SOME MORE CUSTOMS & TRADITIONS

Did you know that the Annual Conker Championships at Southwick in Northamptonshire had been in danger of cancellation in the autumn? Chillier conditions than normal affecting their growth and strong winds knocking them down early were the causes.

For those of an enquiring mind: the winner of this year's Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling Race, Gloucestershire, was Tom Kopke of Munich, Germany. (Readers in Recklinghausen please note!!)

We've been through many of the Christmastime customs by now, but one I haven't mentioned is the Candle-lit Carol Service at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall. That's on 20th December this year. There's also the televised Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College Chapel, Cambridge; a 'must watch' for many – as is the New Year's Day Concert from Vienna.

Boxing Day is usually the time for the annual Rugby Union match between Preston Grasshoppers and neighbours Fylde, while another Boxing Day event is the charity Raft Race at Matlock in Derbyshire.

Looking back a number of years: do some of you remember when Preston Dock was in operation and all the ships that were docked there on New Year's Eve sounded their sirens at midnight? That set my mind a whirl, recalling when the onion sellers from Brittany took up temporary residence at the dock. You'd see them going about the area on bicycles, laden with strings of onions.

As far back as mediaeval times, Plough Monday was the first Monday after Epiphany (6th January), the day when people returned to work after the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Remember us poor ploughboys,
A' ploughing we must go.
Hail, rain blow or snow,
A'ploughing we must go.

This was followed on 7th January by Distaff Day, when household work resumed.

In modern times there's been a plethora of new 'traditions' creeping into the annual calendar. An example is 'National Hedgehog Day' on 2nd February.

A total newcomer is the 'Stottie Cake Week' up at Newcastle (24th February to 1st March).

Roy Smith