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| Porlock Wassail 2013 began at Dovery Museum |
Porlock Wassail in West Somerset, UK was a great success last night (5th January 2013) with numerous visits to orchards, wassailing songs, evil spirits scared off by a combination of shotguns and horrible noises made by the many people attending and then a brilliant community singing and music playing session with mummers at the
Ship Inn at the bottom of Porlock Hill.
Right from the beginning when everybody met up at the
Dovery Manor Museum at 6pm, it was clear it was going to be a well organised and popular night with free spiced apple cider juice and nibbles plentifully available at the museum and later at the many orchards we attended to wassail the apple trees.
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| Martyn Babb at Porlock Wassail 2013 |
Martyn Babb was doing his usual great job of leading the celebrations and, with George Ody and Gerry Mogg providing strong musical and singing support, I knew it was going to be an excellent wassail. Many other musicians and singers were there too, even from as far as Appledore in Devon in the form of members of
Tarka Morris.
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| George Ody and friends Porlock Wassail 2013 |
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| Gerry Mogg, family and friends |
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| Porlock Wassail 2013 with traditional cider toast |
To me, wassailing is all about bringing a community together and the procession from orchard to orchard is an all important part of the evening. Processing around Porlock playing wasssail tunes in great numbers was a wonderful way of telling the local community that something was happening even if they (this year) weren't all part of it. It is this sort of expansion of public knowledge that makes an event and tradition grow.
Which gives me an opportunity to mention a bit of a hobby horse of mine. Recently, I've been wondering if too much folk music, which is meant to be a community event, takes place hidden away from the public eye.
The practice of folkies meeting in a pub to play tunes and sing songs is actually not a well known activity. I've met many in the general public who are astounded that this sort of thing still carries on. Yet, when they know about it, the general public seem enthusiastic.
Which is why, I think, wassail processions are such a good thing, as would be any method that could be found of bringing joining in music and song, the essence of folk music, out on the streets of our towns and villages.
As far as I know, all the organisers, musicians, singers and other helpers at the Porlock Wassail were providing all their efforts freely, as I was, which all contributed to a wonderfully friendly event.
However, in a small slightly different way, I have actually started trying to do my bit to take community music out more to the general public by doing a bit of busking recently - well, last Summer, when it was warmer. The proof of the pudding was in the eating and I reckoned that loads more people saw me perform and heard my music when I was
busking on Minehead Sea front last Summer in West Somerset than have seen me in the pubs and clubs I have been playing at over the many years I have been performing as a folk musician.
In 2013, I hope to do much more busking traditional folk music tunes wherever I can find lots of people who are happy to gather around me and listen to my music.
Not only do complete strangers talk to me in between my tunes when I busk but I have seen apparently complete strangers talking to each other too. The humble public event created by myself playing a saxophone busking by the Minehead sea wall was enough of an event to bring a few people together which is surely a healthy thing for a community.
Of course, I cannot compare my humble busking to the excellent community event that was the Porlock Wassail 2013 which involved so many hard working people to make it happen. As we walked in our procession down the main street, there were organisers in hi-viz vests making sure cars slowed down and understood what we were doing. The food provided at each orchard venue had to be organised and the fires lit. The electric lighting fixed up in the orchards so we didn't fall over too much. The list of people who must have put in enormous amounts of work hidden away in the background seems almost endless.

So thanks to all the good people in Porlock who were involved in the
Porlock Wassail last night and I look forward to joining you next year
for, hopefully, an even larger event involving many more in the
community, which is what it is all about.
And, if there is anybody out there who agrees with me that music should be more available in the community to bring the community together and is interested in joining me as a busk buddy, I would like to hear from you. Perhaps you play a guitar or possibly a piano accordion or similar instrument. You need a laid back relaxed attitude and to be flexible about locations yet to be decided in the West Country, UK, as it is all a work in progress. I play traditional English, Irish, French and Eastern tunes (Klezmer) and am expanding my repertoire into ragtime and other popular stuff (because the public like it, which is what it is all about). So your instrument needs to be able to cope with musical keys a little bit more extensive than G and D normally available on the basic melodeon. Busking money is generally lousy and it's often cold but at least the public donations cover travelling expenses, insurance etc. to some extent and you can get that warm feeling from knowing you are bringing a community together! Find me, Rob Hopcott Watson, on
Facebook or
Twitter, if you are interested.
Similarly, if you have an event local to me in West Somerset with a reasonable footfall, where you would like a bit of traditional music from a community minded busker, I'd also like to hear from you :-)
So I look forward to seeing you all next year at Porlock Wassail 2014 in West Somerset, UK for a great evening of community entertainment and a few glasses of apple juice and, before you go, why not check out professional photographer George Ody's great photos of the
2013 Porlock Wassail :-)