TC Lethbridge | The Sons of TC-Lethbridge

Observing A Straw Bear

12th Jan 2004

Over the weekend of 11th and 12th of January 2004 I was privileged to once again attend the colourful Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival(1) in Cambridgeshire. The Fenland town of Whittlesey(2) can be found a couple of miles east of Peterborough along the A605, and once a year, it plays host to this unusual ritual. Although the current Whittlesey Straw Bear Festival is a fairly recent incarnation, established in 1980, it is in fact a resurrection of an ancient custom that once prevailed in the Fenland town up until the early part of the twentieth century. It was the custom, on the Tuesday following Plough Monday (the first Monday after Twelfth Night), to dress one of the confraternity of the plough in straw and call him ‘Straw Bear’.(3)

The original bear is described as having had;
“...great lengths of tightly twisted straw bands prepared and wound up the arms, legs and body of the man or boy who was unfortunate enough to be chosen. Two sticks fastened to his shoulders met in a point over his head and the straw wound round upon them to form a cone above the ‘Bears’ head. The face was quite covered and he could hardly see. A tail was provided and a strong chain fastened around the armpits. He was made to dance in front of houses and gifts of money or of beer and food for later consumption was expected.”

It seems that the constitution and preparation of the ‘bear’ was not a slap-dash affair, as straw was carefully selected each year, from the previous yield. The selection of the finest straw prompted the harvesters to coin the phrase, “That’ll do for the Bear”(4)
The last reported observation of the original festival was in 1909 and records show that local police outlawed the adherence for it had become recognised as an excuse for cadging. It is likely that the drunken revelry associated with this occurrences also put pressure on the local constabulary to finally call a halt to this age-old tradition. By the end of the Victorian era, local enthusiasm for this event would have been on the wane and many locals would have found the annual occurrence tiresome and disruptive to village life. Many workers who had previously patronised the event were no longer earning their subsistence from the land and therefore, revelry associated with pastoral aspects of village, life would have had little baring on their lives.

Bygone revelers knew the importance of these mid-winter festivals, for in the days before street lighting, the short, dark days of winter would have seen communities at their lowest ebb. Mid-winter gatherings and festivals would have been important epochs in the pastoral calendar, for they would have raised spirits and providing people with optimism. The planning and preparation of such events would have provided a welcome relief from the winter depression. The mid-winter festival marked an important watershed in their calendar and provided a feel-good factor for communities. Things little different today, for I too look forward to this festival, for it lifts spirits and demonstrates all of the positive aspects of a health community.

The benefits to the local population generated by such events are no different today than that of the ancient gatherings, say at Avebury, Callanish or Brodgar. The festivals brought much needed trade to isolated places and offered not only a platform for local artistes, but also provided the opportunity for the exchanges of culture and ideas. These congregations would have attracted communities from far and wide and even from overseas. The organisers of the current Whittlesey festival invite international guests from communities that have their own version of the Straw Bear Festival. I am sure that this ‘twinning’ process has been in propagated for hundred, possibly thousands of years.

There will always be a minority in any community who disapprove of ‘the circus coming to town’. Even today, these negative facets of the festival always appear to be given more publicity than the less newsworthy, positive aspects. Little appears to have changed since the terminating of the original Straw Bear Festival in the early part of the twentieth century. However, the joy and prosperity that is brought to the majority of the populous will always outweigh this short, annual inconvenience. Even the lager-fuelled, local youths who ‘extracted the Michael’ out of the dancers in the church grounds at this year’s festival, will maybe one day awaken to the opportunities that the festival will bring to their own chosen professions.

The weather forecast for my visit to the event in January 2004 was awful, so I had packed an abundance of waterproofs and a change of clothes for my excursion, but for once, the forecasters had got it wrong and I had no requirement for my wet weather clothes. As in previous years, Whittlesey was once again blessed with bright, dry weather. The plough god was obviously pleased with this year’s proceedings!

My introduction to the Straw Bear and his entourage was in January 2001, when I first delighted in observing his proceedings. The accompanying band played a slow plodding tune that provided a sombre backdrop to the overt jollity. The bear’s juddering, swirling dance seemed almost absurd with its funereal accompaniment. The tune was hypnotic and by the end of the weekend, I would have wagered anyone, that it would be impossible to drive home from Whittlesey, without whistling 'that tune'!(5) The Straw Bear tune is a modern day contrivance, but its ability to conjure up association and belonging shouldn’t be underestimated. The repetitiveness and its apparent spontaneity are the keys to its undeniable charm. A discordant chord in its notation adds an ‘other-worldliness’ to the proceedings. This is an ingredient that appears to be a common feature of such revels, but is an ingredient that was regrettably absent from the proceedings of the Haxey Hood that I had attended the previous week.

