THE eyes of the sporting world will be firmly fixed on Australia this month for the Sydney Olympics, with hopes high of an unparalleled festival of sport, writes Andrew Flaxman.

A scene from last year's Dover's Games.

Yet if all the scandal and commercial razzamatazz that surrounds the modern Olympics is too much for you, then there's always next year and the Cotswolds' very own olimpicks to look forward to.

Yes, the ancient Greek games on which the Sydney event is based go back thousands of years, but there was one heck of a break before they were revived in 1896.

Unlike them, Robert Dover's Cotswold Olimpicks have a history of about 400 years, despite a break from 1852 until their revival in 1951 and are certainly far closer in spirit to their forebears than the Sydney games will be.

Held every year on Dover's Hill near Chipping Campden, they are one of the highlights of the north Cotswold calendar and have attracted a great deal of national attention because of their Olympic connections. An exhibition on the Cotswold games even found its way to the Seoul Olympics of 1988.

Now those interested in the history of Robert Dover and the games that bear his name have a choice of two books published by the Robert Dover's Games Society.

Both have been written by Dr Francis Burns, a stalwart of the modern games and one of the few people involved who do not live in the area. Dr Burns' interest in the games began as a student and he wrote his master's degree thesis on them. He first watched the games in person in 1972 and soon became a member of the society.

The first of the two books is a revised edition of Heigh For Cotswold!, which was first published in 1981.

It offers a detailed history of the games, but Dr Burns also sums up part of their enduring appeal in his introduction, saying: "This annual gathering for Robert Dover's games provides entertainment for those living on the wold or in the vale, with many spectators coming from further afield. It also presents a link with the past, a sense of history, for the general intentions of those coming to Dover's Hill are no different from those who came to see Robert Dover in Stuart times or who frequented the Dover's Meetings of Hanoverian and Victorian times."

No-one knows precisely when Dover, who was buried at Barton-on-the-Heath in 1652, held his first games, as various dates given range from 1596 to 1611, and they may even have been revisions of previous festivities.

What is certain is their later history. After ending in the 1850s they were revived for the Festival of Britain in 1951 and then restarted in 1963, since when, under the dedicated stewardship of the Robert Dover's Games Society, they have gone from strength to strength.

Their 20th century history is covered in detail in Dr Burns' second book, entitled simply the Twentieth Century Games, From the Festival of Britain to the Millennium. The characters and personalities who have shaped the modern games are all mentioned and the book will no doubt rekindle many memories for those who have watched or been involved in the various events in that time.

Both books are available from Dr Burns at 51 Ridge Road, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 9RE. Heigh For Cotswold! costs £4.50, plus postage and From the Festival of Britain to the Millennium is £3.50, plus postage.