As the summer gets underway, and despite the doom and gloom
of the economy, we have lots to celebrate, both nationally and locally.
Many of our local villages and towns are gearing themselves
up for a host of celebrations to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with the
added bonus that we get an extra-long bank holiday from Thursday 2nd to Sunday
5th June.
It looks like we are in for a fun-packed weekend.
Chard Town Council has been working together with local
schools, to organise a torch-lit parade, Thursday, June 2, along with a
lantern-making workshop in the Guildhall, Fore Street that morning.
The torch-lit parade will culminate with the lighting of the
Beacon on Crowshute Link at 9.45pm.
On Friday June 3 there is a special Civic Parade and Service
of Thanksgiving take place at St. Mary’s Church. In the evening there will be a
show, “Queen of the Commonwealth”, taking place at 7pm at the Guildhall.
On Saturday June 4, Freedom Leisure will have activities
taking place, in addition to a show at the Beacon, headlined with Bristol based
band Goodnight Lois.
On Sunday, June 5 Holyrood Street will be transformed to a
street party with entertainment for families, a brass band and food
outlets.
Over in Crewkerne there will be a ‘Jubilee in the Park’
celebration at Henhayes Recreation Ground on Friday 3rd June, 2-5pm.
Meanwhile, just down the road in Ilminster there will be
‘The Party on the Rec’ from 20am – 5pm, organised by the Rotary Club of
Ilminster, with live music, food, ice cream, a bar, games, and a dog show, all
for free!
Keep your eyes peeled for events in your own
community.
This is not all that we are good at though. Recently asked
to be one of the judges for the Town Crier competition held in Ilminster, and
ably organised once again by Town Crier Andrew Fox and his wife Julie, I was
reminded of the many wonderful quirky traditions for which we should be
famously proud. With Town Criers descending on the town from cross the country
it was fun to see traffic stopped in its tracks to view this wonderful
spectacle as entrants were put through their paces; and creating a right old
racket! What was particularly heartening was to see that the younger generation
are getting in on the act and that local lass, Sophy, from Chard, was the clear
winner in the junior competition.
Here's a bit of history for you.
Historically town criers, or Bellmen, were the original
newsmen and were particularly important when most of the population was
illiterate.
The first town criers were the Spartan Runners in the early
Greek Empire. With the advent of the Roman Conquest the role became a position
of the court, formalised after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
Town criers were protected by law; “Don’t shoot the
messenger” was a very real command as anything done to a town crier was deemed
to be done to the King and a treasonable offence. People of standing in the
community were chosen as they had to be able to write and read official
proclamations. Often, they were a husband-and-wife team with the wife ringing
the large hand bell whilst her husband shouted out the proclamation, usually at
the door of the local inn, before nailing it to the doorpost. The tradition has
resulted in the expression “posting a notice” and the naming of newspapers as
“The Post”.
Announcements are always preceded by the traditional “Oyez!
Oyez! Oyez!” (which is “listen” in French) and conclude with “God save the
Queen”.
Another truly British tradition that livens up many a town
and village throughout the summer months is that of Morris dancing, a form of
English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic
stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers,
usually wearing bell pads on their shins. Implements such as sticks, swords and
handkerchiefs may also be wielded by the dancers.
The earliest known and surviving English written mention of
Morris dance is dated to 1448 and records the payment of seven shillings to
Morris dancers by the Goldsmiths’ Company in London.
While the earliest records invariably mention “Morys” in a
court setting, and a little later in the Lord Mayors’ Processions in London, it
had adopted the nature of a folk dance performed in the parishes by the
mid-17th century.
Along with cheese rolling, cream teas, Guy Fawkes’s Night, a
good old Sunday roast and our ability to queue, these are things that never
fail to bring a smile to my face and makes me truly proud to be
British.
This summer there is plenty to keep us occupied without
breaking the bank.
No comments:
Post a Comment