Tickle Wrestling - Spring 1983 (2)

From the "Merseyside Mercury" Newspaper, April 15th 1983.

"As a former member of the medical profession, Bromborough Tickle Wrestler Louise Tracey is known for her scientific approach to the sport. Which is why she analyzes each of her Tickle Wrestling matches, win or lose.

Louise referred to her most recent bout against Kyoto Suzuki at Bury. 'Although I eventually won, I conceded a submission to her when she held me in a folding press and tickled the soles of my bare feet until I yielded. The received wisdom - and this is endorsed by Lynne Reid [the former Tickle Wrestler from the 1960s, who is Louise's mentor and part-time trainer] - is that a folding press and tickle is inescapable and that the only option is to submit. But I can't accept that.'

Accordingly, she asked her flatmate and fellow Tickle Wrestler Pauline Hughes to place her in a folding press and tickle her feet until she worked out a way to free herself. 'There must be a way,' she insisted, 'and, with Pauline's help, I'll find it.'

So, was she successful? According to Merseyside Mercury photographer Cheryl Yee, the answer is an emphatic 'No'.

'I was there for the first half-hour of the experiment,' Cheryl reported, two days after taking the above photo. 'Then I had to leave for another assignment. When I left, Lou was still trapped in the folding press hold, laughing, spluttering and begging Pauline to stop tickling the soles of her bare feet. But, of course, prior to the experiment she'd instructed Pauline to continue with the tickling no matter what, so possibly Lou is still having her bare feet tickled as we speak...' "