Videos from Abingdon Bun Throwing for the Coronation of King Charles III

Videos from King Charles III's royal bun throwing event in Abingdon.

King Charles III's royal bun throwing event in Abingdon

To mark the royal occasion of the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames held a bun throwing event in the Market Place on Sunday 7th May.

Abingdon holds bun throwing events to mark, mostly, special royal occasions.

The events see local dignitaries ascend the steps of the old County Hall where they launch currant buns to the hoi polloi below.

The event began as a bread dole and evolved into a rooftop throwing event and its current incarnation. On this occasion a total of 5,000 buns were thrown to the crowd in the market place.

You can read more and see photos of this bun throw here.

Bun Throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames for King Charles III's Coronation

A report from King Charles III's royal bun throwing event in Abingdon-on-Thames.

Take a look at my blog post about the Abingdon Bun Throwing for the Coronation of King Charles III over on my other blog - the World of Bun Throwing.

To mark the royal occasion of the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames held a bun throwing event in the Market Place on Sunday 7th May.

Abingdon holds bun throwing event to mark, mostly, special royal occasions. The bun throw for the Coronation of King Charles III was the 37th bun throwing in Abingdon since 1761. It was the 17th bun throwing held in my lifetime - I've attended all of them since 1981.

I managed to grab one currant bun on this occasion

Abingdon Bun Throwing for the Coronation of King Charles III

Details of the bun throwing to mark the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.

The Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort will take place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6th May 2023.

To mark the royal occasion my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames will be holding a bun throwing event in the Market Place at 4pm on Sunday 7th May.

The last bun throwing event was held to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee Sunday 5th June 2022. 5,000 currant buns were thrown to the crowd in the Market Place and High Street below as part of the tradition that dates back to 1761.

Platinum Jubilee Bun Throwing in Abingdon, 2022

The bun throw for the Coronation of King Charles III will be the 37th Bun Throwing in Abingdon since 1761. The town holds the event to mark, mostly, special royal occasions.

Currant buns from the bun throwing that celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. A total of 6,000 buns were thrown on that occasion

It'll be the 17th bun throwing held in my lifetime.

You can find out more about Abingdon Bun Throwing events on my other blog - the World of Bun Throwing.

Abingdon Bun Throwing - Sunday 5th June 2022

The next Bun Throwing event will be held in Abingdon to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on Sunday 5th June 2022.

The first bun is due to be thrown from the top of the old county hall at 5pm.

There will be entertainment from a band and the town's Morris Dancers from 4pm.

The last bun throwing held in the town to date was in 2018 to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War. That bun throwing was the 35th event since 1761.

The town celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a Bun Throwing back in 2012.

Currant buns from the bun throwing that celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. A total of 6,000 buns were thrown on that occasion 

This will be the 16th Bun Throwing event in my lifetime. I've been to them all so far.

Visit the Abingdon Town Council website for more information on the jubilee events.

Abingdon Bun Throwing 2022

There is just one week to go until the Bun Throwing to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The next Bun Throwing event will be held in Abingdon to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on Sunday 5th June 2022.

The town celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a Bun Throwing back in 2012.

Currant buns from the bun throwing that celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. A total of 6,000 buns were thrown on that occasion 

The last bun throwing held in the town to date was in 2018 to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War. That bun throwing was the 35th event since 1761.

The tradition sees the mayor and other dignitaries climb to the top of the old County Hall to throw hundreds or thousands of currant buns down to the townsfolk gathered in the market place below.

This will be the 16th Bun Throwing event in my lifetime. I've been to them all so far.

Visit the Abingdon Town Council website for more information on the jubilee events.

Abingdon Bun Throwing to be held on Sunday 5th June 2022

There will be a Bun Throwing to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this year.

Abingdon Town Council has announced that a Bun Throwing event will be held in the town to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on Sunday 5th June 2022.

The town celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a Bun Throwing back in 2012.

Currant buns from the bun throwing that celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. A total of 6,000 buns were thrown on that occasion 

The last bun throwing held in the town to date was in 2018 to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War. That bun throwing was the 35th event since 1761.

