Next, the Mayday weekend, with 2 different events over it. Firstly on Sat 4th May we were at the Pilgrim Summerpole for the first time in a number of years. This is a traditional event hosted by Pilgrim Morris, and this year we were invited alongside Customs and Exiles and Fleur de Lys. The event started with a procession uphill along the High Street to the Holy Trinity Church for dancing there, before processing further to Castle Green for the erection of the Summerpole. After lunch, there was more dancing at the castle keep before eventually the pole was taken down. A very pleasant day, hopefully heralding the true arrival of, if not summer, at least spring.
This was followed just a couple of days later by another appearance at the Wokingham May Fayre, a huge annual fair which takes over one of the town’s main shopping streets and much of the Elms Field area. This always draws huge crowds despite this year’s rain and drizzle for much of the day, driving us later on into the covered pedestrianised area known as Erftadt Court. A particular attraction there outside the Energie Fitness gym was a ski fitness machine, which several of the team felt obliged to prove their macho-ness on (only to regret it later)
