Priston Morris support Frome Folk

Not content with a rather nice piece in the Somerset Guardian about the Priston Wassail, Priston Jubilee Morris are in the paper again!

This time we’re helping to advertise the brand new Frome Folk Festival that will be taking place at the Cheese and Grain and other venues around Frome on Saturday and Sunday, 18-19 February.

Priston will be dancing around the town on Saturday and may be seen alongside Rag Morris, Somerset Morris, Hips and Haws, Bathampton Morris, City Clickers, White Horse Morris, Mr Wilkin’s Shilling and Billy No Mates – the one-man Morris side!

Expect all the usual fun and festivities that Morris dancing brings, as well as a few famous folk peeps you might have heard of and a ceilidh on the Saturday afternoon…

More details of our whereabouts will be published on the festival’s website and our events page as and when we know. We’d love to see you, so come and say hi!

IN THE PRESS! Priston Morris are featured in the Somerset Guardian, published on 2 February 2012. In the printed edition, the article can be found on page 31, the front page of the leisure supplement ‘Your Time’.

Dancing the Monkey's Fist at the Priston Wassail 2012 (Photo: Richard Bottle )

The annual Priston Wassail began on Priston Village Green for a spot of Morris dancing at 2.45pm, swiftly followed by the crowning of the Wassail Queen at 3.00pm, before the congregation processed to the orchard at Barnstables, lead by the musicians of Priston Jubilee Morris.

Once at the orchard, the ceremony began in earnest, with the Wassail queen putting some cider-drenched toast in the branch of an apple tree and then pouring cider around its base, as gifts of good health and a bountiful crop in the coming year.

Mulled cider began to circulate amongst the crowd while the Wassail Incantation was read by all, to further encourage the tree:

Old Apple Tree, Old Apple Tree; We’ve come to Wassail thee; To bear and to bow apples enow; Hats full, caps full, three bushel bags full; Barn floors full and a little heap under the stairs.

Beating the apple tree to scare away evil spirits (Photo: Richard Bottle )

Finally, loud noises were made with sticks and pans to scare away any lurking evil spirits, and shotguns were fired into the branches.

With the ceremony complete, the crowd walked back to the village hall for tea and apple cake, while a charity raffle in aid of Children’s Hospice South-West was held. First prize – an apple tree!

Then, at 4.00pm, came the entertainment everyone had been waiting for…The Priston Mummers play, performed by Priston Jubilee Morris. It wouldn’t be the same without it! Here’s to a good harvest in 2012.

Update, 6 February 2012: IN THE PRESS! Priston Wassail 2012 was featured in the Somerset Guardian, published on 19 January 2012. In the printed edition, the article can be found on page 6.

Priston Jubilee Morris wave in the dawn with hankies, sticks and bells on (Photo: Mark Swabey )

Bleary eyed we congregated in the darkness of Priston’s village green at around 5am, before setting off up Pressbarrow Hill for the ceremonial dance overlooking the village of Priston (amongst others).

The morning of 1 May 2011 was a rather dull and grey affair, but we didn’t let the weather dampen our intentions as fleet-of-foot we did our best to convey something that loosely resembled Morris dancing while ably dodging the tussocks and cowpats on the brow of the hill.

Five or six dances later and the dawn was well underway, with the sun just beginning to fight its way through the clouds. One last stop for a group photo to prove that we we’d made it and savour our annual event and then we staggered back down the hill to the village hall for a full english breakfast to really get the day started.

Will we do it all again next year? Of course we will!