3rd October 2011

Simply charming !!

Worm charmers at Camberley The British are known for their eccentricities and worm charming has to be up there along with Bog Snorkelling, Nettle Eating and
Cheese Rolling. So when the first South of England heat for the World Worm Charming Championships took place at King’s International College in Camberley on Saturday 1st October the atmosphere was one
of fun and joie de vivre.

Altogether 16 teams took and they really got into the spirit of the
event. Some team members were dancing to attract the worms,
others played musical instruments, although the most successful method was to place a garden fork in the soil and just waggle it about, worms respond to vibrations in the soil.

There's a worm! Organised by the Blackwater Valley Countryside Trust it was the first South of England heat for the World Worm Charming Championships – which takes place in Cheshire next year – and the event was a great success. Despite the warm conditions the worms were obliging and altogether a total of 983 worms was collected. Winners were Oliver Florence and Richards Skeggs who managed to garner a massive 193 worms. When asked what the secret of their success was they said: “We just put the fork into the soil and moved it around. The real skill was spotting the worms as they emerged and getting hold of them before they disappeared back down into the soil.”

Winners: Richard Skeggs (centre) and Oliver Florence Oliver and Richard received the winners’ trophy – a specially hand-crafted copper worm – from John Bailey who devised the first event back in 1980. Oliver, who comes from Walton-on-Thames and Richard, who had flown down from Glasgow on Saturday morning especially to take part, also entered this year’s World Championships in
Cheshire but only managed to collect 39 worms
on that occasion. They will be going back next
year to have another crack at the title.

Thanks must go to The Camberley Natural History Society who helped with the event and to the Earthworm Society of Britain who ran an informative workshop about worms, passing on some fascinating facts and figures about these undervalued creatures. Pictures and details about the event can be seen at www.blackwater-valley.org.uk

So what exactly is worm charming? The rules are very simple. Each team – comprising a charmer and gillie (helper) – are allocated a three metre square plot and at the sound of the starting bell they spend the next 30 minutes doing whatever they can (within the rules of course!) to entice the worms to come up and see what’s going on. Once a worm appears the gillie picks it up, puts it into an earth-filled container and so it continues. After half an hour the finishing bell sounds and then the number of worms each team has collected is counted. The team with the most worms is the winner.

More pictures >>>

END

For more information contact:
Christine Reeves, Visitor Promotions Officer on 01252 331353
Ash Lock Cottage, Government Road, Aldershot GU11 2PS

NOTES

The Worm Charming event was first devised by Mr John Bailey who was the deputy headmaster of Willaston County Primary School, Nantwich, Cheshire from 1961 to 1983.
The Blackwater Valley Countryside Trust is a charity set up to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment of the Blackwater Valley. Membership is £5 pa for households, £100 for corporates. If you are interested in supporting the Trust visit www.bvct.org.uk or ring 01252 331353
The Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership (BVCP) is funded by the County, District and Parish Councils along the River Blackwater. It works to promote community action in conservation and recreation and to protect the Valley for the enjoyment and well being of the whole community. For more information visit www.blackwater-valley.org.uk