0:00:04 > 0:00:06We're Rachel and Becky Unthank
0:00:06 > 0:00:10and we're about to go on a journey through the English winter.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13It's a journey that will challenge the way
0:00:13 > 0:00:16we see some of our most well-loved winter festivities.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18SHOUTING AND CHEERING
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It will take us up and down the country, into dark corners,
0:00:21 > 0:00:24across remote fields and into the underworld
0:00:24 > 0:00:26of English winter customs...
0:00:27 > 0:00:29FIREWORK EXPLODES
0:00:29 > 0:00:33..where monsters, demons and ghosts haunt us still.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38It's the story of survival against the bitter cold,
0:00:38 > 0:00:42of death, and resurrection.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Of a battle between good and evil
0:00:44 > 0:00:47passed down from generation to generation...
0:00:47 > 0:00:48THEY CHEER
0:00:48 > 0:00:53..and a defiance which challenges the very structure of our society.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55EXPLOSION AND CHEERING
0:00:55 > 0:01:00This is the people's account of the traditions that keep us alive,
0:01:01 > 0:01:03through the bitter English winter.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17# When will we meet again
0:01:17 > 0:01:21# My faithful Johnny... #
0:01:21 > 0:01:25It's autumn, and it's our favourite time of year
0:01:25 > 0:01:27in the Northeast of England.
0:01:29 > 0:01:35# When the corn is gathered... #
0:01:35 > 0:01:39But it's a bittersweet time when the nights are starting to come in
0:01:39 > 0:01:41and the food is scarce.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45And this is reflected in some of the songs we sing as folk singers.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50# ..my sweet and bonnie... #
0:01:50 > 0:01:54Song has been part of our whole life,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58and it's through singing that we think about time and season.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01# Oh, the rising of the sun
0:02:01 > 0:02:04# And the running of the deer... #
0:02:04 > 0:02:07We were brought up with singing all around us
0:02:07 > 0:02:10and we have fond memories of coming together
0:02:10 > 0:02:14with our family and neighbours for a sing in the local pub.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17This is how we mark the passing of the year.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22# And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
0:02:22 > 0:02:25# All wrapp-ed up in silk... #
0:02:25 > 0:02:27There's been a long tradition of song and dance
0:02:27 > 0:02:30throughout the winter in the Northeast of England.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33It was a bitter time of year for the coal miners
0:02:33 > 0:02:35and shipbuilders of the area.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37This was a way to keep up their spirits
0:02:37 > 0:02:41and bring a community together, when the light was fading.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45# Then winter winds will blow
0:02:45 > 0:02:48# My faithful Johnny... #
0:02:48 > 0:02:51It's at the coldest season of the year
0:02:51 > 0:02:55that some of England's most interesting customs come out.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57We're setting off around the country
0:02:57 > 0:02:59to find out what people have been getting up to
0:02:59 > 0:03:01in the harshest months of the year.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05What dark secrets lie beneath the soil?
0:03:06 > 0:03:10And what does it say about the kind of people we really are?
0:03:14 > 0:03:18It's Halloween... otherwise known as All Souls' Eve,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21the night that people remember the dead.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Many believed that, on this night,
0:03:24 > 0:03:27ghosts and evil spirits mingled with the living.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30Over in Cheshire, a much older spectacle takes place
0:03:30 > 0:03:32in a remote farming community,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36one which evokes a fear that goes back further than a few pumpkins.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48# We are one, two, three
0:03:48 > 0:03:50# Jolly good-hearted lads
0:03:50 > 0:03:54# And we're all in one mind... #
0:03:54 > 0:03:56We've come to the village of Antrobus,
0:03:56 > 0:03:57where each year on this night
0:03:57 > 0:04:00local people reveal a closely guarded tradition
0:04:00 > 0:04:03that for generations has driven evil from their door.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09# We've come a-souling For your money and beer
0:04:09 > 0:04:11# And it's all that We are souling for
0:04:11 > 0:04:15# Is your ale and strong beer... #
0:04:15 > 0:04:17Well, here we are.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19First night of soul-caking.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22# ..this you will see
0:04:22 > 0:04:25# With a bunch of blue linen
0:04:25 > 0:04:28# Right down to his knees... #
0:04:28 > 0:04:33The Antrobus soul-caking play has been performed for centuries.
0:04:33 > 0:04:38# And I hope you will remember
0:04:38 > 0:04:42# That it's soul-caking time... #
0:04:42 > 0:04:45The villages used to perform this ritual
0:04:45 > 0:04:48after the harvest as a means of ensuring
0:04:48 > 0:04:50good luck for the following year.
0:04:50 > 0:04:56# ..so nigh, till this time next year... #
0:04:59 > 0:05:03# For this night we come a-souling
0:05:03 > 0:05:06# Good nature to find
0:05:06 > 0:05:09# For this night we come a-souling... #
0:05:11 > 0:05:15'The first character to come into the play is the letter-in,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18'and that's his job, 'to let us in
0:05:18 > 0:05:23'and to inform the public in the pub that the soul-cakers are here.'
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31Good evening!
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Rains of fire! Strike a light,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37for in this house tonight
0:05:37 > 0:05:42there's going to be a dreadful fight,
0:05:42 > 0:05:47between King George and the Black Prince.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50And if you don't believe these words I say,
0:05:50 > 0:05:54step in here, King George, and clear the way.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56In comes I,
0:05:57 > 0:05:58King George.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02It was I that fought the fiery dragon and brought him to the slaughter...
0:06:02 > 0:06:06By these deeds won the king of Egypt's daughter.
0:06:06 > 0:06:07LAUGHTER
0:06:10 > 0:06:13What we're watching is a type of mummers play,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16an English folk play that goes back hundreds of years,
0:06:16 > 0:06:21and the one at Antrobus is one of the few original traditions left.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Step in here, Black Prince, and clear the way.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27It centres on the fortunes of a good character based on St George
0:06:27 > 0:06:29and an evil opponent.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32And if you don't believe these words I say, step in, Black Prince,
0:06:32 > 0:06:33and clear the way.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37In comes I, Black Prince of Paradise
0:06:37 > 0:06:39Hie thee now!
0:06:39 > 0:06:44This night, I come to bring King George's life and courage down.
