Did you know that the Swedish celebrated midsummer? Neither did I.
In London, several hundred of the handsome peoples congregate in Hyde Park, forming a sprawling blue and yellow uber-picnic centred around a flower-decked maypole.
There is drinking. There are outdoor games of the throw-things-about variety. Stocks of marinated herring are decimated. The best bit though is watching the traditional maypole dances.
Depending on the level of drunkenness, everyone jigs or stumbles around in a circle singing children’s songs and doing all the actions (hopping about pretending to be a frog… then a duck… and also – inexplicably – a rocket). Kind of like getting pished on Buckie down the park with your pals and singing Bobby Bingo, or maybe Heads, Knees and Toes. There is some photo evidence.
I recommend it, contact your local Swede for details. Actually I was asked if the Scots have any similar pagan gigs, and only remembered afterward Beltane (especially the Edinburgh version).
I was also impressed with the super-manly statue of Akhilleus down by Hyde Park Corner. The big lad was apparently forged from French cannon captured after Waterloo, which resonated pleasantly with me as I’m reading that Jonathan Strange book just now.
I also used a bicycle to get around London for the first time. Pretty good fun in a small convoy, running red lights, dodging taxis, not being broken like a rag doll by buses, that kind of thing. Actually having to navigate above ground was a novelty, Morlock tube-dweller that I am.
24-Jun-07 at 11:42 am | Permalink
In order not to give Swedes an unduly ridiculous reputation for their midsummer traditions, I just thought I’d clarify that there are in fact NO songs about ducks. Only about frogs (and pigs if you get to the seventh verse). It’s just that the Vikings cross-bred frogs with ducks so that frogs now sound like ‘kwack-kwack’. Contemporary Swedes still like to keep this knowledge secret.
25-Jun-07 at 9:13 am | Permalink
>Neither did I.
Speak for yourself.