The tradition sees the mayor and other dignitaries climb to the top of the old County Hall to throw hundreds or thousands of currant buns down to the townsfolk gathered in the market place below.

Visit the Abingdon Town Council website for more information on the jubilee events.

Abingdon bun throwing in the news

It was nice to hear that bun throwing was featured in the Abingdon Herald and Oxford Mail this week with a look at the town's bizarre and ancient tradition.

It was fun that a photo of me throwing a bun at the Royal Bun Throwing Championships in 2012 was included in the piece too! You can see the article on the Abingdon Herald and Oxford Mail websites.

Throwing a currant bun at the World Bun Throwing Championships at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club

The last bun throwing held in Abingdon-on-Thames was in November 2018 to mark 100 years since the end of the First World War.

That bun throwing was the 35th event to take place since 1761.

Social distancing signs in Abingdon's Market Place

I've been documenting the Covid-19 social distancing signs I've seen during the coronavirus pandemic here and on my Instagram.

The ones in my home town's Market Place are nice and clear. They also include the Abingdon-on-Thames town crest which I think is a nice touch.

The Market Place is famous as the location for Bun Throwing and the starting point for the Michaelmas Fair. Both events normally see thousands of people pack in or pass through to be a part of the occasions.

My first bun throwing in Abingdon

A Bun Throwing was held in my home town of Abingdon on this day in 1981. It was the first one I attended.

The curious tradition sees the mayor and other dignitaries climb to the top of the old County Hall to throw hundreds or thousands of currant buns down to the townsfolk gathered in the market place below.

The team at Abingdon Museum posted about the Bun Throwing that took place in Abingdon to celebrate the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer on this day in 1981.

From our #bunthrowing #collection, here's a bun decorated with the initials CD to mark the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer #onthisday 1981.#abingdon #traditions #museumfromhome pic.twitter.com/h4aJpp7b8Q

— Abingdon County Hall Museum (@AbingdonMuseum) July 29, 2020

At less than a year old I can't imagine I knew what was going on that first time, nor caught any buns! I probably did scoff some my mum and dad had caught though.

Abingdon County Hall Museum has a collection of buns preserved from bun throwings dating back many years. These are the currant buns from the Bun Throwing that celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II in 2012. A total of 6,000 buns were thrown on that occasion

The last bun throwing held in the town to date was in 2018 to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War. That bun throwing was the 35th event since 1761.

There have been 15 Bun Throwing events in my lifetime.

Check out my World of Bun Throwing blog for more information.

The World Bun Throwing Championships

A look back at the World Bun Throwing Championships held in Abingdon-on-Thames in 2012.

My home town has a very quirky tradition called bun throwing.

Townsfolk gather in the market place and attempt to catch currant buns thrown by the Mayor and other dignitaries from the top of the old County Hall.

The event dates back to 1761 when a bread dole / bun throw was held in the town to celebrate the coronation of King George III.

Since that first event there have been a further 34 bun throwings in the town. I've attended all of the bun throwings held in my lifetime.

In April 2012 the inaugural World Bun Throwing Championships were held to find the town's best bun throwers who would be invited to become bun throwers on the big day.

Throwing a currant bun at the World Bun Throwing Championships at Abingdon Vale Cricket Club

I was the second person from the town to step-up for a throw and had selected four fine currant buns for my attempt at the title. After a couple of throws between the 18 and 21 metre marks I hit a personal best of 25m 10cm to set (and temporarily hold) the new World Record and clubhouse lead. In the event report on the excellent Abingdon Blog, it's noted that the World Record was broken a number of times in this inaugural event!

I wonder when it will be possible to hold another bun throwing event?

As a mass gathering and celebration event it'd be nice to think a bun throwing could be held to mark the safe ending of the coronavirus pandemic once a vaccine is created, distributed and working.

Visit my World of Bun Throwing blog for more information.

World of Bun Throwing: A visit to Abingdon's County Hall Museum

World of Bun Throwing: A visit to Abingdon's County Hall Museum: On Saturday we were back in my home town and visited the County Hall Museum.

Check out the full post from our visit on my World of Bun Throwing blog.

Bun Throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames

It's been a year since Abingdon's last Bun Throwing event.