0:06:44 > 0:06:50- What's your character?- I'm the bad one, I am. I'm the evil spirit. They have to drive me away.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54- Mind what thou sayest. - What I say I mean.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57'I'd be about eight years old.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00'The soul-cakers used to come around farms then.'
0:07:05 > 0:07:09And they came into the farmhouse and when that Black Prince came through the door,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12I was hiding behind me mum, I was frightened to death.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16The villages in those rural communities would believe
0:07:16 > 0:07:19that on All Souls' Eve the spirits of the people who died
0:07:19 > 0:07:22in the previous 12 months would come back to the village.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Hence in the play you've got King George, who is the good spirit,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29who fights the bad one, the Black Prince.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33CHEERING
0:07:33 > 0:07:37KING George! King George, what hast thou done?
0:07:37 > 0:07:40Thou hast gone and slain my only son.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43'So we've got the Black Prince, who has been killed by King George.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46'And after the old woman has mourned over him,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49'I come in and declare him dead.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53'And I give him various medicines until he comes back to life.'
0:07:53 > 0:07:58Take three sips of this bottle. Down thy throat.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Will you rise, and fight thy battle?
0:08:02 > 0:08:05- Come on, son.- 'Lay down your sword and rest.'
0:08:05 > 0:08:11Peace and quiet, this is the best. He fights and runs away, lives to fight another day.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15It's curious that the costumes they still wear today hark back
0:08:15 > 0:08:19to a particular point in history. And to the people of that era
0:08:19 > 0:08:22they would have been very clear images of good and evil.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26Oh, in comes I, Beelzebub!
0:08:26 > 0:08:30Now, with a rin-tin-tin and a bottle of gin...
0:08:30 > 0:08:32LAUGHTER
0:08:36 > 0:08:40I'll sup a pint pot down with any old man.
0:08:40 > 0:08:41- WOMAN:- He's hiding his ale!
0:08:41 > 0:08:45- And if you don't believe me, try me.- Pass it here!- Try harder.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48LAUGHTER
0:08:52 > 0:08:55CHEERING
0:08:55 > 0:08:59The whole play is about resurrection and securing good luck for the following year.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03And Beelzebub, he might be an evil spirit,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06so he has to be appeased. So he steals their beer, nobody objects.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11And if you don't believe these words I say, step in, wild horse,
0:09:11 > 0:09:12and show them the way!
0:09:12 > 0:09:15YELLING
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Get in! Stand still, will you?
0:09:23 > 0:09:27Our horse, the Antrobus horse, we feel very special about.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31It's a real horse's head that's been buried in the ground
0:09:31 > 0:09:36so that the flesh can be eaten off by the worms and eventually it will just be the bare skull.
0:09:36 > 0:09:44Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. In comes Diccon on his mare. We have come to see you once again.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47We have a horse's head buried in the ground at this moment in time
0:09:47 > 0:09:52for when we need to have a new horse's head.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57# Now our play is ended and we can no longer stay
0:09:57 > 0:10:02# But with your kind permission we will come another day
0:10:02 > 0:10:08# But before we go... #
0:10:08 > 0:10:11There's definitely an anarchic element to the Antrobus Soul-cakers
0:10:11 > 0:10:13which really fits the mischief of Halloween.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16But there is also something unsettling about this play,
0:10:16 > 0:10:22with its strange set of characters representing the battle between good and evil.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27It seems to tap into a primal fear of warding off evil spirits
0:10:27 > 0:10:29that existed long before the play ever came about.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32A fear that still resonates.
0:10:38 > 0:10:44The month of November was sometimes known to rural areas like Antrobus as blood month,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47the time when animals were slaughtered for winter food.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51But on November 5th we remember another act of violence.
0:10:54 > 0:10:57Around the country, children and adults gather round bonfires
0:10:57 > 0:11:00and wave their sparklers to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06This November 5th, we're travelling down to the town of Lewes in the Sussex Downs
0:11:06 > 0:11:09for the most important date in their calendar.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28It may look like a sleepy town by day,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31but on Bonfire Night they don't just set off a few fireworks.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40I've been involved in it in various stints throughout my life, which is 47 years.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42My father, grandfather, great-grandfather,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44great-great-grandfather, were involved.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49Bonfire has been part of our lives for always.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55There are seven bonfire societies in Lewes alone,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57each getting ready in secret locations.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08You've got the tension, the excitement,
0:12:08 > 0:12:11and adrenalin starts pumping through as it gets nearer and nearer.
0:12:11 > 0:12:12This is bonfire!
0:12:21 > 0:12:23It's not what you would expect.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28You get 80,000 people descending on the small town. It's nuts, basically.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38This is the guy. We have packed it inside, as you can see.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42There's lots of them, different sex, different sizes, different colours.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45And then, right at the end, we've got the big bomb in the middle,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47just to make it go bang!
0:12:50 > 0:12:54Public outings on November 5th first began in 1606,
0:12:54 > 0:12:57a year after the plot to destroy Parliament was foiled.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01For the Government, it was the perfect chance to rally people
0:13:01 > 0:13:04against what they saw as the threat of Catholicism.
0:13:04 > 0:13:11In Lewes it tapped into deep-rooted religious sentiments that were there long before Guy Fawkes.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16Out here in front of the crown court is the location where the 17 Protestant martyrs were brought up
0:13:16 > 0:13:22from the town hall and executed for their beliefs.
0:13:22 > 0:13:2550 years before the Guy Fawkes plot,
0:13:25 > 0:13:30these 17 local men and women were burned to death as Protestants under Bloody Mary.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35Their challenge to the Catholic monarch dominates Lewes and is also remembered on the 5th.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38There's an old Sussex saying, "We won't be druv,"
0:13:38 > 0:13:41which means we won't be told what to do.
0:13:41 > 0:13:43We've done this for hundreds of years,
0:13:43 > 0:13:46and I don't think it should ever stop.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57BANG
0:13:57 > 0:14:05DRUMMING
0:14:08 > 0:14:13Nothing could prepare us for the sheer spectacle of the procession.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16The town has been completely taken over by the people.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19It's obvious from the start that this is their night.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25You really feel like you're watching the spirit of the original Fifth.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32This procession has been going on for hundreds of years,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36ever since the first bonfire boys ran riot through the streets.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42There's obviously different societies who have different costumes...
