The Famous Race Between the Hearse and the Steamroller

Sidney Keyes' great allegorical tale of a race between a newfangled steamroller with a top speed of five miles per hour and a horse-drawn hearse, whose two old nags are accustomed to a stately pace appropriate to the transportation of the dead.

The race takes on a wider significance as an allegory of progress and the advent of the age of the machine versus the old thoughtful way of life. When the two vehicles set off from their starting point, the village inn ('The Sad Man's Rest') nobody can really predict which vehicle will arrive first at the finish line, eight miles away. As it turns out, the outcome of the race is very different and more momentous than anyone could have predicted.

A story that truly challenges the listener to think through the wider implications of what started out as a simple pub challenge.