England's Calendar of Events | October
Burning Barrels
November 2009
Ottery St. Mary
A 17th-century tradition to rid the streets of evil spirits is revived every year as fearless men, women and children run through Ottery St Mary carrying blazing tar barrels. Thousands of spectators enjoy the thrill of avoiding the runners.
Having been soaked in tar, the barrels are set ablaze. Flames ten feet high lick the sky as sweating locals stagger beneath their weight. As one man tires, his brother, father or even grandfather steps in and takes over the burning load, continuing until past midnight.
This is a truly exhilarating event - running away requires considerable mobility and provides a thrill unlike any other, as a seemingly impenetrable sea of people miraculously parts to allow the burning barrels through. The streets of the village are completely overrun for the event and flames can be terrifying to young children, so it is definitely a bad idea to take any pushchairs/strollers or people in wheelchairs along.
One can only wonder how this spectacular festival must have caught the imagination of poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge, who was born in the town in October 1772. Perhaps it was a nascent memory of the great poet's which led him to write this refrain in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
"About, about, in reel and rout
The death-fires danced at night;
The water, like a witch's oils,
Burnt green, and blue and white."
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Guy Fawkes Celebrations
November 2009
Weymouth
Fireworks light up Weymouth Bay during the annual Guy Fawkes celebrations, which include a beach bonfire, a funfair and a Guy-building competition in the pavilion.
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CAMRA Beer Festival
November 2009
Kings Hall
Stoke-on-Trent hosts its annual CAMRA Beer Festival, CAMRA being the Campaign for Real Ale. Local producers turn out in force, the Kings Hall fills with beer-lovers, and there are over 200 real ales, farmhouse ciders and fruit wines to try.
CAMRA is a non-profit, consumer association that champions the right of any drinker to be able to choose in a pub between traditionally-brewed real ales made by individuals and the well-known brands produced by the large-scale brewers.
Since its foundation in 1971, CAMRA has been extremely successful in promoting quality, choice and value for money and preventing the takeover of small breweries. No new ale breweries were set up in the UK for the 50 years before CAMRA was founded and there are now around 300 new brewers producing real ale, part of a massive real ale revival.
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