Tristan : Ratting Day 2003
Submitted by Tristan Times (Juanita Brock) 08.02.2004 (Article Archived on 11.04.2004)

Ratting Day brings the community together for a good purpose and a bit of fun. Derek Rogers, Head of Agriculture, tells us more.

RATTING DAY 2003

By Derek Rogers

(Head of Agriculture)

One cool, brisk morning on 10 June 2003 the gong sounded at 0500 declaring Ratting Day.  Teams hurried from one end of the village to the other and as soon as dawn broke, men and boys were on the road with torches, spades, picks and dogs heading west of the village towards the Bluff and Potato Patches.  Shouts of excitement were heard from various teams as rats and mice came out of their holes and began to scatter on the grass.  Then, the hunt was on.

Later in the morning, women and children came out to the patches with packed lunches for the men and boys.  An enjoyable day was had by all.

At 0630, the judges (two Medical Officers, the Acting Administrator, and the Agricultural Officer) had the gruesome task of counting out all the mouse and rat tails, personally, in the Agricultural Clinic, measuring also the contenders of the much sought after prize for the longest tail.  After a heated discussion, the results were quite conclusive:

1^st Prize                   Daddy’s Hill - 78.9 tails per man

                                (For the second year running)

2^nd Prize                  Redbody Hill – 37.9 tails per man

3^rd Prize                   Below – the – Hill  -  23.3 tails per man

Longest Tail             Twitty Patch - measuring 28.3cm

Second Longest       Tail Daily’s Hill – measuring 28.0cm

Booby Prize              Old pieces with no tail at all received at the Clinic

Owing to the fact that the traditional dance did not take place this year, prizes were presented at the Clinic.