Ottery St Mary......#3 Enlightening the Whole Community
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Posted:Nov 4, 2007 6:08 am
Last Updated:Nov 24, 2007 6:40 pm 8031 Views
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What makes this tradition even more pleasantly surprising and unique is the fact that, its not just the men who bear the weight of the festivities upon their shoulders.......but women and also take part, with the size of flaming barrels adjusted accordingly. The smallest starting from about half a metre in width to the largest, called, London Barrels which are as big as a mans arm span.
A spokesman for the festival explains, " It is a tradition not without its dangers, but safety measures are taken, with the participants and thousands of spectators (about 20,000) all being made aware of the dangers and safety measures and it is up to them to decide wether they wish to come"..........here, here!, its not often we ever hear wonderful words like that any more, here in Great-Nanny Britain <
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Ottery St Mary......#2: Burning the Flame for Humanity
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Posted:Nov 4, 2007 6:03 am
Last Updated:Nov 7, 2007 2:27 am 7015 Views
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As you can see from the picture, barrels smeared with tar are set alight and then carried by members of the community who then proceed to run through the streets, while being, seemingly engulfed in flames!
What further adds to the excitment is the participants abandonment of modern day fireproofing, infact this too seems to be unchanged from the days of Guy Fawkes, consisting of a couple of extra layers of clothing, the outer layers of which often become incinerated, a pair of gloves made from sack-cloth which does catch fire despite being dampened with water and if one was feeling slightly intimidated by the prospect of having ones hair similarly going up in flames and setting the night sky alight, a hat, be it bobble or country cap, are sometimes worn, but preferably not one made of straw!
It is truly an amazing sight and as I was mesmerised by the procession, the mere sight conjures-up repressed human/animal instincts from deep within our souls.......it is rare to see anything on this scale, it does remind one of the Japanese, Danjiri Festival or the Spanish, San Fermines Bull Run, festivals in which people still have the, humanity and courage to put Health and Safety on the side-lines and embrace the joy of being human, albeit for just one day.......
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Ottery St Mary.......#1: Burning Tradition
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Posted:Nov 4, 2007 6:00 am
Last Updated:Nov 18, 2007 5:37 pm 8365 Views
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Every year British festivals are being lost due to health and safety issues and the ever encroaching tide of the nanny state. Which is why I was pleasantly shocked to hear of the Ottery St Mary Carnival and the flaming tar barrels. But even this great tradition has been under threat recently by the ever increasing cost of liability insurance. In fact were it not for the support of an Insurance company proud of backing traditional events, the Ottery St Mary Barrel Run would now be confined to our history books.
The Tar Barrel tradition is hundreds of years old. The exact origins are unknown but probably started after the gunpowder plot of 1605. Various alternative reasons suggested for burning barrels have included fumigation of cottages and as a warning of the approach of the Spanish armada, but ask a person from Ottery and they will tell you that the tradition is linked to pagean fire rituals intended on warding off evil spirits.
The Carnival is held on the 5th November each year, and the barrels being prepared and supplied by each of the 17 public houses situated in Ottery St Mary. The barrel run begins in the late afternoon, the are the first to take on the challenge, then the women and finally culminating in the climax of the festivities with the mens Midnight Barrel Run.........
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How POOR are YOU ? / How RICH are YOU ?
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Posted:Sep 13, 2007 4:10 pm
Last Updated:Jan 20, 2008 11:11 am 7274 Views
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How poor are you? or How rich are you?
A question we would love to be able to ask someone, but an absolute taboo. We usually get around this by asking about their Job, but more often than not, the person will tell you themselves, not directly, for that's taboo too, but by the way they dress and talk, the company they keep, the car they drive and the house they own.
Sometimes, its your lucky day and they even go to great lengths to drop little hints like; where they went on holiday or how many times a year they go to Barbados, how hard it was to get their into such'n such a school or how ridiculously expensive gardners are nowadays etc, etc......
After you've managed to free your face of that ridiculous glued smile and you've had time to evaluate all this juicy information, we are really non the wiser of their wealth....for there is the question of cash-flow.....damn!!
But determining a persons wealth is much easier than you may think and it doesn't involve theassistance from Private detectives, tapping their phone lines or hacking into their Internet bank statements.....as long as you know three critical factors, you can do it now;
ASK YOURSELF THESE THREE QUESTIONS IN RELATION TO THE PERSON:
1 Are they happy at home?
2 Do they have good friends?
3 Do they enjoy their work?
If you can tick all three, they're richer beyond your wildest dreams.
So maybe the question, "How rich or poor are you?" is justified as a taboo, because the reasons to the answer are Sacred and Pure
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PRINCE ALFREDS' STORY
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Posted:Apr 12, 2007 3:28 am
Last Updated:Aug 27, 2007 9:56 am 8387 Views
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This is Prince Alfred.
He's 1yrs old, of Charles II(who, I'm sad to say, is not with us any more, he was ambushed and savagely murdered by Moray, I shall introduce you to this fiend at a later date.....for he's lurking in the the undergrowth.....somewhere..but for now we shall
return to, "ALFREDS'STORY"
Alfred has scoured the plains of this vast Island with his mighty sword held high, his
battle torn armour radiating the full force
of the cold...cold...winter sun, casting a beacon of hope and justice to the withered
souls of this war torn land.
But now....on the 12th day of the 4th month
Alfred put down his sword...looked up to the
Heavens and cried,
"OH GOD, OH WISE MASTER guide this weary
heart, for I am lost, a fire in my belly
burns but I know not it's meaning.....?
There was no command. What was he to do?
He could not think, eat or sleep while this
fire raged within him. He grasped his sword
and rose wearily to his feet and followed
his heart which whispered,
"Go east Alfred, go east....for there
thou shall find the answer, the ans......"
"YES, YES...EAST...I SHALL, BUT WHAT AM
I TO SEEK? IT IS A VAST PROVINCE, RULED
BY A FEARSOME KING!!"
"Go east oh valiant one and have no fear
for I shall guide thy forlorn soul
through the
gates of hell!"
...........to be cont'
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Lovely Weather.....
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Posted:Apr 12, 2007 12:30 am
Last Updated:Oct 7, 2007 5:18 pm 8664 Views
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Lovely weather for a change, 16*C, sunny and
just a hint of a warm summer breeze!!
There's a steady stream of people walking to
the beach today.....making the most of the last
few days of their Easter hols.
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