Lammas Fair

This morning it was raining and cold and the girls and I set out (with jackets on! IT'S JULY FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!) for the City Centre to see the "Proclamation of the Lammas Fair" which acts these days as the official opening to the Exeter 2006 Summer Festival. Anyway, we trudged up to the High Street and waited around outside the Guildhall to see what we could see. It was pretty neat. Horse-drawn "coach" (they don't say carriage I guess) with the Lord Mayor and his lovely wife, followed by hundreds of small school children dressed in "period costume". (Some of the "period costumes" were better than others.) There were a lot of men in funny outfits (tights) with interesting hairdos (wigs) reading from big pieces of paper (scrolls). There was even a Town Crier who kept announcing things, beginning with "Oh yes! Oh yes!" and ending with "God save the Queen!".

The best part was when the "Lammas Glove" arrived. It was this rather large stuffed white glove, perched on a tall pole with flowers & streamers attached. It had a kind of kids' spooky story feel to it (isn't there something about a hand appearing from nowhere?) and made us giggle a bit but everyone around us seemed to take it very seriously. They attached it to the Guildhall balcony and it's going to stay up there for a few days. I'll see if I can post a picture.

They've done this Lammas Fair and glove thing for over 900 years, apparently.

On our way back down to the Quay afterwards the sun came out. It's been a pretty day since then. Tonight there will be a big Party on the Quay and fireworks at 10:30.