It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday and I spent it sitting on the pavement on the Gloucester Road in Bristol, carving a green man out of oak and chatting to passers-by.
A lot of younger spectators in particular were very keen to see how the carvings were done and there was a very jolly atmosphere, with the local shops putting out tables on the side of the road. In the afternoon, a morris group (see the comments below) came past with a huge 'Jack-in-the-Green', a foliage-covered effigy used since ancient times to celebrate the return of summer.
The green man plaque also turned out well and a finishing coat of furniture wax brought out the beauty of the oak grain pattern nicely. It will now go on show at Room 212 gallery on the Gloucester Road.
After writing this, I reworked the Green Man carving a bit and you can see how it currently looks by visiting this post, which has some images of other Green Man carvings as well.
Lovely article, but please don't call us morris men. The Bristol Jack in the Green is a mixed gender group.
ReplyDeleteWhilst we wear rag coats, we are not Rag Morris. That is the Bristol University side, and is quite different. The Jack in the Green is a group that only comes together for this one event, and draws on members of Rag Morris, Pigsty Morris, various other dance sides, and some who have no other affiliation.
Thanks,
John (one of Jack's musicians)
Fair enough John, thanks for getting in touch to correct the misnamings. I've changed 'morris men' to 'morris group' and removed the Rag Morris reference. I suppose that the mistakes have meant that other readers who, like myself, didn't know who was involved on the day now do, so hopefully it's come out well in the end!
ReplyDeleteThanks very much to you and everyone else for giving us all such a spirited and enjoyable 'Jack-in-the-Green' on the day, it looked like it was a lot of fun to be part of and was certainly fun to watch.
Have a great summer!