I won the shirt-throwing contest at Sidmouth in 1958. The skill was in rolling your shirt into as tight a ball as possible before hurling it along a section of the prom measured out with chalk lines. I believe my winning distance was some 32 yards, not bad, try throwing your own shirt 32 yards and you will discover it is not easy. I was presented with a yard of ale in the hotel bar opposite the prom and was expected to down it in one go.

Thank you to Stroller for drawing my attention to this website. The shirt-throwing contest used to attract quite a crowd at Sidmouth, more than for many of the performing artistes, but I thought the contest was long-forgotten now.