Waes-hal! Waes-hal!
On the 19th January 2020, Herring Gals joined Grimsby Morris Men for the 38th Lincolnshire Waes-Hal at Skidbrooke Cider Farm and later at The New Inn, Saltfleetby.This year had been warmer than previous years with the sun shining and no clouds to be seen.
We started off by performing Piper's Ash followed by May Dance. We then had a break so that we could join Grimsby Morris in their Waes-hal ceremony. We all placed cider-saturated pieces of toast onto the branches of the apple trees to promote a good harvest for the next year.
The Skidbrooke Cyder company is a small family run business owned by the wonderful Guy and Kate. Throughout the morning, the Skidbrooke Cyder Company was selling its products to all who attended the event. They loved it so much, they took some to The New Inn at Saltfleetby for them to sell.
We performed our final dance at Skidbrooke with the debut of Whitby Shindig. Despite previous unsuccessful attempts at practice, it was 'alright on the night', meaning there were high fives all round!
At the The New Inn, we performed Basque and finished with Abram. The event was a success!
This event included both teams dancing, singing, waes-haling and to finish off, the men sang and performed their Plough Play. The Waes-hal is my favourite dance out of the year because it was where I met my boyfriend 2 years ago (and still going strong!). We have come back each year to celebrate this occasion. We'd like to thank the Grimsby Morris Men for their continual support and especially the public for attending these events because without you all, it wouldn't have been such a great success!