Battel Boyes fund raiser.

On Saturday July 7th the Pentacle Drummers all met up in Tesco's car park, and then we set off to Battle. It was a lovely drive through the narrow, winding, back roads. For the first time in ages it was a warm sunny day. Flowers by the side of the road swayed gently in the breeze. In some places, trees formed a lush green canopy across the road, and as they moved, sunlight shone bewteen them. If it han't been for the traffic, it would have been the perfect backdrop for a fairy story.

Half an hour later, we arrived at a large field in Battle, to perform at a fund raising event for the Battel Bonfire Boyes. It was a summer fayre with stalls around the edges, and a roped off section in the middle. To the left of the field were a couple of buildings. We put on our drums and made our way to the enclosure, before the mayor opened proceedings, and then announced us.

We played for ten minutes, but the wind was very strong, and we didnt sound quite as good as we normally do. Afterwards some of us sat on the grass, while others wandered around the field having a good look at things.


What a very English scene it was. Parents pushing prams, children playing on the grass, carthorses pulling a carriage full of passengers on trips around the field, and balls being thrown at the coconut shy. We could have been at any similar event in the last 50 years.

A few hours later we were in the enclosure again, for our second set. The sun was out, the wind had dropped, and we sounded great. We were happy, the crowd were happy, and it was a great end to a very good day.

Jack in the Green

On a cold, wet, windy morning, we all met up near the fisher men's huts. As people stood around, drinking tea, trying to shelter from the rain, and looking miserable, we began drumming.

Very soon we were surrounded by an appreciative, cheerful audience, and we started to warm up too. Suddenly a huge cheer went up as the Jack appeared. We took our place in the procession, which included several teams of Morris dancers, a couple of giants, and lots of other musicians, and off we went.

The streets and houses were decorated with greenery. Green ribbons hung from railings, and many people in the procession had greened their faces. Thousands of people lined the streets, some of them had green faces too, some blew whistles,and everyone cheered as the parade passed by.

We went up a very steep hill, down the other side, and into George Street, where we had a short break. After that it was along the seafront, past the fountain, and through the little subway into the town centre, drumming all the way. Drumming in the subway sounded fantastic, as the echo made us sound like a band ten times our actual size. Then it was through the town and up a horrendously steep hill to the castle.

Once inside the castle walls, we took off our drums, and had a rest.Across a rickety wooden bridge to the next field, were lots of stalls. Their awnings flapping furiously in the high winds, like giant birds of prey trying to get airborne. Stall holders chased escaping t-shirts across the muddy field, while others held on to either their goods, or the awnings, and hoped desperately to remain earth-bound.

By the time we were due on stage, some of our team were so cold and wet, that they had to go home. Section 5 had the same problem, so we joined together. The stage was tiny, but we all squeezed on and just managed to fit. The rain had stopped, but the wind was so fierce that it was hard to stay upright. Despite that we gave a great performance.When it was over, some of us went home to get warm and dry. A few stayed on, and jammed with other drummers to the delight of a very happy audience.