Strange British customs

Hi guy's

Here in the UK today is May day, so happy May day guys
We will have a public holiday on Monday and we will celebrate.

But how do we celebrate ?

This would have been back in March and unrelated to May day but is still a tradition over here



We will in our villages do this



And this



They are included here, damn I love being a Brit.
Weird as we can be



Enjoy

Feel free to add your traditions as well please we are after all quite a diverse bunch.
Cody

You make out we all go cheese rolling and morris dancing over here lol. I think the only slightly exciting thing of my day was that I had some British asparagus for the first time this year

reply to post by lewman


My apologies lewman

It was supposed to be more of a look at our eccentricities for others to have a giggle at.

Cody

Well I remember when I used to live in South Shields near Newcastle and loads of people used to go for a swim in the North Sea on boxing day, crazy people.

Here is a great one. The Atherstone Ball Game. Every Shrove Tuesday the town of Atherstone in Warwickshire play ball. It's utter madness:-

I thought chasing cheese down a steep hill was crazy, until I found out the Spanish get chased through streets By a bull and the streets are no bigger than a few meters wide - now that #s strange.

Chasing Cheese - Strange
Getting chase by a Bull - Why?

The Burryman

On the Friday morning, a local man is covered from head to ankles in burrs (the sticky flowerheads or seedheads of two species of burdock, Arctium lappa and A. minus)[4] that grow locally. The stickiness of his burry covering means that he has to walk awkwardly, with legs apart and arms held out sideways but he is nevertheless paraded around a seven-mile route through South Queensferry for nine hours or more.[5] He supports his aching arms on waist-high poles decorated with flowers. Two attendants (dressed in normal clothing[1]) guide him through the town and help him through his ordeal. They visit the town's pubs, some factories, and the provost's house, at each of which the Burryman is given a drink of whisky, but because of his sticky facial covering he can only drink through a straw. He is not allowed to speak. By the end of the day he is exhausted.[4]

Tradition holds that he will bring good luck to the town if they give him whisky and money, and that bad luck will result if the custom is discontinued.[1]

wiki

I've been meaning to go and see this for years but never got round to it.

Also, blowing up an effigy of the pope in Lewes on fireworks night has to be considered pretty strange

reply to post by cody599


How about The Gurning Competition at the Egremont Crab Fair



Or Straw Bear Day...

Straw Bear (Strawboer) Day is an old English tradition held on the 7th of January.

It is known in a small area of Fenland on the borders of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire,

This day is believed to be traditional start of agricultural year in England.

A man or a boy wears a straw costume covering him from his head to toes.

He goes from house to house where he dances.

As prize for his dancing people give him money, food or beer.

Are you a pearly King, Cody?

Pearly Kings and Queens, known as pearlies, are an organized charitable tradition of working class culture in London, England. The practice of wearing clothes decorated with pearl buttons originated in the 19th century. It is first associated with Henry Croft, an orphan street sweeper who collected money for charity. In 1911 an organized pearly society was formed in Finchley, north London.

Source

Tfw.

Splendid thread by George!

Morris Dancing, Cheese Rolling, inter-village brawls/ball-games and pancake races are part of our rich "cultural" heritage and long may they last..

How about Gurning competitions?



i hope these still go on, but if not, at least raves and illicit tablets help to keep them alive



besides this, Knobbly Knees competitions must surely still be a feature of holiday camps.. indeed they are:



though maybe holiday camps are a stranger tradition the the knobby knee contests themselves

and conkers! let them season, soak them in vinegar, bake them, inject them with concrete, make moulds with them and then make cast iron replicas and paint them brown - it's all good!



God save the Queen!

Why aren't the Atherstone Brawl, Cheese Rolling, Fireworks, and others shut down in the name of elf'n' safety? Are there still a few areas left where the government does not impose controls?

reply to post by charles1952


only if you get your news from sensationalist rags such as the Daily Mail and other dubious sources... these traditions are quite alive and you are welcome to come over here and break your back chasing a cheese down a hill, or get kicked in the face in futile pursuit of a pig's bladder



Break a leg chasing cheese

Kick your neighbour in the nuts for fun

other ball games do exist, and we have many ways to injure ourselves, thankyouverymuch

ETA: come join the fun... i'll take you somewhere for a nice pint afterwards, somewhere that you can get glassed in the face, and after we fix you up for free i'm sure i could introduce you to some slappers for a threesome in a piss soaked alleyway too

reply to post by skalla

Dear skalla,

When will I ever learn to convey my meaning clearly?

I was under the impression that the health and safety rules were poking their noses into every corner of British society, and was delighted to see there are still some places were fun, testosterone, and bodily injury held out against the vast "system," (leaving aside rugby), Hats off to you. It demonstrates once again that the indomitable spirit of the Isles is not dead, just under attack.

ETA: come join the fun... i'll take you somewhere for a nice pint afterwards, somewhere that you can get glassed in the face, and after we fix you up for free i'm sure i could introduce you to some slappers for a threesome in a piss soaked alleyway too

It would be a dream come true (except for the "slapper" part, I much prefer beds, but in any event I've waved good bye to 60, so, maybe not). Oh, I would love to be there. I imagine taking a long walk from village to town, stopping at every pub, getting laughed at for my accent, and listening to the stories. I can't tell you how much I'd like an extended visit there.

