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Updated: 01 July 2010

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ENGLAND'S MAY MADNESS

I started looking around to see what special events might be going on in Dorset during May and it seems that this can be a very silly month!

The first interesting event that came up happens around the Cerne Abbas Giant. The Giant is a 180 foot tall carving of a man on the hillside above the Dorset village of Cerne Abbas. His white outline is made by cutting deep trenches down through the turf to the underlying white chalk rock. The origins and meaning of the Giant are the subject of much speculation - he was certainly there in the 1700's and it seems likely he was constructed in the 1600's. What is certain is that he has been enthusiastically maintained by local people ever since! On May Day the Wessex Morris Men will dance at dawn near the Giant and then process down the hill and through the village carrying the Dorset Ouser (a horned animal-like figure) before enjoying breakfast in a local pub!

The village of Abbotsbury, near the Dorset Jurassic coast looks for all the world like a Cotswold village -because its cottages are built from a rock very similar to Cotswold stone. In May, the village holds its Garland Day, a traditional event that has been taking place since the 1800's. The event revolved around the children of the village fishermen. The school was closed for the day and the children made garlands of flowers, some from garden flowers and some from wild flowers. The garlands were blessed in the church, processed around the village and then rowed out to sea and cast into the water. Whatever the origins of this event, it was probably founded to ensure good luck at sea, in a community reliant on fishing.

The village of Downton near Salisbury holds an annual Cuckoo Fair, a May Day celebration founded in the 16th century. The traditional was halted by the outbreak of the 1st World War but the modern revival includes traditional Morris Dancing and Maypole dancing plus the crowning of the Cuckoo Princess by Cuckoo King.

Our own village of Shillingstone was once the home of the tallest maypole in Dorset, claimed to be 120ft 1" high. It was located just at the top of Church Road, only 50 yards from our home. It was blown down in 1890 and re-erected only to be taken down just before the 1st World War. Shillingstone too, had an Ooser. He rampaged the village dressed in a bulls hide, with a huge horned mask adorned with hair, beard and a hinged jaw. A medieval fertility symbol, he made the round of the houses in a wild, uncontrolled fashion, frightening all and threatening the women, until rewarded with refreshment. This is one tradition that has not seen a 21st century revival!

May is a lovely month, when the English countryside is a kaleidoscope of every shade of green and gardens really start coming to life. I suppose that these ancient rites reflect the joy that we all feel when the season turns, the days get longer and Spring is in the air! Visit our website now to plan your Springtime trip to England.

Best regards

Susy