0:14:42 > 0:14:45And they look a bit like bumble bees.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50There's all manner of costumes going on here.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54But they seem to be organised according to which bonfire society they belong to.
0:14:57 > 0:15:02- Lewes has always been very strong with maintaining traditions and fighting for people's rights.- Yeah.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05Lewes was one of the few places where the Riot Act was read in the 1850s.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10- Right.- And that's why societies formed, because it was all kind of underground and a bit illegal.
0:15:10 > 0:15:16So Cliffe was the first one to form, in 1853, alongside Borough. And they've gone marching ever since.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21We've managed to cross the line and catch up with Borough
0:15:21 > 0:15:23and they let us join their procession.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28So, how long have you been coming to this event, then?
0:15:28 > 0:15:31Oh, since I was five days old.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34I was born on 31st October.
0:15:34 > 0:15:35BANG
0:15:35 > 0:15:39You seem to not flinch every time there is a big bang, like us.
0:15:39 > 0:15:42- You just got used to the noise, then?- Yeah!
0:15:42 > 0:15:44BANGS
0:15:48 > 0:15:52It's one of the most disorientating experiences of my life.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Suddenly we find ourselves walking behind some Zulus.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02- Tell us about your costumes. - This one's about 25 years old.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06- Wow!- Did you start when you were one?- You start with nothing and add on every year.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22You chaps are responsible for chucking the barrel in the river, is that right?
0:16:22 > 0:16:26I just carried it down, yeah. Just carried it down for my 20th year.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28- Wow!- My father used to carry it.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31- Really?- My uncle carried it, my grandfather carried it,
0:16:31 > 0:16:34my back hurts so I'm going to stand down and let me boy take over.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Why are you wearing stripy smuggler outfits?
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Every society has a smuggler outfit.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51We go back to Guy Fawkes because they were smugglers, they smuggled stuff in, didn't they?
0:16:51 > 0:16:55Every society has its own colour.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58We are blue and white, Cliffe are black and white, Waterloo red and white.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02It goes on like that. And then we have got our first and second pioneer costumes.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- So each society has their own pioneer?- Yes.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10Cliffe have got Vikings, Mongolians are Waterloo, et cetera, et cetera.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- Our first pioneers are Zulus. - Why Zulus?
0:17:15 > 0:17:19I can't answer that question, really. It started a long time ago,
0:17:19 > 0:17:23and it's a very colourful and spectacular costume.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26Why not have it, and put it right at the front?
0:17:29 > 0:17:35By now the societies are starting to process to their individual fire sites on the edge of town.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38There's so much to see, Becky and I decide to split up.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50You can see fireworks going up all over Lewes cos we're right on top of the hill.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Wow, look at those! You can see everybody's fireworks display!
0:18:00 > 0:18:04And then something rather unexpected starts happening.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07I'm sure you're not supposed to do that with fireworks.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11What happens is, we have the clergy stand,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14the Bishop delivers an address to the general public.
0:18:14 > 0:18:21I'm here to celebrate...406 years...
0:18:21 > 0:18:26Then we all throw rookies and what have you at them to try and burn the Pope.
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Ladies and gentlemen, what shall we do with them?
0:18:29 > 0:18:33CROWD SHOUTS
0:18:34 > 0:18:38There is no way in the world I would ever do that job.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Elsewhere, I'm still wandering the streets, as around me
0:18:48 > 0:18:51each bonfire society parades huge tableaux
0:18:51 > 0:18:54through the town on the way to their fire sites.
0:18:54 > 0:19:00The idea for the tableau is a big secret in the society. It's normally something quite topical.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03And at the Cliffe fire site
0:19:03 > 0:19:06it's Gaddafi who gets the Lewes treatment.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11So powerful.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14It's a strange thing, one I will remember for ever, definitely.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26I think they've just blown up the Pope.
0:19:27 > 0:19:33But it is quite a strange sight, not that all the societies do it, now.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35But Cliffe still do it.
0:19:37 > 0:19:39It's not really anti-Catholic.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43I know there's a lot of no-popery, but that's a particular Pope, not just the Pope in general.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47So what's that all about? That's not about the Pope now?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50It's about a particular Pope who was a raping, murdering, nasty man.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- Right.- That's why we burn a particular Pope.
0:19:53 > 0:19:57- It's still to maintain freedom of speech. Those kinds of rights.- Yeah.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00That's what we do it for. It's not controlled by the Government.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02- We are in control of our destiny. - Yeah.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09At the end of the evening, we all head back to town.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14And Lewes Borough end the night at the site of the burning of the martyrs for their Bonfire Prayers.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27It's the loudest, most anarchic evening I've ever encountered.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31I've never seen such a mix of costumes and characters take part
0:20:31 > 0:20:36in one event and together hold some kind of unified meaning for a town.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42It's like they took the Guy Fawkes public celebration and used it to express
0:20:42 > 0:20:45their feelings towards anything they felt strongly about at the time.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48We'll dress how we want, say what we want
0:20:48 > 0:20:51and burn whoever we want at the fire site!
0:20:52 > 0:20:55It's a very powerful show of commemoration and independence.
0:21:05 > 0:21:11We love the bonfire works! Yeah!
0:21:15 > 0:21:19The nights are starting to draw in and, as November becomes December,
0:21:19 > 0:21:23midwinter is almost upon us and, with it, the advent to Christmas.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29For a few weeks a year, the shop doors swing open and welcome in
0:21:29 > 0:21:32their Christmas shoppers, and the carol singers are out in force.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37But not all carols are so pious.
0:21:37 > 0:21:41A handful of villages in Yorkshire sing a very different type of carol -
0:21:41 > 0:21:45one that has been at the centre of a battle with the Church for generations.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00I'm heading off to the tiny village of Dungworth, near Sheffield,
0:22:00 > 0:22:04where the ordinary workers of the area decided to write their own carols.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06But they didn't end up in the church.
0:22:17 > 0:22:23# While shepherds watched their flocks by night
0:22:23 > 0:22:27# All seated on the ground... #
0:22:27 > 0:22:30We start with a carol that I know, at least I thought I did.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36They are local carols, so you may recognise the words -
0:22:36 > 0:22:41"while shepherds watched their flocks by night" - but you will not recognise the tune.
