2021: The year of the SELF-DIRECTED, COVID-SECURE, KNIT-YOUR-OWN WASSAIL
Here are some ideas if you’d like to organise your own wassail:
WHERE ARE THE HACKNEY ORCHARDS?
APPLE CAKE RECIPE
jp writes:
“This is the cake I have made and brought along to some of the Hackney Wassails over the years. If you do make it – and are eating it safely somewhere, perhaps, in these covid times, alone instead of with friends on this Hackney Wassailling day, I hope you enjoy it and remember to doff a cap to the orchards for their crop! Next time I make it, I plan to stick some in the freezer to have with others when we are all able to meet up again! A picnic in the summer by the river at Millfields orchard perhaps??!!”
DORSET APPLE CAKE. [adapted by jp from Anna Pavord’s contribution to ‘The Apple Source Book’ published by Common Ground [1991]
- 225g flour
- 100g butter
- 500g chopped cooking apples
- 100g sugar
- 1 egg
- 2tsp baking powder
- a little milk
- some ground nutmeg and/or, cinnamon and/or allspice [pimento].
Mix all the ingredients well and bake in a cake tin in the oven for approx 45mins. 350F/180C/ Gas 4.
THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE WASSAIL
Sing along with this traditional wassail. Here’s a recording of part of the song being taught.
CHORUS
Wassail, wassail all over the town
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee
Solo 1
So here is to Cherry and to his right cheek
Pray God send our master a good piece of beef
And a good piece of beef that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee
CHORUS
Wassail, wassail all over the town
Our toast it is white and our ale it is brown
Our bowl it is made of the white maple tree
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee
Solo 2
And here is to Dobbin and to his right eye
Pray God send our master a good Christmas pie
A good Christmas pie that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee
CHORUS
Solo 3
So here’s to Broad Mary and to her broad horn
May God send our master a good crop of corn
And a good crop of corn that may we all see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee
CHORUS
Solo 4
And here is to Fillpail and to her left ear
Pray God send our master a happy New Year
And a happy New Year as e’er he did see
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee
CHORUS
Solo 5
And here is to Colly and to her long tail
Pray God send our master he never may fail
A bowl of strong beer! I pray you draw near
And our jolly wassail it’s then you shall hear
FINAL CHORUS
Wassail, wassail all over the town…..
With the wassailing bowl, we’ll drink to thee
With the wassailing bowl, WE’LL DRINK TO THEEEEEE!
OUR SONGSHEET
If you’d like to try any of the other wassail songs we usually sing, you can download our songsheet from 2016 here
A TEACHING TRACK
Here We Come A-wassailing.
Here are a couple of pictures from Annie and jp who each visited the orchards today, Sunday 17th January 2021.
