"CROQUET seemed a much more decanal sport," the Dean of Hereford, the Very Revd Michael Tavinor (centre), said. At Three Choirs' Festivals in the past, the three deans have taken part in dragon-boat racing - "far too dangerous", he says; "and I wasn't keen to repeat the 'bandy ball' match [an early form of golf] we played at Gloucester."

So, at Hereford, where the Three Choirs Festival is being hosted this year, they settled for what is commonly supposed to be a sedate game of croquet - even though, I understand, it can be unexpectedly vicious.

All remained amicable on the deanery lawn, however, despite a closely fought match in which the Dean of Worcester, the Very Revd Peter Atkinson (right), won the gold medal, and the Dean-Emeritus of Gloucester, the Very Revd Nick Bury (left), the silver, leaving the bronze for their host.

They celebrated, appropriately, with tea on the lawn, and a specially iced croquet cake for the occasion.

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