0:22:41 > 0:22:47# And glory shone around... #
0:22:47 > 0:22:51Every pub in the area will have their own variation, as well.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55I edge myself next to a local in the hope that I can pick something up.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05Everyone around me seems to know the songs quite intimately.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07What's their secret?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10So, Dave, how long have you been coming to the Sheffield carols?
0:23:10 > 0:23:15I first started coming here, to this particular pub, way back in 1973.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25I learned the songs orally, as you do in the tradition.
0:23:25 > 0:23:31I learned the songs by ear and I just thought it was the most remarkable thing that I have ever, ever heard.
0:23:36 > 0:23:43# Glory to God, let all be heard
0:23:43 > 0:23:46# Join in the heavenly song... #
0:23:46 > 0:23:48So if you're seeing these carols in the pub,
0:23:48 > 0:23:52how does it feel different to singing them in the church?
0:23:52 > 0:23:54In church, it's regimental.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58When you come in here to sing, you sing as you want, and enjoy it.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Some will say, oh, I can't sing.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04What's the matter, as long as you join in and enjoy it?
0:24:08 > 0:24:11We're very pleased because we get quite a lot of young people in here.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14And that is good.
0:24:14 > 0:24:20Because, like yourself, I've been singing in your ear a bit, today.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Yeah, you've been great. You've been helping me learn all the songs.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26I don't know what I would have done without you, Janet.
0:24:26 > 0:24:34# In every land and town! #
0:24:34 > 0:24:36How do you think it started?
0:24:36 > 0:24:41The carols themselves are a long-standing remnant
0:24:41 > 0:24:47of an explosion in music that took place between 1650 and 1750.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52Many of them written by ordinary people like blacksmiths, joiners, people like that.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56But then, around 1850, they were thrown out of the church.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58Why were they thrown out of the church?
0:24:58 > 0:25:02Because it was a bit raucous. As you've probably noticed!
0:25:02 > 0:25:07# In every land, in every land, in every land... #
0:25:07 > 0:25:12I suppose the pub's the obvious place to go if you've just been kicked out of church!
0:25:12 > 0:25:18# In every land
0:25:18 > 0:25:24# And town! #
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Looking around, I can see how this pub has been crucial
0:25:28 > 0:25:33in preserving these songs despite centuries of social change.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39Around this area, after the Industrial Revolution, they moved away.
0:25:39 > 0:25:44- They'd gone into towns for money, work.- Yeah.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And then what were left were like us, poor shepherds and poor farmers.
0:25:49 > 0:25:51We would enjoy the singing.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54# Over the ice and the drifts of snow
0:25:55 > 0:26:02# For he must call on one and all
0:26:02 > 0:26:06# For this is Santa Claus's land
0:26:06 > 0:26:10# With his Christmas tree! #
0:26:10 > 0:26:16# Ho, ho, ho, ho, ho ho, ho, ho, ho
0:26:16 > 0:26:19# Jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle, jingle... #
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Me Uncle John, me Aunt Bet, me mum, me dad
0:26:24 > 0:26:28and all the neighbours used to come and join in t'Christmas singing.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33Me Uncle John played the piano. And he had a good bass voice.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37And he'd sing all the time. So I were brought up to it.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I just love to keep Christmas singing going.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45You can go without Christmas, but you can't go without Christmas singing.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49# ..Christmas tree! #
0:26:54 > 0:27:00# I sing of a place that is dear to my heart
0:27:00 > 0:27:05# A place where I always fit well
0:27:05 > 0:27:10# And if you will kindly lend me your ear
0:27:10 > 0:27:15# A few of its beauties I'll tell
0:27:15 > 0:27:21# In a beautiful vale Home of the Swale
0:27:21 > 0:27:29# How well do I love thee How well do I love thee? #
0:27:30 > 0:27:36There's a sense of joy in these songs which is really infectious.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39These are the Christmas songs of the people.
0:27:39 > 0:27:44Celebrating the story of their lives and their village in a place they love.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52As the shortest day of the year passes on the solstice,
0:27:52 > 0:27:57all expectation and excitement is focused on Christmas Day.
0:27:57 > 0:27:59But for some people it marks the harshest time of the year.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Each Boxing Day since we were born, we have come to Greatham, near Hartlepool,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08where they've revived a village tradition
0:28:08 > 0:28:11that for centuries belonged to the poorest of the poor.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25# We are six dancers bold As bold as you can see
0:28:25 > 0:28:29# We've come to dance this dance to please the company... #
0:28:29 > 0:28:31It's called long sword dancing
0:28:31 > 0:28:36and it also turns out to be the oldest dance tradition we have.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39ACCORDION PLAYS
0:28:44 > 0:28:48Bryant, would you tell us a little bit about the tradition of long sword?
0:28:48 > 0:28:52Well, long sword is a dance form which is found in Yorkshire.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59Two main areas, they are the ironstone mining area
0:28:59 > 0:29:02and the other area is Sheffield.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09In this country, there is a long history of sword dancing.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17For generations, dancers around Yorkshire have been heading out on the day after Christmas.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25Farm labourers, fishermen and steelworkers would visit
0:29:25 > 0:29:29the wealthy homes of the area and perform their version of the dance
0:29:29 > 0:29:33for a small reward, using whatever materials they had as swords.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41The Greatham long sword tradition also features a mummers play.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45THEY CHEER
0:29:45 > 0:29:50- I've come see thee dance.- To dance, thou hast come to see a King dance?
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Lord have mercy, crack a bottle!
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- So what are your characters called again?- My name is Hector.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00- And I'm True Blue.- True Blue? - True Blue! First clown.
0:30:02 > 0:30:04Give me time to say my prayers.
0:30:04 > 0:30:09Ladies and gentlemen all, I bid you farewell.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11CROWD GROANS
0:30:13 > 0:30:19- Do you know what your character is about?- I'm the Old Year.- Yeah.
0:30:20 > 0:30:25And me having my head cut off and then being resurrected is...
0:30:25 > 0:30:28the dying of the Old Year and the resurrection of the New Year.
0:30:36 > 0:30:37MAN: That worked!
