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The
village of Blackawton in the South Hams will once again be the centre
of every worm charmer's universe this May Bank Holiday weekend.
Adults
and children from all over the country and around the world will
compete to extract the greatest number of worms from their dedicated
one metre square patch of grassland.
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| Worm
Master Nick Smith announces the rules and worm plots. |
And
here's the catch. They have to do it without digging up any of the
turf!
So
how is it done? Over to "Worm Master" Nick Smith…
"You
can use whatever means you like, as long is you don't harm the animals,"
he told the BBC Devon website.
"We've been worm charming in Blackawton since 1984, when two
locals decided to try it as a means of banishing the winter blues!"
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| Charming!
(The worms - not the fancy dress!) |
Favourite
tools to bring the beasts to the surface include questionable liquid
combinations of water, beer, gravy and sugar - which contestants
are required to sample themselves beforehand, just to prove that
it won't do the worms any harm.
Skulduggery
"The
worms are also brought to the surface by things which sound like
rain," says Nick, "resulting in contestants tapping and
slapping various items, and using musical instruments to entice
the creatures to surface."
It
can be a rather 'cloak and dagger' affair.
"We have to keep the field we use secret, because sometimes
people get so desperate to have their name on the shield that they
may be tempted to use a bit of skulduggery and put some worms in
the ground in the hope that they can retrieve them on the day",
says the Worm Master.
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| Down
Under: Last year's winners came from New Zealand |
The
current champion, much to the villagers' wounded pride, comes from
New Zealand.
"We're
hoping, this year, we can bring the shield back to the northern
hemisphere," jokes Nick.
And
that's the secret of the festival - fun!
"We
want to get as many people involved in worm charming as possible,
not just the locals.
"It doesn't cost anything, but we are raising funds for the
Devon Air Ambulance during the day
so just turn up in the village on Sunday and book your place by
11 o'clock".
After all, when everyone is asked 'what did you do for the Bank
Holiday weekend?', how many people will be able to answer - 'Me?
I was worm charming in Devon of course - how about you?'
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