Last November my home town of Abingdon marked 100 years since the end of the First World War with a special Bun Throwing event in the market place.

Abingdon has a curious tradition of bun throwing

The Bun Throwing was the 35th event since 1761.

The first marked the Coronation of King George III. The last Bun Throwing held before the 2018 event was to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday in 2016.

I have attended each Bun Throwing in Abingdon in my lifetime, a total of 15 since 1981.

Related blog posts:
- A year since Abingdon's last Bun Throwing event
- Abingdon-on-Thames Bun Throwing timeline - 1761 to 2018

Abingdon Bun Throwing on the 10th November 2018

Check out my post about my home town of Abingdon's latest Bun Throwing event over on my other blog at the World of Bun Throwing.

Bun Throwing in Abingdon

The latest in a long line of Bun Throwing events took place in Abingdon-on-Thames at 2pm on Saturday 10th November.

The special Bun Throwing brought people together to commemorate the end of the hostilities of World War One and celebrated the return of the soldiers at the end of the conflict.

Photos of Abingdon's Crazy Golf course

A revisit to the first Crazy Golf course I ever played.

At Abingdon's Crazy Golf course

Last weekend I was back in my home town of Abingdon-on-Thames for the Bun Throwing tradition held to celebrate the Queen's 90th birthday. While in town Emily and I made our last ever visit to play the Crazy Golf course in the Abbey Meadows.

Back in Abingdon for one final game

The course has been in the park since the 1950's, but at the end of the 2016 summer season it will be removed as part of a programme to upgrade and improve the area. It's a real shame the minigolf course won't be receiving a spruce up as part of it.

A view of the Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf course

I last visited the course in December 2014 and the last time I'd had a game there was in June 2012.

The 4th hole

In August 2007 the course became the 31st played on our Crazy World of Minigolf Tour.

Emily on the sunken green on hole 3

I overcooked my tee-shot on hole 4 and ended up in a big ditch

On hole 4

Hole 6

Hole 5

Emily on hole 8

Hole 7

Playing the 9th

Emily on the 9th

The course is a ten-holer

About to play one of the very last shots on the course

In our match-up on the course I managed to get the win over Emily with a score of 25 to 29. Not bad considering how tricky the playing surface is!

Emily on hole 2 - look at that tee-area!!!

One of the last scorecards to be issued by the course

Related blog posts:
- Last visit to Abingdon's Crazy Golf course
- Photos from Abingdon's Royal Bun Throwing
- Crazy Golf in Abingdon's Abbey Meadows

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Last visit to Abingdon's Crazy Golf course

While in Abingdon for the town's Bun Throwing tradition we made our last ever visit to play the Crazy Golf course in Abingdon's Abbey Meadows. The course has been in the park since the 1950's, but at the end of the 2016 summer season it will be removed.

It was the first course I ever played!



Related blog posts:
- Crazy Golf in Abingdon's Abbey Meadows

Give the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour a Like on Facebook, watch our YouTube channel and follow us on Twitter @putting_gott and @Ems_Lems.

You can also now sign-up to receive our miniature golf newsletter.

Abingdon's Bun Throwing for the Queen's 90th Birthday

Here's a video with action from the Bun Throwing event to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's 90th birthday.



Held on Saturday 11th June 2016, the first of 4,500 currant buns was thrown by the Mayor of Abingdon at 7pm.

The 2016 bun throw was the 34th since the tradition of Bun Throwing in Abingdon-on-Thames began in 1761. The first event was held to celebrate the coronation of King George III.

I have attended each Bun Throwing in Abingdon in my lifetime, a total of 14 since 1981.

Visit my other blog at the World of Bun Throwing for more information on the unique custom.

World of Bun Throwing: Abingdon Bun Throwing Championships announced

World of Bun Throwing: Abingdon Bun Throwing Championships announced: Bun Throwing Championships to find town's best thrower to be held on the 30th of May.

The crowd looks on as I throw a currant bun at the first-ever Abingdon World Bun Throwing Championship back in 2012

Ahead of the Royal Bun Throwing to celebrate the Queen's 90th Birthday, Abingdon-on-Thames will be hosting the second-ever World Bun Throwing Championships to find the town's best bun thrower.

