2015-06-24
3250
1) In many parts of Great Britain, the custom of First-footing in the early hours of January 1st is kept with great vigour. The First Foot comes as soon as possible after midnight has struck. The First Foot is traditionally supposed to influence fortunes of the householders in the following twelve months.
2) The old and unusual game known as the Hood Game, or Throwing the Hood, is played every year on Old Christmas Day, January 6th at Haxey in north Lincolnshire. The ceremonies of Haxey Hood begin in the early afternoon with the procession of the Fool and his twelve Boggans up the village street to a small green place outside the parish church. The Boggans are the official team and play against all comers. Chief among them is the King Boggan, or Lord of the Hood, who carries a wand, or roll of thirteen willows as a badge of office. He and all his team should wear scarlet flannel coats and hats wreathed with red flowers. The “hoods” used in the game bear no resemblance to the headgear from which they are supposed to take their name. The main hood, or Leather Hood, is a two-foot length of thick rope encased in stout leather. The lesser “hoods” are tightly-rolled pieces of canvas, tied with ribbons.
3) Jack-in-the-Green is that very ancient figure who represents the Summer. As Green George, or the Wild Man, his counterparts exist all over Europe. In England, he takes the form of a man encased in a high wickerwork cage which completely covers him and is in its turn entirely smothered in green branches, leaves and flowers. Only his eyes are visible, loking through the hole cut in the cage, and his feet below the level of the wicke-work. Sometimes he goes about alone, sometimes with only a few attendants, and a musician or two.
4) Egg-shackling takes place on Easter Monday, or Ducking Monday, as it is often called in Eastern Europe. Young men splash unmarried girls vigorously with water. The girls are, of course, expected to submit with good grace, and even, in some areas, to pay for the privilege with gifts of painted eggs, or glasses of brandy.
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5) Going for over thirty years, the Woolsack Races on Woolsack Day are one of the most famous aspects of Tetbury. Yearly, competitors from far and wide compete to see if they can become World Champions. The races take place on Gumstool Hill, one of Tetbury's oldest streets. The competitors must race down the hill (two at a time) and then “run” back up, whilst carrying a heavy 35lb woolsack on their back. The use of the woolsack – more famous as the seat of the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords – refers to Tetbury's market town past. The race course goes through what used to be the sheep market.
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Kingstone is one of the oldest summer cottages left standing in Newport, a reminder of the pre-Civil War days when wealthy Southern families continued the 18th century practice of spending their summers in the cool climate of the City-by-the-Sea. With its modest dimensions and gentle architecture, it is also a symbol of a less competitive time when houses were built more for comfort than for show.
The cottage, later to be called Kingstone, was built in 1839 for George Noble Jones, a well-to-do plantation owner from Savannah, Georgia. It is difficult to imagine today the importance that Victorians attached to the powers of nature in preserving health. George Jones liked to entertain people in his estate. Afternoon dinner and informal suppers were the rule. Horseback riding and swimming were popular pastimes. Bathing took place at Easton Beach frequently. Women were permitted to use the beach in the mornings, under protection of a white flag. At noon, women were expected to leave, presumably to be spared the sight of gentlemen in their bathing costumes.