Diary Note: The Straw Bear Festival – 13 & 14 January 2001
The Straw Bear emerged from his refuge, into brilliant sunlight to his awaiting congregation in the car park of the Ivy Leaf club. Led on a rope by his ‘keeper’ and paraded through the streets of Whittlesey, he was followed by a small ‘bear’ that trudged nonchalantly in his wake. The pair are accompanied by a third bear, who had an allegiance with a contingency from Walldurn, a German community that celebrate their own version of the festival on the Monday before Shrove Tuesday. The Straw Bear is constructed over a concealed metal frame and this additional weight to the costume, contributes to his lumbering motion. In the bursts of bright sunlight that lit up sections of the dark, narrow streets, the illuminated golden ‘bear’ simply glowed in the stark January light.

After the morning procession, the day continued with street dancing and entertainment whilst the 'bear' continued around the town’s drinking establishments. The afternoon’s proceedings culminated in a finale of dancing and revelry in the market square at 3.00pm. It is peculiar walking around the town on the Saturday afternoon, for as you glance along streets and down alley-ways, you are confronted by brightly coloured dancers and giant ‘animals’, reminiscent of scenes from Robin Hardy’s cult film ‘The Wicker Man’. I mull over the notion that one year, they should invite Edward Woodward as their ‘special’ guest!
Evening entertainment was provided at different venues throughout the town. However, a highlight of the festival for me, was the 'Straw Bear Ale', which was consumed in great quantities at my lodgings at the Falcon Inn.

The Straw Bear activities resumed the following day with further entertainment at the Sir Harry Smith Community College, so named after the eponymous; local boy made good’s victories in Africa. At approximately 2.30pm, after the Morris, Sword and Molly dancing is completed, the Straw Bear band struck up again and a procession was formed that marched solemnly to a sports field around the back of the college. Here the parade formed a circle around a previously established funeral pyre made up of the remnants of the Straw Bear. The band lumbered to a halt and the music was replaced by silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire that had now taken hold of the disabled bear. The sombre proceedings were concluded by the cry of “Happy New Year!” from the master of ceremonies.

As the crowds dispersed, children snatched remnants of the Straw Bear from the burning embers. It is told that straw rescued from the pyre and stored in your loft or attic, will protect your house from evil spirits. As the visitors stare into the burning embers, they are left with a sense of optimism and sense of renewal. The burning paves the way for next year’s ‘bear’, for this ‘death and resurrection show’ is central to the proceedings in this Fenland town.

The Straw Bear is indeed a scapegoat and his existence can be aligned to the killing of a substitute for the Sacred King. The act of burning ensures that his verve and virility will be preserved for eternity. It is understood, that in death, his soul will be delivered to a royal purgatory or a ‘spiral castle’ to await a rebirth. Immortality ensures prosperity to the land and the flames transform him from mere mortal to this immortal status. The Straw Bear is therefore sacrificed for the sake of next year’s harvest.

In my first year of attendance, I was one of the last to leave the pyre, and watched as the charred effigy fell backwards and lay smouldering on the ground. The blackened remains were a stark contrast to the golden, animated entity that had danced in the winter sun the previous day. However, it is this duality that intrigues us all, for it is a constant reminder of our own mortality.

Notes:
1. Note: Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival : OS Landranger 142 TF 270 973
2. Note: The town appears often written with two alternative spellings; Whittlesey and Whittlesea - unbelievably, there appears to be no explanation for this anomaly!
3. Note: For a complete history of the Straw Bear Festival at Whittlesea see; Frampton G. (1990) “Whittlesea Straw Bear” Cambridgeshire Libraries Publications.
4. Note: Quote from 22nd Straw Bear Programme
5. Note: Frampton G. (1990) “Whittlesea Straw Bear” Cambridgeshire Libraries Publications. p. 23

Other Stuff….
We have been listening to a recording of ‘the sons of T.C.-lethbridge’ made at the ‘Rome’ gig back in November. The recording was taken from a video camera placed in the lighting rig of the ‘Studio’ by Simon the Templar. We noticed that a few members of the audience also had mini-disc recorders in the audience and we wondered if anyone had their own recordings that they could send us. It would be interesting to edit the different recordings together to create a universal recording of the whole gig made from recordings taken from different places in the audience. If this experiment is successful there might be a view to releasing it at a future date. We would of course anyone who had contributed a recording. So, if you made a recording it would be good to hear from you…..

Have a good new year…
Love,
Tekh