0:30:37 > 0:30:40CHEERING
0:30:40 > 0:30:45- So you black up your faces every year, don't you?- That's right.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48- What's that all about? - It's about disguise.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50It was so that the people you were going to dance for
0:30:50 > 0:30:54didn't know who they were, which meant that they could collect money
0:30:54 > 0:30:59and nobody would say, "I gave you some money from dancing the other day."
0:30:59 > 0:31:01And also begging was a criminal offence
0:31:01 > 0:31:05from the Elizabethan period onwards for quite a long time.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08So a lot of the traditions black up for that reason.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15Going back to the old days, the people that did the sword dancing were farm labourers
0:31:15 > 0:31:19or lowly paid people, so this is a supplement to their income.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23If you could dance and collect money, that would help your family.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26Especially in winter, when the jobs were few and far between.
0:31:26 > 0:31:28It was the point where, with the tradition,
0:31:28 > 0:31:30that poverty actually struck in the winter.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53So obviously you have been doing this a number of years.
0:31:53 > 0:31:55What makes you come back and do it again?
0:31:55 > 0:31:59Because I believe it's important to keep these traditions alive.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05People hear a lot about Scottish traditions, Irish traditions,
0:32:05 > 0:32:08but the English traditions seem to get passed over.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11No-one seems to worry about them so much.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Yeah, I mean, it means such a lot to us.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16We've come every single year of our lives.
0:32:16 > 0:32:19A big part of our Christmas, really. You're not allowed to stop doing it!
0:32:19 > 0:32:23Yeah, you're not allowed, because we want to come.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25The people who dance the Greatham long sword are no longer
0:32:25 > 0:32:29the impoverished workers trying to survive at a time when work was scarce.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33But there is a suddenness in the way they still dance today that
0:32:33 > 0:32:37makes me think the memory of these men is still very present for them.
0:32:49 > 0:32:54As the bleak midwinter passes, we all start to think about the year ahead.
0:32:54 > 0:32:56The old year is not going out quietly.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03Thousands of revellers around the country gather on 31st December
0:33:03 > 0:33:05to drink, be merry and welcome in a new year.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09But we're going back to Northumberland,
0:33:09 > 0:33:13where they're getting ready for a different New Year's party altogether.
0:33:22 > 0:33:24In the former mining town of Allendale,
0:33:24 > 0:33:30a New Year's tradition takes place that has literally been handed down from father to son for generations.
0:33:32 > 0:33:35The origins of the tar barrel procession are disputed,
0:33:35 > 0:33:38but are thought to go back at least until the 19th century,
0:33:38 > 0:33:41when the country was going through its industrial revolution.
0:33:45 > 0:33:51I'll be carrying a barrel tonight and I've done it for about 26, 27 year now, and never missed one.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55- But Kenneth will have done it 45. - 45?- Yeah.- Wow.
0:33:55 > 0:33:59- Dropped one.- Dropped one.- Yeah. - I'll show you how the barrels are prepared.
0:33:59 > 0:34:04- Shavings go in there like that. - So you're layering it up?
0:34:04 > 0:34:06Then there is a sprinkling of paraffin goes on.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10Just a wee measure, Kenneth! A wee measure.
0:34:10 > 0:34:16- Sprinkled on, right round. Up she goes!- Are they really heavy?
0:34:16 > 0:34:18- Go on then, Becks, go on. - I'll give it a try.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23Do you want a hat to put on your head?
0:34:23 > 0:34:27- Go on, Becky!- Oh! Wow!
0:34:35 > 0:34:37After all the preparation that has gone into it,
0:34:37 > 0:34:41we like to see it go well and I do enjoy it.
0:34:50 > 0:34:51Can you remember how you felt
0:34:51 > 0:34:55when you first held a tar barrel on your head and processed?
0:34:55 > 0:34:57Tremendous sense of pride.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00Just like some of these new lads you see today.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09- Is this your first time?- This is my first time, yeah.- Are you excited?
0:35:09 > 0:35:12I'm a bit apprehensive and nervous, a little bit, like.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16I'm getting nearly 40, so I thought I'd better give it a go. Yeah.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19That's nice for me first one, isn't it?
0:35:21 > 0:35:25It turns out that these strange-looking barrel carriers are known locally as guisers.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29So, you use the term "guiser", what does that mean?
0:35:30 > 0:35:32Well, I suppose it means disguising,
0:35:32 > 0:35:37so that people can behave as they wish without too much...regret.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40There's often a few men dressed as women.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43- They don't need any excuse, do they?- Oh, no.
0:35:43 > 0:35:49- Cross-dressers are rife! - In Allendale?- Oh, yes.
0:35:51 > 0:35:53As the crowds start to gather,
0:35:53 > 0:35:56we need the oldest barrel carriers in Allendale.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59MARCHING BAND PLAYS
0:36:04 > 0:36:10- How many years have you been doing this? A long time?- A long time.
0:36:10 > 0:36:13- About 90.- 90 years? - I'm over 90.- Wow!
0:36:15 > 0:36:19I went to the first bonfire with me mother
0:36:19 > 0:36:24when I was four years old to see me father carry a barrel.
0:36:24 > 0:36:31I've taken part in it for all these years, 100 years, nearly.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35The council, they used to come to tar the roads in the old days
0:36:35 > 0:36:38and they used over a dozen barrels.
0:36:38 > 0:36:43We used to go in and steal them after the workmen left.
0:36:43 > 0:36:47That's how it were tar barrels, you see? We went and stole them.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52- Are you looking forward to the evening?- We are.- Yeah.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55- Are you coming with us? - Oh, yes, if you'll let us?
0:36:55 > 0:37:01DRUMMING
0:37:09 > 0:37:10This looks amazing!
0:37:15 > 0:37:23It goes back, they reckon, until the days when the evil spirits used to come into houses
0:37:23 > 0:37:27and they used to go in with a lighted torch or a lighted barrel
0:37:27 > 0:37:31into the house on New Year's Eve to chase the evil spirits out.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38I can feel a few warm spots on my head every now and again.
0:37:38 > 0:37:41I'll have a few bald patches in the morning.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50It's a real privilege to be following these guisers of all ages
0:37:50 > 0:37:54as they snake around the town on a route that has been trodden for so many years.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58It really is quite a powerful and moving sight.
