25 Jul 2010, Posted by admin in Allegra,Thoughts, 1 Comment. Tagged Allegra, london, Retro
Review – Chap Olympiad 2010
Words by Allegra
One of the many beauties of London is that, unlike in other cities, there are events that take place that are capable of making you forget when and where you are and transport you into a whole new world. Such is the case with the Chap Olympiad, hosted by the Chap Magazine and held every year in Bedford Square, a beautiful patch of green in a residential square in Tottenham Court Road.
Myself and my partner in crime being dangerously underdressed, with only plimsolls and a dash of red lipstick respectively to account for our ‘retro’ look, promptly arrived at 1 pm. We found ourselves climbing through the looking glass and down into the rabbit hole. No kidding, our jaws dropped to the floor and remained there for about an hour, taking in the surreal world we had walked into. No sooner had we stepped in were we cocooned in an a bubble of Charleston-esque music, and surrounding us were stunning pin-up girls in 50s prom dresses and parasols, and men with real pipes, real moustaches and (yes!) even real socks suspenders milling about munching on their tiffins and chatting away.
Slightly ashamed by our lack of efforts, we decided to stick to our roles of stunned observers by drowning our sorrows in carafes of Pimms and striking up a conversation with a few friendly faces about their outrageous outfits. This earned us the lending of a kind sailor’s straw hat, to complement the plimsolls/lipstick look.
And then the games began.
From our hiding place we saw all, we continued to be amazed by this ‘celebration of athletic ineptitude and immaculate trouser creases’. Butlers, 19th century explorers, sailors, elderly gentlemanly chaps and even a caveman gathered on stage to take part in the Olympiads. Each and every one of those games can guarantee to have every one in stitches, including the participants, for their originality as well as some of the contestants’ reactions. To name a few events: Cucumber Sandwich Discus, Moustache Wrestling, Umbrella Jousting, and my personal favourite ‘Bounders’, where a chap must say something so caddish to a lady that he receives a slap, and he who wins is adorned with the wryest smile albeit the reddest face. Providing you sign up at the start of the event, anyone is welcome to take part: my chum managed to win the three legged race as a last minute stand-in.
But if one does not fancy participating in the above events not all is lost, for throughout in the day, live bands and singers add to the already cheerful atmosphere with 20s and 30s beats and everyone can go wild on stage and generally be merry. (And everyone seemed to do so in style.)
However, at some point one must return to reality. After ten hours of entertainment, refreshments, Pimms and red faces, the magic halted; Bedford Square had to go back to its quiet quotidian modern life. As my chum and I stepped out of this enchanted garden, we were suddenly in London again. Watching those eccentric characters disappear into the night aroused a pang of nostalgia. Did today really happen? As one of our new friends shouted ‘Marvellous’ punching the air and swore repeatedly to be back again next year with a vengeance, we both decided we most definitely agreed. Maybe even with our own straw hats. Just to do it in style.
