It's time for a county Aunt Sally champ (From Oxford Mail)

It's time for a county Aunt Sally champ

1:10pm Wednesday 11th July 2012 in News By Tom Jennings , covering Witney and West Oxfordshire. Call me on 01865 425403

Organisers of the second World Aunt Sally Singles Championship are hoping an Oxfordshire player will win this year.

The traditional pub game is played almost exclusively in the county, but last year’s champion came from Gloucestershire.

The competition will take place at the Charlbury Beer Festival on Saturday.

It is the beer festival’s 15th anniversary and organisers are hoping this year’s competition will restore Oxfordshire’s Aunt Sally pride.

Last year’s event was won by Trevor Dyer, from Paxford, near Chipping Campden, who plays with Chipping Norton Invitation Aunt Sally League.

Beer festival committee member Nick Millea said: “It would be very good for Oxfordshire to claim the title – which would you think would be Oxfordshire’s by right. The chap who won it last year plays in Oxfordshire but is based in Gloucestershire, so he was an outsider.”

Despite the disappointment, Mr Millea said last year’s championship had been a success, adding: “It was such good fun last year we thought let’s keep it going.”

The beer festival, at Charlbury Cricket Ground, off Forest Road, will feature 50 beers, including eight champion beers from the Great British Beer Festival, along with Welsh ciders and perries.

There will also be 11 hours of live music from eight bands, food stalls and children’s entertainment.

Mr Millea said: “We reckon it is now the country’s largest independent one-day beer festival.”

Last year’s festival saw Prime Minister and Witney MP David Cameron have a go at Aunt Sally and sample the beers.

The beer festival was created 15 years ago by Charlbury Primary School dads who hoped to raise money for the Crawborough school.

Mr Millea added: “It just grew and grew.

“That was the whole reason behind the beer festival.

“Now, in a nice way, it has got a bit out of hand.”

Last year it raised £19,000 for good causes, including £9,000 to revamp cloakrooms at the primary school.

Another £2,000 went to Charlbury-based video games charity SpecialEffect, and £1,000 was donated to a charity campaign to build a medical boat for isolated communities in Malawi.

The festival runs from noon to 11pm. Admission costs £5, or £10 with two drink tokens and a beer glass.