Piglet’s Wenlock Olympian Games Story Told in New Book

This beautifully-illustrated children’s book follows Peggy the Much Wenlock Piglet as she takes part in the town’s games organised by Dr William Penny Brookes, the inspiration for the modern Olympic movement and founder of Wenlock Olympian Society.

Based on a true story, it follows Peggy as she competes in a ‘chase the pig’ race and sees other activities such as poetry contests, climbing the greasy pole competitions and cricket matches, all held alongside athletics as part of the Wenlock Olympian Games, started in 1850.

The publication is a joint effort between three local women, Jocelyne Adams, Isobel Bushell and Ina Taylor, who wanted to spread the word about Shropshire’s role in sporting history.

“We are very proud of the contribution that Much Wenlock made to the founding of the modern Olympic Games and hope that this book will encourage children, and perhaps adults, to find out more about the fascinating events that took place here around 160 years ago,” said author Jocelyne.

“I approached local designer and illustrator Isobel Bushell to collaborate with me on the book and she has done a brilliant job. The artwork is delightful and really brings the story to life.”

Isobel added that she hoped that the book would fill a gap in the market. She commented: “We introduced Peggy the Pig because we wanted to engage younger children and get them excited about Shropshire’s Olympian connection. It’s a great little story which is a lot of fun to read.”

The book is published by Much Wenlock-based Ellingham Press, run by Ina Taylor, who commented: “We fell in love with the book as soon as I saw it and knew we had to publish it.” One of the main retailers is another local woman, Anna Dreda, who runs the award-winning shop Wenlock Books at .

It will also be sold at other retailers around the county and through the website .

For more information about William Penny Brookes and the Wenlock Olympian Games visit www.wenlock-olympian-society.org.uk.