World champion

The Regal Cinema Social Club in Lichfield were always looking for ways to get more people interested in joining and, in the autumn of 1970, as a bit of a laugh, they decided to set up a prune eating world record bid. The cinema and club manager, John Terry, announced the idea at the weekly bingo session on Saturday 31^st October and forty people agreed to give it a go the following week. By the next Saturday most people had got cold feet and there were only a couple of takers. The manager canvassed for people from different areas around the city and Frank Hodgkiss from Uttoxeter Road, Handsacre and Margaret Edgley from Westfields Road, Armitage decided to give it a go.

At the time the world record was held by Ed Baxter from Leek, Staffs who had eaten 130 prunes in 116 seconds. He had eaten stewed prunes which had also been stoned but this attempt was made with tinned stewed prunes which still had stones in them. The Mayor of Lichfield, Alderman Henry Hall started the contest, which was held in front of a full audience of bingo players who carried on playing bingo throughout the competition, by firing a pistol.

First to drop out was Tony Goodwin of Castle Vale, Birmingham who managed 85 prunes. Next to drop out was Margaret Edgley who gave up at 105. Errol Bassett managed to beat the previous record and ate 131 prunes but Frank Hodgkiss just kept on munching. After 43 minutes he had eaten 151 prunes and decided that he had had enough – Frank Hodgkiss was now the world champion prune eater! He didn’t turn up for bingo the next night but apparently denied that it had anything to do with the prunes.

Margaret Edgley was sick a couple of times afterwards but said it was the biggest laugh she had had in a long time. The Rugeley Times went with the headline ‘Handsacre man and woman claiming title’. In their interview with Margaret Edgley she said “Actually I don’t like prunes and never ate them at school.” As the Guiness Book of records does not mention a woman, she wondered if there was a world record for a woman prune eater.