The 'Fool', who represents the boy who found the Hood but was too shy to return it to Lady de Mowbray. His face is marked with soot to represent the smoking of the fool: he has a straw fire lit underneath his plinth as he gives his speech (so it's not actually blackface).

It was this Fool's first Game and he'd been drinking for a solid 12 hours at this point!

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Yours truly, preparing with a pre-game beverage.

#Haxey #HaxeyHood

Haxey village sign, commemorating the game. Featured is the Chief Boggin. The traditional song is also inscribed:

"Hoose agen hoose, toon agen toon. If you see a man in the street, knock im doon. But don't 'ot him."

"But don't (hurt) him" is a relatively modern addition, suggesting the game was more of a mass brawl at one point.

#Haxey #HaxeyHood #England #EnglishTradition

Some more pictures from yesterday's #HaxeyHood game.

1) Local children pose with the Lord of the Hood and the Hood itself.

At some point Lady de Mowbray's hood morphed into this 3ft leather cylinder, presumably to make something strong and durable enough to survive the 'game'. Feel quite proud to have gotten my hand on the Hood in the Sway!

#Haxey #HaxeyHood #England #EnglishTradition