Join us on Shrove Tuesday for some flipping good fun on the Market Square in Ely.

COMPETITION for this year’s eagerly-awaited Ely Standard pancake race is hotting up, with five teams already signed up to take part.

Teams from Star Radio, The Lighthouse Centre, Ely Fire Station and Tesco will be lining up to take on a team from the Ely Standard on Shrove Tuesday, February 21.

There are still slots available for teams to take part however, so dust off that frying pan and get flipping.

The event will again be held on Ely Market Place with the fun set to begin at 12.30pm.

Last year, brave teams from Ely Fire Station, Star Radio, ADeC and Waitrose signed up to compete against reporting and advertising staff from the Ely Standard, while editor Debbie Davies and the team whipped up the pancakes at our Market Street office.

Winners of the team race were the Ely firefighters who are the holders of the Ely Standard’s brass-plated pancake frying pan trophy.

Shrove Tuesday, better known as Pancake Day, is a tradition steeped in history.

A Christian festival, it heralds a rush-round to use up all the household ingredients before the start of Lent, when many traditional Christians fast.

Pancakes – made from a simple concoction of flour, butter and milk – became the staple of choice, and as a carbohydrate-packed snack, they lined fasting Lent-observers’ stomachs ready for a 40-day haul.

A pancake race soon became tradition in most English towns and villages but as health and safety cultures abounded, many organisations and councils have called time on Pancake Fun.

INFO: There are still places for teams of four and individual races available. You should e-mail daniel.mansfield@archant.co.uk or phone 01353 645693.

Signing up can be done from 9.45am on the day of the race at the Ely Standard office, but, if possible, notify in advance so we can make space for all the teams. Bring your own frying pan or come along to cheer on the competitors on Market Place.