Ottery St Mary Movies
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 | | 2007 Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels. (Sun, 11 Nov 2007 14:38:29 PST)
 2007 Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels.
tonynahrung
5 min - 11 Nov 2007
In a tradition dating from the 17th Century, the people of the Devon village of Ottery St Mary have been running....blah blah blah...i couldn't be arsed writing it myself so i'll just copy and paste...thanks EarlofWarwick!!
Every year on November 5th since time began, well at least since the 17th Century, this quaint little town nestled in the heart of the Devonshire countryside comes alive with the smell of blazing tar and roar of the crowds as seemingly demented men women and children tear through the packed streets carrying blazing barrels on their backs.
It is the famous Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels.
Thought to have originated in the 17th Century, this tradition involves wooden barrels soaked in tar which are set ablaze, hoisted aloft and carried through the packed streets and alleys of Ottery St Mary on the shoulders of the privileged few elite "Barrel rollers".
Every pub in the town sponsors a barrel making a total of 17 tar barrels, ranging from children's, through ladies to the men's tar barrels weighing anything up to 30 kilos. Each one is lit in turn outside its sponsoring pub. Starting late afternoon with Children's tar barrels and the grand finale culminating in the square at midnight with the last men's tar barrel.
No one is really sure why they do it but the most popular opinion suggests a pagan ritual to rid the town of evil spirits using cleansing flame and the camaraderie of the townsfolk.
Whatever the reason it is a truly spectacular event, and combined with an enormous bonfire on one side of the river and the annual funfair like a neon reflection on the other makes it a really remarkable occasion, one of the last remaining traditions which should be cherished and saved from the insanity of the powers that be. END QUOTE.
HEY!!! IT'S ME AGAIN!! Seriously, this is an insane night of fun! Drinking beer (this is England so you can take your own and drink in public), dodging burning tar barrels, chilling by a huge bonfire or enjoying rides at the fun fair, remembering remembering the 5th of Novembering for gunpowder and treason and plot, i can think of no reason why the 5th of November should ever be forgot!!!
Anyway, If you're ever in South West England in early november, do yourself a big favour and get along to ottery st Mary for the evening of the 5th. |
| The Bournemouth Belle - 27th July 2003 - 34045 "Ottery St. Mary" at Chertsey (Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:23:46 PST)
The Bournemouth Belle - 27th July 2003 - 34045 "Ottery St. Mary" at Chertsey
2 min - 31 Jan 2008
34027 "Taw Valley" masquerading as 34045 "Ottery St. Mary" makes a steady departure from its water stop at Chertsey with the outbound VSOE special excursion train "The Bournemouth Belle" |
| 34027 'Taw Valley' (as 34045 'Ottery St Mary)' at Gomshall 10/03/05 (Mon, 19 Feb 2007 12:17:49 PST)
34027 'Taw Valley' (as 34045 'Ottery St Mary)' at Gomshall 10/03/05
30 sec - 19 Feb 2007
34027 'Taw Valley' (as 34045 'Ottery St Mary) passes through Gomshall with a VSOE Pullman London Victoria-Shalford-London Victoria circular. 10/03/05. |
| Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels (Sun, 05 Nov 2006 07:23:35 PST)
 Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels
Featherlake
4 min - 5 Nov 2006
Check out my blog! http://jeremytucker.blogspot.com/ |
| ottery st mary tar barrels 2006 (Wed, 08 Nov 2006 02:17:03 PST)
 ottery st mary tar barrels 2006
normalnorman41
3 min - 8 Nov 2006
express and echo reporter (ben norman) @ ottery st mary tar barrels |
| ottery st mary rock cannons (Sat, 10 Nov 2007 06:00:59 PST)
 ottery st mary rock cannons
nigelchasfowler
2 min - 10 Nov 2007
view from my head cam of the ottery st mary rock cannons |
| Ottery Tar Barrels (Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:24:32 PDT)
 Ottery Tar Barrels
Unknown length - 15 Jul 2008
For generations the indigenous population of Ottery St. Mary have had a unique way to celebrate the Gunpowder Plot. Dangers? None. |
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