Watching the Midsummer Watch

This last weekend, I persuaded my family to head into Chester to watch a local parade.

The Midsummer Watch, obviously linked to midsummer's day, is one of Britain's oldest festivals apparently, dating back 500 years to medieval and Tudor Chester. You can find out more about it here.

According to an extract from the  Book of Days,

The pageants became general in the reigns of the Tudors and Stuarts .. and have, like their predecessors the mysteries, their relation to English drama; not only were they composed for the purpose of flattering and complimenting their princes, but a moral end was constantly kept in view; virtue was applauded, while vice was set forth in its most revolting and unpleasing colours; and the altercation between these two leading personages often afforded the populace the highest amusement.

The day was sunny and the square outside the town hall wasn't as busy as I thought it would be, although there was a cheerful, family crowd waiting for the parade to begin.

I'm a sucker for both history and theatre, so throw the two together and I turn into a big kid, running around with a camera.

There were Romans, and Vikings, and plenty of mythological creatures.

Giants, the Green Man and pirates too.

And so much more.