I HAVE seen some ugly faces in my time, but never as many as when I walked into the Strathmore Arms, at Holwick, in Teesdale.

At every turn there were scrunched up mugs, cross-eyed grimaces and tongues poking out - not to mention the odd set of false teeth.

About a dozen visitors, including myself, decided it would be fun to play along with landlady Helen Osborne's plan to revive the age-old tradition of gurning yesterday.

"We wanted to do something to revive some of the old country pub traditions and pastimes," she said. "After all, this is a 17th Century pub and we wanted some quaint and quirky ideas that would reflect the atmosphere in here."

I spent last week pulling weird and wonderful faces in the mirror as I trained for the honour of becoming the first Strathmore Arms Gurning Champion.

I focused on imitating my Grandad, who I recalled being an expert. He would stick out his false teeth before scrunching up his face in a cross-eyed grimace.

Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, my teeth are my own and I had to seek inspiration from elsewhere.

With nerves jangling, competitors gathered in the cosy bar area before Helen brought out the braffin and the competition began.

It was women first. I had a hard act to follow as Beryl Burn, of Chester-le-Street, twisted her face into something which would petrify small children but was a worthy contender.

Then I took my place. Trembling badly as I took hold of the braffin and gurned for England - or Teesdale. Alas, my efforts were in vain as Beryl was named crowned the first woman champion.

For the men, some of whom were true champions, the winner was 70-year-old Morgan Lynch, his false teeth proving a distinct advantage.

As Beryl and Morgan began their reign as King and Queen of the Gurners, Helen declared the event would take place again next year and her tip to potential champions was: "Don't forget your false teeth."