DOZENS of people had a flipping good time as the Wimborne and Christchurch pancake races returned.
Residents made their way to the Wimborne Minster and the bowling green outside the Kings Arms Hotel in Christchurch as the races panned out.
Scott Taylor took home the crown at the Wimborne Race for the fifth time, while residents from Streets Meadow care home took home bird feed for their part in the race.
Carol Green, 92, said the race was “fantastic”.
She said: “You can see the grin on my face, it was brilliant. I can’t remember how we got on, we won I think.
“We’ll definitely come back, It’s splendid, fantastic. It makes you feel happy.”
Chimneysweep Scott Taylor said he’d train for two hours next year to retain his title.
He said: “It’s a surprise, I didn’t think I’d be able to win now I’m a grandfather. My secret is the yellow trousers, new training shoes and a low-carb diet.
“I’ll absolutely be coming back. It’s a fantastic event, well-supported and raises money for charity, we love it.”
We’re here at Wimborne Minster for the annual pancake race! @Bournemouthecho pic.twitter.com/DojiKqcaRy
— Georgia Revell (@GRevellEcho) March 1, 2022
Dumpton School, Allenbourn Middle School and Wimborne First School all took part, with Ren Turner, aged nine, and Luca Dampney, four, winning for Wimborne First and Dumpton respectively.
Town mayor, Kelly Webb, said: “It’s one of those days that brings the community together. It’s so nice to be the town mayor when something like this is happening.
“The money goes to the Minster Funds and that’s been going really well.”
In Christchurch, the returning pancake race marked the first event organised by the newly formed Christchurch Business Improvement District.
Several local businesses and organisations were represented by four willing pancake relay runners each – with two pancake tossings per lap.
The winning team was the Frettens Solicitors’ ‘B team’, who also won when the event was last held in 2019. Team member Lewis Barr said: “We had fun, that’s the most important thing isn’t it? It’s been a real shame not to be able to do it for the last few years so it was great to get all the local businesses together and have a good laugh.”
BID manager Christina Pengelly said: “We are thrilled to bits that we had so many businesses come out today. From what I understand from 2019 we’ve gone from eight teams to 17. People had a great time, really got into the spirit of it and there was just enough competition to make it fun.
“All businesses have made a charitable contribution today, and it was great to see them all meet each other in a light-hearted way. We hope this is the first of many quality events for us here in Christchurch.”
All money raised will go to the Christchurch Food Festival Education Trust.
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