This weekend we would have expected thousands of people flocking to Egremont for the town’s most popular event – the Crab Fair.

The quirky yearly festival was cancelled due to the coronavirus and despite the plea of many for an online-version of the World Gurning championship, organisers have had to say no.

However, committee members have thanked the town and the Crab Fair supporters for their encouragement.

“Without them all, it would never be possible,” Crab Fair secretary, Daniel Shutt, said.

“We normally would spend so much time with everyone who helps us organise it all, so it’s a big miss for us not being able to have a pint and chat together this year.

“The gurning championship is not the sort of thing you can do online – the effort people put in to changing their faces like that, you need to see it in person.

“It’s a shame, and it really is a sad time for everyone.

“The only bonus is that everyone’s going through it together, so we aren’t alone in our disappointment.

“The current gurning champions will hold their titles, and will have to defend it next year, fingers crossed!”

The Egremont Crab Fair was established in 1267, making it one of the oldest in the world.

So the news that the social-distancing regulations have put the kibosh on this year’s will upset many locals and visitors alike (it often attracts TV crews from around the world in a celebration of English quirkiness).

It’s all a throwback to medieval times, when the serfs to the manor of Egremont had brought in the harvest and got together for what the show’s website calls “crude but rousing sporting games”.

It was given a more formal status in 1267 when King Henry III signed a charter granting an annual fair.

Of more recent vintage is the free Friday evening concert Dancing In The Street.

The following day brings the Apple Cart spectacle on Main Street and traditional games, rides and displays on the sports field.

But the World Gurning Championships last most in the memory. So hang up the braffin, and let’s see you in 2021.