Bonkers British Festivals no1: The Ottery Tar Barrels

('Bonkers' = crazy, incredible)

OK, this is not very timely, but it's from my home town in England, and it does qualify as bonkers.

What happens:
Every November 5th (aka Guy Fawkes Night) certain people of Ottery St Mary pad up in sack-cloth and run through the streets carrying giant, flaming, tar-soaked barrels on their shoulders. There are 17 barrels altogether, which are lit outside the town's pubs (where rollers spend a fair amount of time before and after their run). Barrel rolling is not a race, but a demonstration of local custom. 

Ottery (as Ottery St Mary is known locally) families might compete down the generations, and traditionally it was just the men and young men who rolled. Nowadays women can do it too, and it's a very impressive, if crazy, event, attracting tens of thousands to the town for the night. (The town is tiny, btw, so this is a huge crowd!)

The barrels are soaked in tar for up to 12 months prior to the event, and filled with straw and paper before lighting. The larger ones for the men's event might weigh up to 30kg, and they become increasingly unstable as they burn. It's not necessarily a safe event for rollers or onlookers, and there have been cases of burns and serious injuries to both. As a result, I think there are 'health & safety' restrictions being applied to the festival now (not to mention high insurance costs). 

 
Why: 
Nobody is quite sure. I tried to write a piece about the tar barrels as a journalist some years ago and hit a distinctly muddy wall with its history! The event dates from the 17th century, and has been pegged to Guy Fawkes Night - the commemoration of the date when, in 1605, Guy Fawkes was thwarted in blowing up the British House of Lords (part of Parliament) with gunpowder. (On the same night, British towns today burn an effigies of 'The Guy' on a bonfire - how's that for lasting propaganda!)

There is also a theory that the spectacle might have had roots in an old pagan custom of burning things to ward off bad spirits around Halloween, 31 October.(Halloween was a festival in its own right, long before Christianity appeared and re-appropriated it.) And even today, Halloween and November 5th tend to merge together in the UK festival calendar.

Another theory is that the event is a throw-down from using fires to warn locals of the approaching Spanish Armada (which was earlier, in 1588). Take your pick.

A friend's daughter competing in the women's event. Tx to Becki for the photo!

For Ottery today, the tar barrel event is accompanied by a large bonfire (to burn The Guy) and a fairground. As a child / teen, I used to go with my friends and family every year - mostly to have fun at the fair. And even then it became increasingly difficult to gain entry to the town, or move through the streets, competing with the number of tourists who arrived. I can only imagine it is a lot more hectic than that now. But if you're up for a bit of a crush, and a slightly crazy night, this might be worth a visit!