It was my first trip to Obby Oss Day in Padstow and I went with my lovely neighbour, Sue.  Here I give you a gallery to give you a flavour of the evening. It had all been going on since just before midnight on 30th April and people were still full of the joys of Spring!  The end where the ‘Osses are sung away for the year to the crowd singing “The Soldiers’ Farewell” was really moving and beautiful.

You can find out about the history here and from that WordPress website I have taken the description of what happens on the day. To give you a further flavour of the event, there is a video of a small section at the end.

Posters

Maypole – the dancing has moved on

All ages enjoy this day

Decorated drum

Crowds

Happy girls

Master of Ceremonies

So many accordions!

and more

Going to the home of the blue ‘oss

The harbour at dusk

Blue alley

Red alley

The Red ‘Oss

The dancer inside the Red ‘OSS

Maypole and Moon

Reassurance

Fun

“What Happens on the Day

Mayday in Padstow starts at midnight on April 30th, when its inhabitants sing to the landlord of the Golden Lion Inn. They then carry on singing as they move around the town until the early hours of the morning.

The next day some people are up early collecting flowers to display around the town. Tree branches are tied to lamposts and drainpipes. By around 8am children start to parade their obby oss’s in preparation for the main event. The maysong is played by accordianists and drummers while the supporters sing along.

The Blue Ribbon obby oss leaves the Padstow Institute at 10am to begin its tour of Padstow. Next the Old obby oss appears outside the Golden Lion Inn at 11am. The two oss’s dance round the streets followed by their supporters and at 12pm the old oss has reached Prideaux Place, where it dances outside in front of a large crowd, before it heads back to the Golden Lion Inn. The Blue Ribbon oss visits Prideaux Place later on in the day.

The obby oss outfits are worn by various members of each group throughout the event, and they also take in turns teasing the oss. The teaser waves their teaser club in the air, and dances around the oss while leading it through the streets of the town. The two obby oss’s carry out similar parades at 2pm and 6pm, ending their day around the maypole on Broad Street. Just before it gets dark they are returned to their stables. All the supporters then meet up once again around the maypole at midnight to sing once again.”