MAYDAY, MAYDAY.....

"With the merry ring, adieu the merry spring,
For summer is acome unto day,
How happy is the little bird that merrily doth sing,
In the merry morning of May."

Well, it`s the first of May and I look out of my window and it`s raining, grey, dull and a measly 12 degrees.  Bit never mind, the good folk of Padstow in Cornwall have been up all night celebrating adieu to the merry spring and the little bird is happy now that summer is acome unto day.

The origin of the Padstow May Day celebrations are lost in the mists of time but each year they provide a raucous, passionate glimpse if what it means, especially for curmudgeons like me, to know that summer is on the way.   There`s no way I can hope to do justice to the traditions of Padstow and the Obby Oss, but here`s a short video of what it`s about:-

There`s no denying that the music of the day song and the night song is both haunting and hypnotising and the more I hear it the more compelling it becomes.  So here`s a longer version which perhaps captures the real atmosphere and charm of being part of it all.......

All of which makes me wish I had stayed in Cornwall for a bit longer rather than coming home last Thursday to deepest Kent with its dull, grey, rainy 12 degrees and its May Day `travellers` gumming up our village green..