We held our annual wassail in Wokingham's Market Square again, joined
by Garston Gallopers and Mayflower Morris
OBJ comprised:
Ali, Ann, Chris, Christopher, Clare, Claudia, Colin, Eddie, Giles,
Helen, Jane, Joe, Karen, Lawre, Mark, Mike, Philip, Sarah, Tony,
Trish, with some help from Andy-the-Cajon
We made the headlines in the Wokingham paper, dislodging the
ram-raid at Boots and the antisocial "car meet " which had
both happened in Wokingham the same weekend.
A couple of Youtube videos from the day.
16th
January 2022
OBJ's Wassail in Wokingham Market Square
Dance:
Worcestershire Monkey
Dancers: Ann, Christopher,
Eddie, Helen, Karen, Mike, Sarah, Tony
Musicians: Joe, Colin, Philip (melodeons),
Clare(concertina), Mark, Andy (percussion), Lawre (Banjo),
with help from Andy-the-Cajon and musicians from Garston
Gallopers and Mayflower
Camera: Chris
16th
January 2022
OBJ's Wassail in Wokingham Market Square
Dance:
Wildridings (set of 6)
Dancers: Ann, Claudia,
Eddie, Helen, Karen, Mike, Philip
Musicians: Joe, Colin (melodeons),
Clare(concertina), Mark, Andy (percussion), Lawre (Banjo),
with help from Andy-the-Cajon
Camera: Chris
Our guests Garston Gallopers and Mayflower Morris added a
bit of variety, and the weather treated us kindly for a
mid-january day.
We did a bit of dancing for an hour or so
The
OBJ band comprised of Giles, Philip, Andy-the-Cajon, Colin,
Mark, Clare and Joe with contributions from several others.
A few friends from Taeppas Tump Morris are looking on
I'm not sure which dance this is, but it
shows that we had a good audience in the background.
Even the people who were using the coffee-pods enjoyed the
occasion
A
set getting ready to dance Brimfield
In the middle, Phil and Christopher are facing us, with Tony
and Eddie facing away. On the outside are Sarah, Ann,
Helen and Karen, with Claudia ready to tag-team with Ann.
The dance gets under way - this is the
stars&rounds figure
And
now, the ladies are in the middle, with the men on the
outside
Karen has been practicing her scary face all
winter
Even
Karen's scary face didn't deter this little chap from
joining in with the dancing
16th
January 2022
OBJ's Wassail in Wokingham Market Square
Dance:
Worcestershire Monkey
Dancers: Ann, Christopher,
Eddie, Helen, Karen, Mike, Sarah, Tony
Musicians: Joe, Colin, Philip (melodeons),
Clare(concertina), Mark, Andy (percussion), Lawre (Banjo),
with help from Andy-the-Cajon and musicians from Garston
Gallopers and Mayflower
Camera: Chris
16th
January 2022
OBJ's Wassail in Wokingham Market Square
Dance:
Wildridings (set of 6)
Dancers: Ann, Claudia,
Eddie, Helen, Karen, Mike, Philip
Musicians: Joe, Colin (melodeons),
Clare(concertina), Mark, Andy (percussion), Lawre (Banjo),
with help from Andy-the-Cajon
Camera: Chris
After a bit of dancing, we moved on to the Wassail
"ceremony". The wassail cake was distributed in
individually wrappled slices (Covid precaution) and the one
labelled with "BEAN" was used to select the King and
Queen.
The traditional songs were sung more-or-less tunefully, and
Ali-the-Elf assisted the King and Queen to bury the wren in
the roots of the tree, anoint it with cider and feed it
pieces of toast.
The tree was returned to it's owner and keeper, ready to
thrive for another year and another Wassail.
Below: Giles explains his new idiot-proof bag for carrying
little Stanley