Read more over on the World of Bun Throwing blog.

National Town Criers Championships in Hastings

Historic Hastings to Host Hollering Battle.

My friend and minigolf rival John 'Big Top Ted' McIver let me know that the 62nd edition of the annual National Town Criers Championships is coming up soon.

A Town Crier being stentorian in Hastings at the 60th National Town Crier Championships in 2012

The Town Criers, representing towns around the country, will gather at the Priory Meadow Shopping Centre in the town on Saturday 18 October between 11am and 5pm where they will be judged on volume, diction, clarity and inflection.

I don't know what the collective term is for a group of Town Criers, but here's a gathering of a few at the 2012 National Town Criers Championships in Hastings

Back in 2011 we visited the 59th edition of the National Town Criers Championships and we went along for a watch at the 60th event in 2012 too. The competition is a great spectacle.

Hastings is a great seaside town to visit, with plenty of community and cultural events going on. We're often there for Mini, Crazy and Adventure Golf tournaments down on the seafront.

Looking at the website of the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers there's a thriving competition circuit!

I wonder if Worthing's new Town Crier (the former Mayor and all-round character) Bob Smytherman will be competing over the border in East Sussex?

My home town of Abingdon on Thames has a very special event held on special occasions. Bun Throwing sees the townsfolk scramble for hot cross buns thrown from the roof of the old County Hall. Here's me, my brother Jon, and my dad Chris with Abingdon's Town Crier after the April 2011 Royal Bun Throwing

Links:
- The Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers
- Visit 1066 Country
- The 62nd National Town Criers Championship on the 1066 Country website
- National Town Criers Championship on the Hastings Borough Council website

Related blog posts:
- The 59th Annual National Town Criers Championships in Hastings
- Hastings
- World of Bun Throwing

International Rock Paper Scissors Championship on BBC Two!

Rock Paper Scissors Tournament to feature on James May’s Man Lab on BBC Two this Thursday.

Be sure to tune-in to BBC Two tomorrow (Thursday 4th of April 2013) at 8pm to see the fast-paced and action-packed sport of Rock Paper Scissors on the latest episode of James May’s Man Lab! 

The hour-long show features James May and his team of Man Lab assistants taking on an array of wacky challenges and building interesting and useful inventions, all with the aim of helping modern man regain the vital skills that are in danger of dying out!

In the episode James teams up with football hardman Neil 'Razor' Ruddock and the UK's top RPS'er Max Deeley - the 2011 UK RPS Champion - in a field of 150 players representing 16 countries!

Taking on football legend and member of the Man Lab team, Neil 'Razor' Ruddock in an International Rock Paper Scissors 'friendly' match at the event last year!

The Rock Paper Scissors Championship feature was filmed at last summer’s Wacky Nation International Rock Paper Scissors Championships held at the Knight’s Templar Pub on Chancery Lane in London. At the event our team – San Marino(!) – finished just off the podium in fourth place, having lost in the bronze medal match to Great Britain.

Do keep an out to see if you can spot me or Emily on the programme!

Later in the current series of James May’s Man Lab there will also be a feature on my hometown of Abingdon-on-Thames’ tradition of Bun Throwing, where the Man Lab team helped out in an attempt to get the currant buns to the back of the market place from the roof of the old county hall!

Links:

- James May’s Man Lab on BBC Two

- Wacky Nation

Related Blog Posts:

- Rock Paper Scissors

- Report from the 2012 International Rock Paper Scissors Championships

- Abingdon-on-Thames celebrates the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee with a Bun Throwing

A day out of Bun Throwing, Crazy Golf and Bar Billiards in Abingdon-on-Thames

Returning to Abingdon-on-Thames for a World Championship!

On Saturday 14th April we headed back to my hometown of Abingdon-on-Thames to compete in the first-ever World Bun Throwing Championships taking place at the Abingdon Vale Cricket Club.

The visit was the first-time I’ve been able to get back since the Royal Bun Throwing held last April and also the first-time I’ve been home since the town officially reverted back to its previous name of Abingdon-on-Thames!

