May Madness

... is just the beginning. The ‘merriest month’ heralds all manner of summer revels that add colour and character to life in the Cotswolds. 

- Sian Ellis

Not for nothing did some anonymous hand pen the verse, “There are twelve months in all the year, As I hear many men say, But the merriest month in all the year Is the merry month of May.”

Around the Cotswolds, May is certainly the trigger to suspend all forms of mundane behaviour as quirky capers from cheese rolling to woolsack lugging burst forth, with no little hanky waving in between. In days gone by, no doubt, such frivolity brightened what for many could be a tough country life and the persistence of these often arcane traditions says much for their function as social glue: bringing people together in a spirit of fun – even if no one knows quite why.

Many of our curious customs have their roots in the farming and seasonal round, religion and superstition, whether welcoming spring and summer or hoping to ensure fertility and good harvests. Many traditions have roots simply too tangled to unravel, but we carry them on anyway – and feel all the better for playing our part in time-honoured mysteries: reaffirming our connections with those who have revelled around the Cotswolds before us, as well as re-booting our spirits and 21st-century sense of community.

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