By the way, I've heard that the pubs don't serve pints anymore, that people have to make do with "half-litres." If that's true, how in the world could that have happened? Getting a pint is a basic human requirement, not that French abomination.

With respect,
Charles1952

When we were little we would make little cones with a ribbon on it and fill it with flowers, then you would go and hang it on someone's door, knock and run......lol...nice ding dong ditch game.. My Mom taught us that......♥

reply to post by charles1952


The Lewes fireworks are particularly famous for being supposedly dangerous. People drag flaming barrels through the streets, throw fireworks at eachothers feet and generally play with fire.

I have always wondered how it has escape the men with clipboards and hi vis jackets too. Maybe because it isnt exactly advertised, infact they do their best to tell everyone that isnt local to stay away and close off a lot of the roads and pubs to non locals

reply to post by charles1952


it's still very much pints, if you asked for a half litre in a pub, you would not have to wait for kicking out time to risk a glassing, or at least being called a twat.
and as for the "60" thing, you can get herbal help for that in a vending machine in the loos (many pubs could hook you up with rarer delights too), while getting your shoes bedded in for that alleyway. you could get a selection of french ticklers too to save yourself a trip to the willy-clinic as well. we have it all covered (bases covered i mean, rather than our tallywhackers, though thats usually a good plan too)

reply to post by davespanners

Dear davespanners,

If you're willing to hear a completely uninformed opinion, I'd like to think that the people, as a body, would just say "You've pushed us as far as we're willing to go. You will not mess with this." And the police know it.

With respect,
Charles1952

i straddle "white" and latino culture. I am as pale white as can be. But I love the hispanic culture, especially the food and ladies. I am a very loyal husband to my latina goddess....but I still have eyes.

So some of the things we do, by group:

Latino

- Play washers. It is kind of like horseshoes, but you dig a small 3" hole. You then toss wasters to try to get them in the hole. This is absolutely done while drinking beer, typically while you have meat on the grill

- Cooking on a disc. You use a propane torch beneath, or a fire, and you can use it for fish fries, fajitas, or my favorite: crispy tripas (basically, the hispanic version of chitterlings).

- red thread on the head If your baby is sick (colicky, stomach type illness) you can put a red thread on the forehead. It is based on more ancient shamanic ritual. Same with the egg under the bed. Rituals used by the curanderas to make children better. It works, if done right. I don't know how. It just does.

- The latino culture that I am familiar with is very family centric. Days off and holidays are spent with family. Mom and dads house never goes out of style. I spend quite a bit of time with my outlaws. We love each other quite a bit, too.


"White" is being used to describe some of the things we do in my family. I am not real familiar with what other gringo families do, honestly. But mine is full of hungarian influance

- Paprika chicken. This is a staple food of my anglo families get togethers. Nothing else matters if there is paprika chicken (with hungarian dumplings.....the best). Add in cabbage rolls and/or goulash as well.

- Shooting. We do a lot of sport shooting. Rifles are an early gift. My son is as big as a house, so his first gun was a 30 06. We hunt and fish as well. This is a typical "day off" or family activity.

- Fredericksburg, TX. If you don't know what it is, Google it. It is the best little town in the world, IMO. Down in God's country, the Hill Country. My family spends a lot of time travelling there for getaways.

Given that it is May I'll start of with the local Jack in the Green..

www.youtube.com...

Originally posted by davespanners
reply to post by charles1952

 

The Lewes fireworks are particularly famous for being supposedly dangerous. People drag flaming barrels through the streets, throw fireworks at eachothers feet and generally play with fire.

I have always wondered how it has escape the men with clipboards and hi vis jackets too. Maybe because it isnt exactly advertised, infact they do their best to tell everyone that isnt local to stay away and close off a lot of the roads and pubs to non locals

edit on 1/5/13 by davespanners because: (no reason given)

I will add that Lewes (and the wider Sussex) bonfires are quite dangerous which is why they are covered by the common law "violenti non fit injuria" or to the willing no injury is done.. if you go to Lewes and get injured it is your own fault for going..

And the rowdyism as one reporter called it has dated back to the 17th century as a clash between rich and poor.. (things never change eh) the dressing up (now quite fancy) was to avoid recognition and those times when the government came down hard on the bonfire boyes and girls usually ended up with disturbances going on for months after wards.. and that is why it is allowed.. if they didn't they know the disturbances would be back.

It is bad enough that their bits of technology keep getting blown up... becoming quite a tradition around here.. as yet no one has been caught for blowing up some 400+ mainly pay and display meters..

Heck even the BBC don't take blowing things up seriously...

A couple more strange traditions in my valley (The Ouse Valley)

Firstly Dwyle Flunking at the Lewes Arms Pub


The pastime of dwyle flunking involves two teams, each taking a turn to dance around the other while attempting to avoid a beer-soaked cloth thrown by the non-dancing team.
en.wikipedia.org...

And then there is the annual spaniel races, at the "bugger it" Lewes Arms Pub, where spaniels chase a pantomime hare.
rozsouth.zenfolio.com...

Next the annual world Pea tossing championships at, ahem, the Lewes Arms Pub..
rozsouth.zenfolio.com...

and lastly the annual "Encierro Dos Animales Pantaminos" or running with the Pantomime Animals, at the *cough* Lewes Arms Pub.. where enrico armed with a rolled up newspaper are chased by pantomine animals
rozsouth.zenfolio.com...

"FX-Drums fingers" I am sure you understand that not everything around here revolves around the Lewes arms pub.