Skip to main content

Feel The Gurn.

The word legend is over used, almost as much as saying that using it too much is overused.

It applies in the case of Tommy Mattinson though: A true legend in the world of competitive gurning, he successfully defended his World Championship Title for a record 19th time at this year's Egremont Crab Fair.

For my money, pound for pound, he's the best gurnsman in the business.

He's a gurnsman, and his father was a gurnsman before him; Tommy started gurning when he was a young boy, inspired by his father, Gordon Mattinson, who formerly held the record with 10 wins from 1967-77.

Aged 11, Tommy entered and won the first ever junior competition, and a few years later, in 1986, he achieved his first win in the men’s category.

Sure, we've all known people who we think could give Tommy a run for his money, but comparison to him would be akin to comparing your average flat roof pub brawler to Daniel Dubois.

Tommy's reputation as the best gurnsman in the business earned him an audience with the Queen in 2008, and a Guinness World Record.


Gurning isn't just a men's preserve any more either: Claire Lister defended her title for a record breaking 8th time this year, with her daughter Kendal carrying on a proud family tradition by scooping the junior championship.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Camp Hill Line Station Update

I attended the Railway Stations Update meeting last Wednesday, and have summarised the content, with help from the Kings Heath Neighbourhood Forum. Opening timeline The new stations on the Camp Hill Line are expected to open to passengers in 2026.  No exact date has been fixed yet. Based on the meeting, the opening is likely between March 2026 and July 2026.  They emphasize that this uncertainty isn’t due to construction delays: the physical works (platforms, buildings etc.) are still on track to be finished by end of 2025 as previously announced.  The delay in announcing a date is largely due to the time needed for the “Entry into Service” process: testing, training, certification, and transfer of ownership to the operator.  An added complication is that West Midlands Trains’ ownership is changing to public ownership in February 2026, which overlaps with that handover/entry-into-service period.  Station & highway works status Kings Heath  • Most...
3 comments
Read more

Uncharacteristically personal post. Delete if not allowed.

Definitely not a cry for help (I'm FINE), and not attention-seeking (well, no more than usual, any road) and I think I'm writing it to keep a record of it, and offload it: Better out than in (as my dear, sweet, grandmother would say). I've always loved an off-season seaside resort. I enjoy the melancholy vibe. I particularly love this stretch of Welsh *checks* Cambrian coast; the location of many happy family holidays with my parents, brother, aunt, uncle, cousins, and Grandad Evans, who I adored: Funny, mild-mannered, generous: a true role model. He died when I was 12; the first human death I experienced. I think of him often, in fact, every time I wash my face in cold water; something he did every night; he told me so in a holiday cottage not far from here, in Harlech; one of those trivial incidents and conversations which resonate for a lifetime. I've been melancholic for a while, particularly in the last week, where the deaths of people have made me think of mort...
Post a Comment
Read more

Herbert Life: Manzoni's Plan for Britain's Motor City.

Herbert Manzoni isn’t exactly a household name—unless your nan's house was knocked down to make way for a ring road. But there’s no denying the mark he left on the city.  Born in 1899, Manzoni trained as a civil engineer before becoming Birmingham’s City Engineer in 1935 and Planning Officer in 1938. With war damage, traffic chaos, and outdated housing pressing down on the city, he saw a rare opportunity to start over. “ Herbert always had a ruler in one hand and the future in the other.” — Charles Bird, Assistant Engineer, Birmingham City Council (1971) Manzoni believed in mobility, efficiency, and clean modern living. Victorian Birmingham, with its cramped back-to-backs and narrow streets, didn’t meet his brief. During his tenure as Birmingham City Engineer and Surveyor (1935–1963), and with housing a major focus of urban redevelopment, he spearheaded some of the most significant and controversial projects in Birmingham’s modern history. His belief that "The slum cannot be...
Post a Comment
Read more