Wassail Chant part two

Well they sang it in rounds, not sure they meant too but it was fun. The film is wobbly sorry, difficult to keep a littleun away from the draw of flames whilst filming at the same time! But hopefully you'll like it.

Was a fantastic evening, catching up with friends, new and old. Celebrating the apple trees. Oh and the smell, of the hot ciders, the fire, the hog roasts just lovely. Littleun enjoyed it, dancing away to the drum beat, watching the Morris sides (only Borders though not sure why) singing the tunes. Beats Saturday tv anytime!

Still Raining, Still Pouring...

But the Old Man? He gave up snoring. Had too with this lot around!

Today was again blooming wet. So much so that the May Queen ceremony and May Pole dancing had to be moved indoors. Still a great time had and a lovely set of children entertaining with their routines.

For the afternoon the brave (mad?) drummers came out for their drum-off and the three sides gave a great, toe tapping, body jiggling set of rhythms for us to enjoy.

PS Would highly recommend not redying hair red when later heading out in the rain, doesn't matter how hard I tried, still got it streaking down my face!

The Countdown has begun

I promise I'll not mention it too often but I am getting a little bit excited as its not long now till the best weekend of the year for this little household. The Jack in the Green weekend was revived in its current format 27 years ago and is a weekend of Morris Dance, music and fun before on the Monday the main event of Jack being released.

There are various characters in the parade:

The Jack; the centrepiece of the celebrations Jack-in-the-green is a traditional May Day figure. He may be a garland that has expanded in size dating from the 17th century but to others He is also a representation of The Green Man in his various forms.

The Bogies and Black Sal; The bogies are Jacks protectors, staying with him till the end ensuring his safety and "greening" anyone on the way. Sal is Jacks consort and also stays with Him till the end.

The Sweeps; Possibly the reason that the Jack started as he currently looks, the sweeps made the garland that eventually grew in size to cover a whole man.

The Giants; They have become part of the festival over the years celebrating a history of gianting through out Europe and representing various characters such as Herne and Andred.

Morris sides; Mad Jacks (responsible for this revival), Hannah's Cat and visiting sides show off their talents throughout the weekend before joining in the parade.

Rhythm Sections: And lastly the Drummers. Different groups, Section5, Pentacle Drummers, Rumpledrumskin and Sambalanco add the toe taping, body moving beats that will rumble throughout the town for the weekend. Various drummers have in past years helped welcome in the Dawn on Beltane plus a Drum Off on the Sunday.

Throughout the weekend there is a lot of music and dance. If anyone is interested in seeing the programme then visit the Jack-in-the-Green site for the list.

30 days to go! yippee, now best get on with finishing the costumes...

Have a gander...

You may have noticed two links I’ve added, Section 5 drummers and Rose Blakeley’s “A Pathway through the Seasons”. If you have the time please take a look.

““A Pathway through the Seasons” is Rose Blakeley’s latest book,which is a collection of delightful stories in rhyme that takes the reader on a fascinating and enchanting journey through the seasons. It is based on folklore, history and English customs, and as you travel along the pathway, you will be accompanied by all aspects of nature including flowers, trees, butterflies and birds. Each chapter is beautifully illustrated in bright colour, and also black and white, by the author herself.”(see RB website)

Section 5 are a bunch of folks who seem to have a good time making a well organised racket. Littleun loves watching the Drum Off they have at Beltane with another group and always natters on about how he wants to join when he’s older. The only time I’ve ever cursed my mum for buying Littleun a drum! To have a look click on the title above..