Happy weekend yall! I just read this little tale in a book about Cornish customs. It involves three of my favorite things- Penryn, hazel nut picking in the Autumn and drinking. Can anyone remember it happening? I expect they went nutting through the Glasney Valley which is where I go. Its a wild and beautiful valley just minutes from the middle of the town. The council have given consent to a developer to build on one side of it, so check it out before it changes forever! There was a curious custom in the town of Penryn in Cornwall, which long outlived all modern innovations. On some particular day in September or October, about then the hazel nuts are right, the festival of nutting day is kept. The rabble of the town go in to the country to gather nuts, returning in the evening with boughs of hazel in their hands, shouting and making a great noise. In the meantime, the journeymen tailors of the town have proceeded to the adjoining village of Mylor, and elected one of their number Mayor of Mylor. Taking care, the selection falls on the wittiest. Seated in a chair shaded with green boughs, and borne on the shoulders of 4 stalwart men, the worthy mayor proceeds from his good town of Mylor to his ancient borough of Penryn, the van being led by the bodyguard of stout fellows well armed with cudgels- which they do not fail to use should their path be obstructed. Torch bearers and two town Seargeants clad in official gowns and cocked hats and each carrying a monstrous cabbage on their shoulder in lieu of a mace. The rear is brought up by the rabble of the nutters. About midday a band of music meets them, and plays them to Penryn, where they are received by the entire population. The procession proceeds to the town hall, in front of which the Mayor delivers a Speech, declaratory of his intended improvements for the coming year being genuine and excellent and sarcastic burlesque on the speeches of parliamentary candidates. The procession then moves on to each public house door where the mayor, his council, and offices, are liberally supplied with liquor, and the speech is repeated with variations. They then adjourn to the council chamber in some public house, and devote the night to drinking. At night the streets are filled with people bearing torches, throwing fireballs, and discharging rockets; and huge bonfires are kindled on the green. The legal mayor once made an effort to put a stop to this saturnalia, but his new made brother issued prompt orders to his body-guards, and he legal mayor left them to the festivities.
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 18:42:04 +0000
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