Competition for the chimney sweeps ‘Van of the Year’ is always intense and this year was no different.
The competition was open to visitors to the recent Sweep Stuff Exhibition near Kenilworth in Warwickshire.
First prize of £250 and a unique engraved tankard went to Peter Stubbings of Stubbys Chimney Sweeps from Alton in Hampshire. Peter said: ‘This is great, I put a lot into my van and it’s nice to win.’
Our runner-up was Ryan Billmen from Bryan Cater Ltd. from Northwold in Norfolk. Ryan won £100 and an engraved tankard.
Guild director Emma Roddy was one half of the judging team, Emma said: “I love looking over all the vans. We judge them against a set of criteria and as a past winner myself, I know what to look for. Anyone can enter their van for free at the Sweep Stuff Exhibition – it’s your one chance a year for van glory.”
It turns out Peter Stubbings was on a bit of a lucky streak. Not only did he scoop the first prize in the van competition, the Guild presented him with a voucher to acknowledge his help with the training of new sweeps. Peter’s luck continued when he decided to ‘invest’ some of his winnings in the famous charity raffle held at the Gala Dinner that evening, going on to win several excellent prizes ( we wonder if he had a bet on the Grand National that day too?)
For a flavour of what happens at the Sweep Stuff Exhibition please visit: Exhibition 2023 – The Guild of Master Chimney Sweeps
