Wassailing at Greenwich pleasaunce

The only time I hear the words "wassail" and "wassailing" are at Christmas, mostly in the words of the Christmas song "Here we come a wassailing". Wassail is thought to be an Anglo Saxon word meaning good health to you, from wes hail, be healthy.

Wassailing is a Pagan ceremony of singing to fruit trees. It also refers to house visiting, but in this context it is visiting the orchards. It is traditionally done on the 12th night, but nowadays, wassails are hosted between late December and February.

I saw several events listed for the London area in Jan, so went along to the wassail at Greenwich Pleasaunce. A pleasaunce is a secluded part of a garden laid out with trees, walks, etc. The Greenwich pleasuance is a formal, tree-lined garden housing a naval burial site, it also has a cafe, playground and community centre. 

It was formerly The Greenwich Hospital Cemetery from 1857, but it is now a public park and arboretum. The naval burial ground contains the remains of around 3,000 sailors who spent their last days at the local Royal Hospital Greenwich. When the Royal Hospital Greenwich graveyard was judged to be full in the 1840s, the Royal Navy needed a new burial site. In 1857, the admiralty bought an orchard in east Greenwich for use as the new cemetery. 

In 1875, the remains of 3,000 naval pensioners were moved from central Greenwich to this new cemetery. This was to make way for the construction of a railway tunnel. In 1926, the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich (a predecessor of the Royal Borough of Greenwich) acquired the site. The name 'Pleasaunce' came into use shortly after, when the site opened as a public park, [from Royal Greenwich].

The wassail ceremony was held on 14 January. There were various singing performances and some dances by the Greenwich Morris men. People were given sticks to bang together to accompany the songs. 

Words from the common Christmas song -

Here we come a-wassailing Among the leaves so green; Here we come a-wand'ring So fair to be seen.

Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail too; And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year And God send you a Happy New Year.

There was also a craft area for people to make wreaths and headwear -

The Green Man oversees the wassail -

The purpose of the orchard-visiting wassailing is to awake the cider apple trees and to scare away evil spirits to ensure a good harvest of fruit in autumn. There are songs and incantations to the trees. A wassail King and Queen lead the procession through the orchard. Traditionally the wassail Queen is lifted up into the boughs of the tree where she will place toast soaked in Wassail as a gift to the tree spirits (and to show the fruits created the previous year). An incantation is usually recited.

The Greenwich procession -

A piece of bread was hung in the branches and cider poured on the tree. Incidentally there are no apple trees in the Greenwich pleasaunce. 

Some of the graves -

Variegated holly tree

Seville oranges

 In early December I was in Andalusia, which is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It borders Spain's southern coast. The capital is Seville. Its best known export is probably the Seville oranges. These bitter oranges grow on trees lining the city streets. They are very common both in Seville and other towns in the region.

The oranges are ripening in December and are almost ready for harvesting. Large quantities are collected and sent to the UK for marmalade. In Spain they are used mostly for aromatherapy and herbal medicine, but not as a foodstuff.

Trees in Antequera - 

From Wikipedia : "According to legend, the Arabs brought the bitter orange to Seville from East Asia via Iraq around the 10th century to beautify and perfume their patios and gardens, as well as to provide shade. The flowers of the tree are a source of neroli oil, commonly used in perfumery and in skin lotions for massage. In 2021, the municipal water company, Emasesa, began a pilot scheme to use the methane produced as the fruit ferments to generate clean electricity. The company plans to use 35 tonnes of fruit to generate clean energy to power one of the city's water purification plants."

Wikipedia page Bitter Orange says "The bitter orange spread from Southeast Asia via India and Iran to the Islamic world as early as 700 C.E. It was introduced to Spain in the 10th century by the Moors."

Christmas lights draped around an orange tree -

The bitter orange trees are distinguishable from the sweet oranges as they have a double leaf -

There are thought to be over 40,000 orange trees in Seville. They belong to the local government body responsible for them and, as such, any tampering with the oranges or trees could leave you open to prosecution. When the oranges are ready for picking, the local governing body takes on temporary staff to harvest and bag the crop. 

And here they are in my local supermarket, on 10 Jan -

Marmalade is very popular in Britain, mostly as a spread on toast for breakfast. And of course it was made famous by Paddington bear! And even more so when Paddington had tea with Queen Elizabeth.

Yap Ah Loy & Pioneers of KL Museum

 FreeMalaysiaToday, FMT, 6 Jan 2024 has an interesting article, "A tribute to the pioneers who helped build Kuala Lumpur". It is about the new Pioneers of KL Museum in the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple in Kuala Lumpur. The museum display posters, paintings and literature detailing the roles these pioneers played in the development of KL.

One of the most famous names in KL's history is Yap Ah Loy. He became Kapitan during the Selangor Civil War of 1866-1873 and under him KL grew and developed. See my blog "Yap Ah Loy in Kwong Tong cemetery" .

It was Yap who ordered the building of the Sin Sze Si Ya Temple, KL’s oldest Taoist temple. The temple is located in Jalan Tun H.S. Lee in KL. My 2009 photos -

It is quite a small temple

The museum opened in 2023. See the FMT article for more info and photos, and details about entry.

Thanks to my friend Amy for sending me the article.

The Butterfly Trail, London

I was walking past Centrepoint in London on New Year's day when these coloured lights caught my eye so I went to have a look.  It was The Butterfly Trail.

It is the world’s first mixed reality experience. It is an immersive experience as the wrap around screens are from floor to ceiling, four storey high. Apparently they are the most advanced screens in the world.

"Outernet presents The Butterfly Trail, brought to you by Pixel Artworks. Discover a magical new immersive experience which pushes the boundaries of digital design. Experience The Butterfly Trail at The Now Building".

"The Butterfly Trail guides visitors through the intrepid explorer Professor Peter Pelgrin’s Botanical Workshop, into his Glass House where they can interact and explore the experience using just their smartphone. Using their phone, visitors will be able to release magical AR butterflies and trigger real-time animations. "

Whilst I was there I didn't realise that you can "hold" butterflies using your phone. It was quite crowded and I didn't bother to really find out what was going on.

The introductory screens and looking straight up -

The main screens -

Entry is free. 

See more, including a video, on Outernet.