Online presence for St Mary's Village Carnival, Eaton Bray, Edlesborough, Northall, Dagnall.

Carnival 2004 - Fantasy

Duck Race

On July 10th 2004, the first Duck Race was held in the parish!

All along the backwater ...

Cor, love a duck. There we were on Saturday 10 July, gathered beside, and in, the River Ouzel between Edlesborough and Eaton Bray all a-dabbling and waiting for the start of the first Duck Race in the parish. The skies opened - it was lovely weather for ducks.

The Duck Board, made up mostly of young people from St Mary's Church, Eaton Bray, had met and planned the event weeks in advance to raise money for Water Aid, a charity supplying drinking water facilities to places in the world that can’t take clean drinking water for granted. Hundreds of beautiful, plastic ducks were procured ready to race – no ugly ducklings were used. Each was individually numbered and, despite having no feet, there wasn’t a lame duck among them, though, until the start of the race, they were like ducks out of water.

Then they were off, and the River Ouzel was teaming with little yellow bodies all racing towards the finishing line. Being sleek, crispy ducks the race was over in record time – it was, after all, the first race on this course. One duck sank (duck down), one got stuck on the mud (a sitting duck) and one, sadly, passed away (a dead duck). All the ducks were dried (water off a duck’s back) ready for their return to their owner.

And the winners were:

Prizes of £66 to Mr Le Roux and Mrs Mosely, prizes of £33 to Mr Bennett and Sam Blumston and prizes of £11.50 to Rosemary Luscombe and Milly Abdullah. No doubt some of the people who didn’t win cursed their Ruddy Duck but, thanks to the generosity of everyone who supported the event, Water Aid is expected to benefit by over £500.

Having broken our duck we hope this will become an annual event. Our thanks to the River Authority who made the race possible.