Check out these pics from the first ever RVT Sports Day in 1982- Not Television

RVT Sports Day 1982

Tomorrow (August 31 2015) sees this year’s RVT Sports Day – the Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s stand-out annual charity event in which competitors face off in the likes of handbag-throwing, the drag relay and the 50m mince for the benefit of the GMFA health charity and Vauxhall City Farm.

But today I wanted to share some fab images from the archives. They’re from Steve Ellis – a former DJ and promoter at the Vauxhall Tavern who played a considerable role in shaping the venue in the 1980s, including helping organise and document the first ever sports day back in 1982.

Steve kindly shared these amazing pictures with me when I was researching the Tavern’s history before writing the application to Historic England to make it a listed building.

The images from that day show some of the 400-odd people – participants, organisers and spectators – who came along, including drag acts the Disappointer Sisters and David Trollette, as well as landlords of the day Pat and Breda McConnon and their kids.

There’s also a full running order and an illustrated write-up of that first event, which shows rain has been part of the proceedings from day one.

FYI tomorrow’s forecast is damp in the morning but dry in the afternoon – so no excuses!

The RVT GMFA Sports Day is in the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens behind the RVT on Monday August 31. Tomfoolery starts at 2pm. Find out more here and here and follow @GaySportsDay on Twitter.