This article is from page 35 of the 2012-11-27 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 35 JPG
MARY Rice, owner of Babyzone store, from Ruan, Ennis and 66 years young, was crowned Breakfast with Hector’s ‘Granny Grand Prix Champion of 2012’, in Mondello Park, Kildare, on Sunday, November 18, with an impressive time of one minute and seven seconds.
Said Mary about the event, “It was the best day of my life. I’m still recovering. I wasn’t out to win. I was just out to do what I was told to do. Little did I think that I would be the winner.”
Mary was more surprised than anyone to be taking part in the contest, let alone winning the title, having no knowledge of the event until she found herself picking up the phone to Hector at work.
“I thought it was my son-in-law in England; he’s always playing tricks,” she chuckled. It was her daughter, Sheena, who nominated her for the competition. Sheena, who lives in Germany, listens to Hector’s show to avoid getting too homesick and happened to hear about the competition one morning.
Blessed with a family of eight children, and 11 grandchildren, Mary was not short of supporters on the day. Family and friends travelled from as far as Germany and Birmingham to cheer her on, donning printed t-shirts reading ‘Mary Mops for Grand Prix Title’.
In honour of her win, Mary was also presented with a voucher for a weekend away in The Radisson Hotel, Galway to enjoy with a few of her friends.