck two sock monkey jockies on them. Glad I did, they were funny bouncing along on their backs. Overheard from the audience – “that was probably the funniset thing I’ve ever seen”.

Here’s the much larger, but not quite as quick Oxford:

Oxford Goat

I think maybe he lost because his jockey looks like he’s sleeping on the job  ;)

The goats in their pen

The reason the goats were going for it was so that they could back to their pen and munch on all this hay. It was a great day, not sure how much we raised for the farm, but I’d say there was a least 200 folk there so it must of been a few hundred quid, thanks to all who attended :)

I was impressed with Spitalfields City Farm, can’t believe it’s literally right next to Brick Lane by the Trumen brewery and I’d never seen it before? Lovely to discover a little bit of countryside right in the middle of dirty urban London. You could buy veggies and plants there too, the different kinds of lettuce looked really good.

Oxford & Cambridge Goat Race

Oxford & Cambridge Goat Race

On the same day as the boat race (29th March) London’s going to host a new event – The Oxford & Cambridge Goat Race ;) When Ant, Simeon & Anne told me their idea, I said where the hell are you going to get the goats from?!? Well luckily the nice folks at Spitalfields City Farm (just off Brick Lane) don’t mind us racing a couple of theirs around a field. In return the £3 admission fee will be going toward the up keep of their urban farm project.

THE EVENT:

2 actual real live goats, one representing Oxford and one representing Cambridge, race a tough, meandering course lined with cheering spectators. Then on to the pub for cheap or possibly free (trying to sort out a booze deal now) drinks and music.

AMUSEMENTS:

  • The Official Goat Race Bookie and Sweepstake
  • Enter the Goat Wrestling tournament (I’ve no idea wtf this is)
  • Goatee competition

TIME & PLACE:

Spitalfields City Farm E1, near Brick Lane – map »
Sunday March 29th
Get there 2.30pm
Race 3.30pm
After party from 4.30pm (in the pub)

DRESS CODE:

Strictly: Black Tie, Rowing lycra, boat club jackets and ties, or goat.

ADMISSION:

£3 on the door charge, all proceeds go to a Spitalfields City Farm Charity.

GET INVOLVED:

If you would like to attend, or get involved in any other way (you could turn up with a few metres of bunting at least), head over to the Goat Race Facebook page »

Organised by – Team Magic-Ish (Anne Hopkins, Simeon Rose & Anthony Goh)

Abelha Cachaça

Abelha Cachaça

There’s nothing better than a free drink and on Saturday I had plenty :) Courtesy of my friends Ant & Hal, who are launching a new brand of Cachaça in the UK – Abelha. For those who don’t know, Cachaça is a sugar cane based spirit (a little bit like rum, but not rum) from Brasil. It’s the main ingredient of the world famous Caipirinha cocktail. I’m so jealous, wish I had my own brand of booze.

It was a fancy dress do and we took the Brazilian theme to it’s logical conclusion by going in pubeless naked suits… Check out the photos of the event here »

The Brazilian crew in our naked outfits

Check out the stop motion how to make a caipirinha cocktail animation Hal made:

Who’s the Drunkest?

Who's the Drunkest? drinking game scorecard

Tomorrow is my last day at Poke and my last evening in England for the next 6 months or so… I like to leave in style, so I’ve planned a bit of a farewell drinking competition for tomorrow evening :)

Basically I’ve stripped down the much loved pastime of drinking into it’s 5 main skill groups – Buying booze, carrying booze, drinking booze, being pissed & getting the Drunkest. When all the scores are added up at the end of the evening, we’ll find out – Who’s the drunkest?

If the prospect of that wasn’t thrilling enough, the prize for the winner is custodial care of my personal pint mug which Pete keeps behind the bar of the Owl & Pussycat for me. It generates much envy from fellow patrons each week, and could almost certainly ‘get you laid’ ;)

If you want to see me off, I’ll be at the Owl & Pussycat on Redchurch Street from about 6pm. If you want to compete for the prize, or just for fun – download the score sheet here, print it out and bring it along with you. If you want to rehash the game for yourself, feel free to download the original Illustrator file here.

Cardboard Party!

Cardboard party pics

Well our house is just about back to normal now that the last of the party has been moped up and cleared away. I did a really shit job of taking pics, only got a few crappy camera phone shots before and after… Hopefully someone might send me some better ones to post later.

Above is my box of wine, Sachi’s keytar & Nicky’s box of Monster & Munch. I think Ahra’s reporter from ‘Harro’ magazine was probably best costume, had working zoom lense on camera and a spring loaded shutter button!

Update: Ah, Yeevon’s took some much better pictures, here’s a selection. I’ve uploaded all of them to my Flickr.

Cardboard party photos

2 Days to Cardboard Party!

Giant cardboard cigarette packet

Remember Cardboard Party in 2 days! We haven’t got any decks or DJ’s, so we’re doing the bring your own music thing and borrowing the poke mix CD hat (you have to wear it while your CD’s on). If you’re coming and want to do 15-20min set, burn it onto a CD and bring it along with you Saturday.

That’s Nicky’s costume in the picture, I’ve been tasked with making hers too while she’s suning herself in Thailand! It’s not finished yet, it’s going to be good :)