OBJ Morris - 2013 Scrapbook

OBJ's Annual Wassail - The Boot, Bracknell
17th February 2013

This wassail was originally scheduled for January - but this was not to be! It turned out we had picked the only weekend of the year when the country was at a standstill due to heavy snow. So after a lot of phone calls and emails it was re-planned for 17th February which gave us excellent weather.

We were accompanied by Ellington Morris, Fleet Morris, Mayflower Morris, Phoenix Morris and Ridgeway Stepclog. Sadly Wickham Morris and Garston Gallopers couldn't make it to the revised date but I'm sure we'll be seeing them during the season.

Special thanks are due to Pam, for baking the wassail cake, to Diane and her team at The Boot for coping with us all, and to Doug, Kate, Andy and various nameless others who contributed to the singing.

OBJ comprised: Alison, Ann, Anna, Chris, Clare, Claudia, Colin, Eddie, Emma, Gill, Ian, Joe, Kelly, Lawre, Liz, Lynda, MikeG, Phil Tony and Vera

Click the pictures to enlarge them

The article in the local newspaper afterwards

OBJ get started on Dilwyn

This is the quiet bit. Last-minute instructions are being given to the musicians!

Then the noisy bit.

Liz looks like she's going for it!

Then its Sheepskins for 12

Kelly, MikeG, Ann and Tony on the left and Gill and Liz on the right

Ellington Morris

Fleet Morris

Phoenix Morris

Mayflower Morris

An East Acton gets started

It looks a bit like a hand-to-hand combat but they know what they are doing!

And it gets a bit more organised as it goes along

Jane (in civvies) and Emma (in Mayflower kit) are in this picture

One of the waitresses from the pub joined us too!

Ellington's mummers

St George does battle with the Turkish Knight

The King and Queen of the Bean are selected by getting the piece of wassail cake that contains a bean.

King Paul II and Queen Sylvie I oversee the wassail

There's some singing of traditional songs, then we get down to the serious business of putting toast and beer in the apple tree

King Paul is holding the wonderful wassail bowl made by Alan from Garston Gallopers last year.

Our bowl it is made from the white maple tree.....

After the tree branches are dipped in beer, the wren is buried in it's roots and we make a lot of noise to drive off evil spirits.

Ali the Elf assists with items from her wassailing kit

Future Tesco's lasagne looks on - little does it know!