Shrovetide

It was a very wet and cold day. I had read about the Shrovetide "event" at Ashbourne before. We were only half a dozen miles away and so we set out, not entirely sure what to expect. We parked on the edge of town and walked in to find ourselves in a square with a couple of pubs, heaving with wet young men standing outside drinking. No doubt there were just as many inside, drinking. We were in the midst of the "Uppers", one of the 2 teams in this strange event. After a while the Uppers cheerleader emerged from a pub and stood on a soap box and exhorted his team (several hundred strong) to do whatever was necessary. With that we all filed down to the Market square to be met by the "Lowers". The square was full, with a few dignitaries on a wall in the middle. A short speech to outline the rules, very short- the only rule seemed to be to stay out of the churchyard- a quick mention of health and safety- everyone was there at their own risk, and it was down to business. But first, in pouring rain, one of the dignataries attempted to lead the crowd to a rendition of Auld Lang Syne and God save the Queen, and then the specially painted ball was tossed up.  It would be hard to describe what followed. Bedlam in the pouring rain. The ball was nowhere to be seen, but it was possible to tell from the steam of the bodies roughly where it was. Occasionally it surfaced, and occasionally it moved, and when it did the crowd of onlookers attempted to second guess its direction and make sure they were not in its direct line. All the shops were boarded up, and it was clear that nothing was going to stop this heaving mass of men. Their aim was to touch down against one of two posts situated a mile and a half from the market place, but we were told that most years there is no score. They "play" from 2 to 10 pm and then reconvene the following day for another go.
A funny old custom, about which a lot could be said. One strange thing was that although the town was full on what may well have been the worst day of weather all year, the cafes were relatively empty.