The first championship was held in 1967 in Coxheath using a special custard recipe developed by Richard Hearn aka Mr Pastry. The championship is made up of teams competing in heats, semi finals and the final, with the number of pies available per team increasing from 5 in the heats to 10 in the final. Two teams of four face each other about 10 feet apart, with their allotted pies arrayed on trestle tables behind them, and hurl as accurately as possible until all the pies are thrown. 6 points are scored for a direct hit on the face, 3 points for the shoulders or upwards, 1 point for any other part of the body, and points are deducted for misses. A discretionary 5 points can be awarded for the most amusing and original throwing technique. The event is part of the Rotary Club funday.

This year, the High Pressure Cleaning Company team of Karl Hickmott (Stockbury), Terry Hadaway (Maidstone), Glen Draper (Maidstone), Jimmy Hickmott (Stockbury) beat the Coxheath team 95-56 in the final, with your correspondent getting fairly well splatted in the process. Tactics played an important part, with the best approach seeming to be to wait until your opponent turns to pick up a new pie and getting him full in the face as he turns back to throw – Jimmy Hickmott seemed particularly adept at this with numerous direct hits.

I have to say that I’d have preferred to see proper edible pastry cases rather than the paper plates, and slightly more viscous “custard”. There was a fair degree of slopping and dribbling, with fairly large quantities of custard pouring off the plates in the throwing process, severely limiting the shock and awe impact of a direct facial hit. Perhaps something for the organisers to look into next time. I can also report that the custard wreaks havoc with ballistic nylon camera bags. It appears to have a particularly penetrating nature which slides into every crevice. The cameras didn’t come off too badly, with a quick wash using a damp cloth, but the bag is a mess.

Click the slideshow for the full picture set.