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February 2025 | Phonebox Magazine 31Flippin%u2019 fantastic news!Olney%u2019s Pancake Race organisers are delighted to welcome two new main sponsors for the race in 2025.Much-loved conserve brand Bonne Maman joins them as sponsor of the Children%u2019s Races and will be providing a range of jams and spreads to accompany your pancakes on Race Day. And Blackstone joins the event as a sponsor of the griddles in the marquee kitchen for the fabulous Pancake Breakfast. %u201cAs an outdoor griddle manufacturer, we are delighted to support the world%u2019s oldest and original Pancake Race,%u201d says Steven May, Blackstone%u2019s UK Country Manager. %u201cPartnering with the organising team enables us to bring our fl at plate griddles to help cook hundreds of pancakes for competitors and spectators alike.%u201dThese two companies join other main sponsors, Francis Jackson Homes, Kingsley Healthcare, and Whitworth Bros. Ltd.%u201cWe are very grateful to all of them for their support, making this famous event possible,%u201d say the organisers.It%u2019s a great start to 2025 for the historic Olney Pancake RaceThe big raceThe Race is taking place on Shrove Tuesday, 4th March and follows a great tradition; it%u2019s reputed to have taken place since 1445 and has certainly run every year since 1948, except for 2021. No one is quite certain how the world-famous Pancake Race at Olney originated. One story tells of a harassed housewife, hearing the shriving bell, dashing to the church still clutching her frying pan containing a pancake. Another tells that the gift of pancakes may have been a bribe to the Ringer, or Sexton, that he might ring the bell sooner; ringing the bell signalled the beginning of the day%u2019s holiday. While the race itself may have lapsed many times over the centuries, it was never entirely forgotten by the womenfolk of Olney. It was revived again in 1948 by the then Vicar of Olney, the Reverend Canon Ronald Collins and has been run every year since then, except for 2021, when Covid restrictions were in place.Ahead of the race itself, there are lots of activities taking place in the Market Place, starting with a special pancake breakfast, prepared by Ben Francis, Head Chef of the Cherry Tree Pub & Restaurant, and followed by a cookery demonstration. With stalls, even more pancakes, music, a fabulous grand raffl e, plus races for local nurseries and schoolchildren, there will be something for everyone. The Race will also welcome Fred, Homepride%u2019s bowler-hatwearing Chief Flour Grader. The ticketed breakfast takes place from 8am, with the fi nal serving at 9.30am, with the children%u2019s races at 10am and the main race at 11.55am. All the runners join visitors in a Shriving Service, which is held in the church immediately after the race. More details are here: olneypancakerace.org, Facebook: @olneypancakerace, Instagram @theolneypancakeracePULL OUT AND KEEP