0:37:58 > 0:37:59And quite hard to keep up with!
0:38:15 > 0:38:16Oh, my God, it's so exciting!
0:38:20 > 0:38:24Oh, my God! We've never been so close to the fire before
0:38:24 > 0:38:26and it gets big so quick.
0:38:26 > 0:38:30And this year, for some reason... it's extra-specially sparky.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54# ..For auld lang syne
0:38:54 > 0:38:59# We'll take a cup of kindness yet
0:38:59 > 0:39:04# For the sake of auld lang syne! #
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Happy New Year!
0:39:15 > 0:39:18So we're doing the tradition of first footing now, is that right?
0:39:18 > 0:39:22- Yes, yes. We going to Hilton's. - Going up to Hilton's?- We're going to let his New Year in?
0:39:22 > 0:39:24We're going to let his New Year in? Brilliant.
0:39:27 > 0:39:31Ideally, you find a tall, dark, handsome man and you get him
0:39:31 > 0:39:35to be the first into the house in the new year and of course,
0:39:35 > 0:39:38his reward was then a little glass of something.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41Obviously, if you turn up and you're prepared to sing a song,
0:39:41 > 0:39:43you're very welcome.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52Happy New Year!
0:39:52 > 0:39:54INDISTINCT
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Bet they could.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00# Tar barrel in Dale
0:40:00 > 0:40:04# Fire in snow
0:40:04 > 0:40:07# Toast the New Year
0:40:07 > 0:40:12# Bid farewell to the old
0:40:12 > 0:40:16# Tar barrel in Dale
0:40:16 > 0:40:20# Fire in snow
0:40:20 > 0:40:24# Toast the New Year
0:40:24 > 0:40:29# Bid farewell to the old
0:40:29 > 0:40:31# At midnight's approach
0:40:31 > 0:40:34# The band you can hear
0:40:34 > 0:40:37# The fiery procession
0:40:37 > 0:40:40# Of guisers draws near
0:40:40 > 0:40:44# With friends and good company
0:40:44 > 0:40:47# With voices so clear
0:40:47 > 0:40:51# Singing in harmony
0:40:51 > 0:40:56# Bringing in the New Year. #
0:40:56 > 0:41:00In Allendale more than anywhere, I get the feeling of a whole town
0:41:00 > 0:41:04growing older and marking the passing of the years together.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07New Year is a time of fun and also reflection.
0:41:07 > 0:41:09A new year in, an old year out.
0:41:09 > 0:41:14And the handing of the barrel from father to son reminds me of this.
0:41:18 > 0:41:23The old year may be gone but winter is far from over.
0:41:23 > 0:41:27As New Year dawn breaks, we're travelling to the village of Haxey
0:41:27 > 0:41:32in a remote part of North Lincolnshire known as the Isle Of Axholme.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35These farming villages were once surrounded by water
0:41:35 > 0:41:39but now provide the perfect ground for an unusual tradition
0:41:39 > 0:41:42that's been blowing away the January blues for centuries.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53# Is there anyone here
0:41:53 > 0:41:59# That can tell me where I can find employ?
0:41:59 > 0:42:05# Oh, to plant and to sow and to reap and to mow
0:42:05 > 0:42:10# And to be a farmer's boy
0:42:10 > 0:42:15# And to be a farmer's boy
0:42:15 > 0:42:20# My father's dead My mother's left... #
0:42:20 > 0:42:23Each year, the men from two neighbouring villages
0:42:23 > 0:42:25meet to contest in a game that has, they say,
0:42:25 > 0:42:31been played on the same ploughed field for more than 700 years.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34It all centres around a curious oblong stick
0:42:34 > 0:42:36known to all from Haxey as the Hood.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42The Hood begins its tour of the four competing pubs
0:42:42 > 0:42:46accompanied by a curious group of men known as Boggins,
0:42:46 > 0:42:50led by the Lord of the Hood and the Fool.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53A local song in a packed pub accompanies the tradition of
0:42:53 > 0:42:57the blacking of the Fool and marks the start of Hood Day.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01What's your face about?
0:43:01 > 0:43:04The blacking is to represent the bruising in the first game.
0:43:04 > 0:43:09- It was always for that. - Did the Fool get...- Hammered.
0:43:09 > 0:43:11Yes, that's the one! That's the word.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18In the first game, when the Lady De Mowbray rode across these fields,
0:43:18 > 0:43:19her hood went and was lost.
0:43:19 > 0:43:2413 farm workers fought for it and one big buxom man,
0:43:24 > 0:43:29he got the hood and was going to present it but was a bit scared.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33He handed it off to another man. He handed it back.
0:43:33 > 0:43:38The Lady said, "You are the Lord. But you, my man, are a fool."
0:43:38 > 0:43:40So I'm the Fool.
0:43:48 > 0:43:49The smoking of the Fool
0:43:49 > 0:43:54is one of the highlights of the Haxey Hunt day.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58CHEERING
0:43:58 > 0:44:06My lords and ladies and gentlemen,
0:44:06 > 0:44:11we are gathered here today to play the ancient game of Haxey Hunt.
0:44:11 > 0:44:16Now, this game is 700 years old so let's respect the game
0:44:16 > 0:44:18and look after each other.
0:44:18 > 0:44:22This picture's from the 1800s where my great-great-grandfather
0:44:22 > 0:44:24is stood in front of the Fool down there.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27That's the thing. He is as close as that.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31It is bred in us and we all know from being very small,
0:44:31 > 0:44:33this is what the Hood is about.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36As you can see, things are starting to warm up.
0:44:37 > 0:44:42So it's time for the game to begin.
0:44:42 > 0:44:47And it is time for you all to join in. And it's...
0:44:47 > 0:44:50- ALL:- Hoose agen hoose,
0:44:50 > 0:44:52toon agen toon,
0:44:52 > 0:44:55if a man meets a man, knock 'im doon
0:44:55 > 0:44:57but doan't 'ot im.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00CHEERING
0:45:00 > 0:45:03It's "hoose agen hoose" which means house against house.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06"Toon agen toon" which is town against town.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09And if you meet a man you knock him down but you don't hurt him.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13But, the thing is, you look after that man as you drop him down.
