Santon Bridge World’s Biggest Liar Contest

Where: Formerly at Santon Bridge, Cumbria at the Bridge Inn
When: Formerly a Thursday in mid-November
Time: Formerly 7pm

 

Winner 2013 "Monkey Liar"

Former Wasdale pub landlord Will Ritson was a teller of tall tales and each year a competition was held in his memory, to see who could follow in his footsteps and produce a plausible but untrue and entertaining story with a time limit of five minutes. There were outrageous lies and plenty of beer from Jennings, the brewers who organised the event. Politicians and lawyers are classed as professionals in the field and were barred from competing…. You could expect lots of laughs, some Cumbrian dialect which may be incomprehensible to you depending on where you hail from, and a few cracks at local politicians.

Helpful Hints

Mendacity was a must for participants but anyone could go to be entertained; tickets could purchased from Jennings in advance (it was always a sell-out). You also got fed before the competition started – a traditional Cumbrian Tattie Pot supper in 2013 which was delicious and included lamb and black pudding (vegetarian lasagne was also available on request). There’s a Jennings beer named after the competition and John recommends it! The contest was held in the large function room to the rear of the pub and it could fit in around 120 visitors.

In 2019 it was on Thursday 21st November – there were no plans to hold it after this and if it happens in future it may be at a different venue (future plans to be confirmed).

Click here for the venue website :http://www.santonbridgeinn.com

and here for Jennings’ website: http://www.jenningsbrewery.co.uk/

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