Today Rachelle and I took in the annual Wassailing event at a community apple orchard. Wassailing is an old European tradition of waking the apple trees, wishing them good health, then putting them back to sleep again all in the interests of ensuring a successful harvest which will then be dedicated to making cider.
Sixty or seventy Hornby Islanders paraded behind our wizard leader, Bob Sarti, and the minstrel, Tony Law, visiting seven or eight trees in the orchard. At each stop we chanted for the health of the tree; following this was the wizard pouring a bit of cider onto the tree before moving on.
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| The minstrel Tony Law |
This is life on our island... musical, colourful, playful, and steeped in tradition.
"Apple tree, apple tree, we all come to wassail thee,
Bear this year and next year to bloom and to blow,
Hat fulls, cap fulls, three cornered sack fills,
Hip, Hip, Hip, hurrah, Holler biys, holler hurrah."
The only thing missing for us was the medieval costumes we were asked to wear. Rachelle complained bitterly that all of her gowns were at the cleaners. Never bring all your velvet pantaloons and corsets to the cleaners at once. Lesson learned.
The only thing missing for us was the medieval costumes we were asked to wear. Rachelle complained bitterly that all of her gowns were at the cleaners. Never bring all your velvet pantaloons and corsets to the cleaners at once. Lesson learned.
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