0:45:13 > 0:45:14It's the Haxey way.
0:45:16 > 0:45:20We walk up to the plough field, where everyone waits impatiently
0:45:20 > 0:45:22for the Lord of the Hood to start the game.
0:45:27 > 0:45:31You look after everybody. If a man is down, pick him up.
0:45:31 > 0:45:34- ALL:- Hoose agen hoose, toon agen toon,
0:45:34 > 0:45:38if a man meets a man, knock 'im doon,
0:45:38 > 0:45:39but doan't 'ot im.
0:45:39 > 0:45:41CHEERING
0:45:46 > 0:45:49- Oh, my God!- My heart is racing.
0:45:54 > 0:45:58- What are the rules?- The main rule is you can't run with it.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02You've got to walk at all times. It's like a big rugby scrum.
0:46:02 > 0:46:04If it falls down, we pick everybody up.
0:46:07 > 0:46:12But there will always be about four or five people in the middle of it, holding onto it.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16The main aim of it is to get that Sway to the local pub of your choice.
0:46:16 > 0:46:20There are four pubs and we'll try and get it to our favourite pub.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23Once the landlord has touched it, it's his for the year
0:46:23 > 0:46:27and then we all have a few more drinks and the rest is part of history.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37- Any idea where it might be going to this year?- Not at the moment.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40It can all change.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43It's heading towards Haxey at the moment but it's not over.
0:46:45 > 0:46:50What's the shortest and what's the longest it's ever taken to arrive at a pub?
0:46:50 > 0:46:54It varies between probably an hour-and-a-half and four hours.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01- Have you just been in there? - Yeah, it's harsh. It's not easy.
0:47:01 > 0:47:06- It looks pretty rough in there.- It is.- Are you feeling injured at all?
0:47:06 > 0:47:10- Not yet but I'm going to go back in there now.- Go for it!
0:47:10 > 0:47:11Come on, Westwood!
0:47:16 > 0:47:20Even though the Sway moves at an incredible pace,
0:47:20 > 0:47:25it's two hours before it pushes towards the edge of the plough field.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29Go on, Haxey!
0:47:34 > 0:47:39It's just massive pride that the Isle of Axholme have got, and long may it live.
0:47:39 > 0:47:44It's the end of Christmas. Know what I mean?
0:47:44 > 0:47:47It's better than New Year. A better day than New Year.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51You get hammered, you get a few broken bones here and there.
0:47:51 > 0:47:53It's a good day out.
0:47:54 > 0:47:59Finally, it makes its move towards Haxey.
0:47:59 > 0:48:00We're moving.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09I suppose now it's which pub out of the three?
0:48:14 > 0:48:17Let me out, boys. Let me out!
0:48:17 > 0:48:19There's something really primitive about it really.
0:48:19 > 0:48:23- These men getting together and showing their manhood.- Pushing.
0:48:26 > 0:48:28It's quite near!
0:48:30 > 0:48:33We're stood outside the Duke William now.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35That's the first pub on this stretch
0:48:35 > 0:48:38so are they going to go into the Duke?
0:48:52 > 0:48:54CHEERING
0:49:04 > 0:49:07Brilliant! So it made it into the Duke William.
0:49:07 > 0:49:10- Come on, Duke!- Fantastic, Duke! - Yes, come on, Duke!
0:49:13 > 0:49:16The Haxey Hood is surrounded by ritual and costume
0:49:16 > 0:49:21but it feels like, at the heart of it, is the sheer force of the Sway itself.
0:49:21 > 0:49:24There is a real urge from the Haxey men to banish
0:49:24 > 0:49:26the restlessness that comes from Christmas
0:49:26 > 0:49:29and New Year passing with this territorial battle
0:49:29 > 0:49:33and brace themselves finally for the last leg of winter.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41As January starts to get under way,
0:49:41 > 0:49:44for many people it is a reluctant return to work.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50But for the agricultural workers of the East Anglian Fens
0:49:50 > 0:49:52this was the beginning of the ploughing season
0:49:52 > 0:49:56and the first step towards a release from winter's frosty grip.
0:50:12 > 0:50:17Plough Monday was the day when farm workers were meant to go back to work.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20So this was the beginning of the ploughing season.
0:50:21 > 0:50:24The vast majority of people who lived in such communities
0:50:24 > 0:50:27were called plough boys. They were plough workers.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31It was a difficult time of year. There wasn't a lot of work around.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36It seems there was a variety of ways in which
0:50:36 > 0:50:38they scrounged money from local people.
0:50:38 > 0:50:40One of the ways was by doing Molly dancing.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50Another of the ways was by taking the plough through the streets
0:50:50 > 0:50:53and if people didn't give them reward in the form of food
0:50:53 > 0:50:56or drink or preferably money, they would plough up their front gardens.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58- That's nice(!)- Very nice, yeah(!)
0:51:01 > 0:51:04And what about the black faces?
0:51:04 > 0:51:07Well, we think that's related to the fact that they used to plough up
0:51:07 > 0:51:11people's front gardens. So it was a form of disguise.
0:51:14 > 0:51:18When the plough boys went out on a Monday in Ramsey,
0:51:18 > 0:51:20some of them would dress as a straw bear.
0:51:20 > 0:51:23It would normally be very special straw that had been
0:51:23 > 0:51:26kept from the harvest from the year before.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31They would take the straw bear into people's houses
0:51:31 > 0:51:34where he would caper about and crawl on the floor
0:51:34 > 0:51:37and beg from the people to get some more money.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43- Hello, Mr Bear, are you all right in there?- I'm fine, thank you.
0:51:43 > 0:51:45Is it a bit hot?
0:51:45 > 0:51:50It is a bit hot but it is a bear's job never to complain.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52That's very noble of you.
0:52:05 > 0:52:09Godspeed the plough, the plough and the ploughmen
0:52:09 > 0:52:14the farm and the farmer, machine and beast and man.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16Godspeed the plough.
0:52:16 > 0:52:18- ALL:- Godspeed the plough.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23Was blessing the plough to wish it good luck for the next season?
0:52:23 > 0:52:27Yeah, to bring good luck to the plough boys, because a lot
0:52:27 > 0:52:31of these people, if they didn't have good harvests, they starved.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37The plough boys' antics were copied by the children of Ramsay,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40who would call it plough witching.
