Pancake Races

First, some history: Pancake races are thought to have begun as early as 1445 when it is recorded that a woman had lost track of the time on Shrove Tuesday (first day of Lent) and was busy cooking pancakes in her kitchen. Suddenly she heard the church bells ringing to call the faithful to church for confession. The woman raced out of her house and ran all the way to church; still holding her frying pan and wearing her apron.

So, not to overlook such an historical event, the English continue to celebrate Shrove Tuesday with pancake races...

Above: the Year 1 class excitedly anticipates their race.

The starting line-up for the 1st heat.


And they're off!

Emily was very pleased that she was able to participate as well - in the toddler round, of course. She did a good job too - only flipped her pancake out onto the ground once....

...and right at the finish line. Don't worry, she still took 1st place!

While no one was racing across the street to the village church for confessions, we thoroughly enjoyed participating in this English tradition. And if you're interested in trying "real" pancakes (i.e. English pancakes), the recipe is as follows: 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, and 1/2 pint of milk. Butter a HOT pan, drizzle on the batter and run to your nearest church whilst flipping the pancake vigrously. Upon returning home, serve it up with lemon juice and sugar (if you want to be authentically traditional) or smother in any of your favourite toppings. After all that running you deserve a sweet treat!