Prior to the main-event in the World Bun Throwing Championships we had a quick wander around the town and had a drink in the Bun Throwing-themed cafe Throwing Buns and then headed to the Abbey Grounds.

Bun Throwing press cuttings at Throwing Buns cafe in Abingdon-on-Thames

The Abbey Grounds has some nice parks and gardens, some ‘ancient’ abbey ruins, the River Thames running through it, an outdoor swimming pool (due to re-open in the summer) and a Tennis and Golf Centre.

While we were there, and with 45 minutes until the 2pm start of the World Bun Throwing Championships, my brother Jon and I decided to have a Minigolf Challenge Match on the 10-hole Crazy Golf course.

The game was the first one we’ve had against each other since a holiday at Barry Island Holiday Camp in the 1990’s and the first on the Abingdon Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf Course since 1986, when a match between the six and five-year-old versions of us had fought to a draw (most likely to save any arguments).

The Abingdon Classic crazy golf competitors - Jon & Richard Gottfried

Emily and I have previously played the course (it became #31 on the Crazy World of Minigolf Tour in August 2007) and since our last visit in 2011 the layout has had a lick of paint and hole 6 has had a new half-pipe laid over the bridge obstacle.

I play a shot on hole 4 of the Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf course as my brother Jon strikes a 'Golf Pose'

In the 26-year anniversary match-up between us, Jon showed his natural Miniature Golf ability and took an early lead by winning the first hole with a three, to my four! Hole 2 saw us both score twos, but hole 3 (a very tricky hole with a nasty dip at the back of the ‘green’) saw Jon hit a five to my two.

Jon plays out hole 4 of the Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf course as Emily and Kim look on

The match continued in a back and forth manner and Jon was unfortunate to hit a five on the bridge hole (number 6) to finish with a total of 31(+11). I was victorious with a score of 28(+8). Neither of us scored any Aces – although with a ‘clause’ inserted into the rules by Jon part-way through the game it was a good thing neither of us scored a hole-in-one! The matchplay match ended in a tie. A return Abingdon-on-Thames Crazy Golf Classic tournament is already scheduled to take place in June prior to the Royal Bun Throwing for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

I play a shot on hole 5

Jon tackles the trickiest hole on the course - hole 6 and the bridge

As he had played well Jon was 'allowed' an Ice Cream as we wandered back over the bridge and down to Culham Road for the day’s big Bun Throwing contest.

For a full report from the inaugural World Bun Throwing Championships please see the story “Competing in the first-ever World Bun Throwing Championships in Abingdon-on-Thames” on my World of Bun Throwing Blog.

Throwing a bun at the World Bun Throwing Championships in Abingdon-on-Thames

After the fun of the Bun Throwing we nipped to the bookies for Jon and Kim to put a bet on the Grand National and headed to the re-opened pub on Old Station Yard, The Harp. When I lived in the town it was known as The Plough. The pub is worth a visit, it’s nice and friendly with a big screen and there is also a dartboard in there.

We then headed over to the village of Drayton and The Red Lion pub where we’d heard there was a Bar Billiards table. There indeed was, so Jon and I had a two-game challenge where I introduced him to the game. After a quick run through of the rules I then watched him score a 400 with his first shot, having rebounded the Red (double) ball into the 200-hole!

Jon lines up a shot on the Bar Billiards table at The Red Lion pub in Drayton

In our first match-up I picked up the win 760 to Jon’s 680 after I shot a white ball into the 100-hole in the sudden-death shootout.

In the second match Jon built-up steadily and had a score of 850 to my 150 when we reached a sudden-death shootout. After both of us had taken a few shots at the 100-hole Jon managed to sink a white ball to win the match 950 to 150.

A return match of Bar Billiards is also on the cards later in the summer...

Links:

- Crazy World of Minigolf Tour

- World of Bun Throwing
- Abingdon Blog - "The Saving of Crazy Golf"

Related Blog Posts:

- Links to all Bar Billiards Blog Posts on The Ham & Egger Files

- Crazy Golf in Abingdon, Oxfordshire

- The Crazy Golf course in Abingdon's Abbey Meadows

- Abingdon Abbey Meadows Crazy Golf Course Replay on a Crazy World of Minigolf Tour Revisit