0:52:40 > 0:52:42We lived right out in the Fens.
0:52:42 > 0:52:44There was no lights or anything down there
0:52:44 > 0:52:47so the children used to dress up in rags and black their face
0:52:47 > 0:52:51and then, as soon as it got dark, we would go to people's houses,
0:52:51 > 0:52:53knock on the door and sing your little song.
0:52:53 > 0:52:54If they didn't open the door,
0:52:54 > 0:52:57you would probably put stones through the letterbox.
0:52:57 > 0:53:01Sometimes they had brick driveways so you'd take the bricks off and put them on the garden.
0:53:01 > 0:53:04Anything to be naughty really.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06That's really my first memories of it -
0:53:06 > 0:53:09practising this funny little song.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12- BOTH:- I've got a hole in my sock and a hole in my shoe,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15please will you give us a penny or two.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18If you ain't got a penny, a ha'penny will do
0:53:18 > 0:53:21and if you ain't got a ha'penny, God bless you.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24It was "ain't", not "haven't".
0:53:24 > 0:53:25That's Fen talk.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33- Were the winters quite hard on the Fenlands?- They were very hard.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36We used to have my father's army coat on the bed to keep us warm.
0:53:36 > 0:53:39It was so cold in the winters.
0:53:39 > 0:53:42We're about to discover for ourselves one of the ways
0:53:42 > 0:53:46in which East Anglian farmers used to keep warm against this bitter cold.
0:53:52 > 0:53:58Molly dancing is the East Anglian version of English traditional dance.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01It was done in the middle of winter.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03They could be out there in freezing cold winds.
0:54:03 > 0:54:05We think it is about getting down into the earth
0:54:05 > 0:54:09and turning the earth over. So it is a strong downward movement.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12When we teach the children,
0:54:12 > 0:54:15we tell them that the people who did it were strong.
0:54:18 > 0:54:20Going around from house to house
0:54:20 > 0:54:24and almost intimidating some of the people that you worked for
0:54:24 > 0:54:26was a pretty audacious thing to do for these plough boys,
0:54:26 > 0:54:30whose lives really depended on this kind of work at this time of year.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33There's something very strong in spirit about this tradition
0:54:33 > 0:54:35and the people from this area,
0:54:35 > 0:54:38that they won't be bowed down even when times are hard.
0:54:48 > 0:54:50The land begins to emerge from winter
0:54:50 > 0:54:54and we travel to the Home Counties for the end of our journey,
0:54:54 > 0:54:56ready to race into spring.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12Traditionally, Shrove Tuesday was the day that everyone used up
0:55:12 > 0:55:14their fatty foods left over from winter.
0:55:16 > 0:55:21Rachel and I usually use it as an excuse to sample a few pancakes.
0:55:22 > 0:55:27But for the people of Olney pancakes mean so much more.
0:55:27 > 0:55:31This is a day they serve up one of the oldest traditions in the land.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34And there's not a sweaty man in sight.
0:55:36 > 0:55:39Each year, Olney welcomes the first signs of spring
0:55:39 > 0:55:43with a traditional race that is handed down from mother to daughter.
0:55:43 > 0:55:49The pancake race supposedly started in about 1445.
0:55:49 > 0:55:53The only people that can run in the race are girls
0:55:53 > 0:55:55that live in the town.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58So what are the rules for entering the pancake race?
0:55:58 > 0:56:02They have to wear an apron and they have to have a headscarf on.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06They have to have a pancake and toss it at the start.
0:56:06 > 0:56:11The girl that wins has to have, albeit perhaps a little bit of pancake,
0:56:11 > 0:56:14but she has to be able to toss it at the end.
0:56:18 > 0:56:24- Are you from Olney, then? - Yes, I was born here. In 1932.- 1932?
0:56:26 > 0:56:29I've noticed that your pancake is quite a thick pancake.
0:56:29 > 0:56:34Yes, that's the secret of it. See, if it's thick, you can toss it.
0:56:36 > 0:56:41There is a lot of people say they put Blu-tack on it but I don't.
0:56:41 > 0:56:44- Do you think you might win this year? - No, never!
0:56:46 > 0:56:49Unless they all drop dead.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51BELL RINGS
0:56:51 > 0:56:54And they're off. Give them a cheer!
0:56:56 > 0:56:59This lady was busy making pancakes
0:56:59 > 0:57:03and suddenly she heard the church bell toll
0:57:03 > 0:57:06and she suddenly thought, "I've got to be at the church."
0:57:06 > 0:57:10So she ran down the street and she still had her apron
0:57:10 > 0:57:14and her headscarf and her frying pan in her hand
0:57:14 > 0:57:18and the verger was so pleased to see her at the church
0:57:18 > 0:57:21he give her a kiss and she went to the service.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25THEY CHEER
0:57:28 > 0:57:33Shrove Tuesday may have been started by the Church but this is very much
0:57:33 > 0:57:37an event led by the women of the town to mark the change in season.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42It's the women in charge here and they are taking everyone forward
0:57:42 > 0:57:45out of the dark days of winter and finally into spring.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52We've seen some very different traditions
0:57:52 > 0:57:55and original ways that people mark the journey
0:57:55 > 0:57:57through England's harsh winter into spring.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02The English are known for their stoicism and yet,
0:58:02 > 0:58:05at the toughest time of the year, the most colourful events,
0:58:05 > 0:58:09dances and songs spring up around the country out of the darkness.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14It shows a real need for people to come together in the dark and cold
0:58:14 > 0:58:19to celebrate time passing and liven each other's spirits.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21To stand up for themselves against the odds.
0:58:22 > 0:58:25And to banish a kind of primal fear of evil
0:58:25 > 0:58:29and the unknown that seems to run much deeper and further back
0:58:29 > 0:58:31even than the traditions themselves.
0:58:33 > 0:58:37The origins of these customs may be lost in the mists of time
0:58:37 > 0:58:42but somehow they find new meaning and potency as we witness them today.
0:58:44 > 0:58:46- Are you ready?- Yeah.
0:58:46 > 0:58:51- On your marks.- Get set. - Fire.- Go!
0:59:10 > 0:59:13Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd