On madness and hills.
England has produced many of the world's great thinkers, it was the cradle of the industrial revolution and has been at the forefront of cultural movements for centuries. However, it is hard to believe any of this when one considers how completely bonkers the whole place is. Before anyone suggests that I am some sort of revolutionary, seditionist warrior I am, I would point you to the Coopers Hill Cheese rolling and Wake. Coopers Hill is a 50% slope in the outskirts of Gloucester and every Spring bank holiday it hosts a two day festival of such lunacy that it makes one doubt one's own sanity. In simple terms competitors gather at the top of the hill and wait to start. A 3-4 Kg wheel of cheese is thrown down the hill and a second later the competitors hurtle after it, down the impossible slope. Chaos then ensures as bodies tumble and fall toward the bottom. The aim is to either catch the cheese (this never happens as it rolls at speeds up to 70 mph) or reach the bottom first whe...