Summer Fun

So, here we are, heading into the grand old English summer. Just been made redundant...for the umpteenth time...so who gives a shit? I shall get another job, and maybe get made redundant again! Isn't life wonderfully cyclical?

I've ben talking a lot to a wonderful friend in Riyadh for a while now, and we got talking about religion again tonight (she's Islamic, I'm an atheist) and we talked a bit about comparative theology, I said that much of my belief stemmed from where I live....the heart of Wiltshire....with Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Avebury and iron age cairns dotted around, it's very difficult (when you know how and why many Christian celebrations began their days) not to be a Pagan or a Druid. But the subject got me on to the many other histories and customs of my little world.

This Saturday sees the celebration of Oak Apple,

Oak Apple Day or Royal Oak Day was a holiday celebrated in England on 29 May to commemorate the restoration of the English Monarchy, in May 1660. In some parts of the country, the day was also known as Shick-Shack Day or Arbour Day.

In 1660, Parliament declared 29 May a public holiday:

"Parliament had ordered the 29 of May, the King's birthday, to be for ever kept as a day of thanksgiving for our redemption from tyranny and the King's return to his Government, he entering London that day."

The tradition and celebration has died out now as a national event. However, the village of Great Wishford, in the Wylye Valley north of Salisbury, still celebrates Oak Apple. Wikipedia has this to say...

It is one of the few villages that still celebrates Oak Apple Day on 29 May each year. On this day, Great Wishford villagers claim their ancient rights to collect wood from Grovely Wood. This tradition is said to date back to 1603, when the charter of rights to collect wood in the Royal Forest of Groveley was confirmed by the Forest Court. The rights themselves date back several centuries before 1603. It is a matter of debate whether this tradition has been kept up continuously since the 17th century, or whether it was revived / re-invented in the late 19th century.

The events of a modern oak apple day include a "band" waking the villagers in the early hours of the morning, gathering oak branches from the woods at dawn, a village breakfast in the local pub (Royal Oak), then onto Salisbury, where there is dancing outside the Cathedral followed by claiming rights inside the cathedral by shouting "Grovely, Grovely, and all Grovely". In the afternoon there is a formal meal, and other events for villagers in Oak Apple Field.

These days, most villagers put more effort into claiming their rights than in exercising them: the handcarts used to transport wood from Grovely seem to have entirely disappeared.

And this is another example of looking back while living, a wonderful keeping of past traditions, which the villagers look forward to. I hope this Oak Apple Day is a great event and they all enjoy it, and best wishes with this wonderfully unpreictable weather too.

And I can assure you from experience, the walks through Grovely Woods are fantastic, every season brings it's own delights for visual splendour, and the Royal Oak is about the finest place to go for a lunch afterwards, the village of Great Wishford is so beautiful it's well worth a visit, if for no other reason than to enjoy the sight of St. Giles Church, with it's back-drop of Grovely from one side, or Salisbury Plain from the other.