Waes Hael

 My social media is stuffed full of images of people enjoying themselves at the various wassail ceremonies being held all round the country. It's so fabulous to see this ancient custom being revived...it's good for the soul to be able to partake of a slightly more riotous form of entertainment once in a while....throw in a few flaming torches [well maybe not literally eh!] and encourage folk to bang a pan loudly with a wooden spoon and there you have all the atmosphere you could possibly ask for.

Wassail is derived from the Saxon "waes hael" meaning "be well". With Sussex being a naturally contrary county we have to call it something different here, so howling it is. I've done various posts in the past on different aspects of the celebration, so I shall add little more except to say that I have recently heard about the Applewood Man. He was believed to be the spirit of the oldest tree in the orchard and responsible for the fertility of the apple crop. There is some evidence that banging the trunk of the tree with large wooden staves to drive out the evil spirits may actually cause the sap to rise earlier and have a positive effect on the success of the growing season. 

On Saturday we were able enjoy the Wassail revels held by another local Morris side- the Broadwood Men. Elsewhere there was rain, but we were treated to a clear, crisp night with the magnificent Wolf Moon casting her light overhead. It's devilishly difficult to get any decent photos in these conditions, so I only have a few blurry ones to offer and Kate Rusby's "Here we come a-wassailing" . It's my turn next with two up-coming ones in which I'm performing. No rest for the wicked eh!

With a lovely donation only concert down in Lewes yesterday featuring old Sussex music and carols from the 18th and 19th century [none of which were familiar to me] I feel like I have really launched my historic/folkloric year of attending events as a guest with gusto.

Arilx