Rites of Spring in the Calder Valley
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Version 0 of 1. Good Friday is always busy in the Calder Valley, with events both sacred and secular taking place throughout the day. Boys from Calder High School start out early performing the Midgely Pace Egg play at various open-air venues. This is a traditional Mummers play, in which St. George triumphs over a series of opponents, including Bold Slasher and the Prince of Paradine. This character is described, in a script written long before the days of political correctness, as a 'black Moroccan cur', causing shocked gasps from present-day audiences. Attired in the traditional flowered pink tunics and garlanded head-dresses, (except for the character of Toss-pot, who wears a mackintosh and little else), the lads tour the valley, giving a series of performances. The<em> Guardian Northerner</em> caught them outside Mytholmroyd church, where the performance was followed by coffee and hot cross buns. Then, as the performers left for Todmorden, it was time for the next Good Friday engagement, the 'Journey to Calvary', which involved a party of local church members, accompanied by half a dozen dogs, climbing the steep hill at Horsehold, above Hebden Bridge, carrying a wooden cross and stopping at various points to read from the Gospel of St. Matthew. Each denomination or parish was responsible for one of the ten stages of the journey. Once at Horsehold Rocks, an enormous cross, made of two telegraph poles lashed together, was erected high on the hill, where it will remain for two weeks. Back at the bottom of the hill, walkers enjoyed a reviving soup lunch at the Methodist church, after which it was time to head up to the hill-top village of Heptonstall, on the opposite side of the valley from Horsehold, to watch the Combat version of the Pace Egg play. Compared with the schoolboys' proceedings, this is a less traditional and rather more raucous production, given by local men in costumes which identify their characters – you can tell who is St. George by the red cross emblazoned on his outfit, and the Doctor is easily distinguishable by the bottle of Nip-Nap he carries; this wondrous substance miraculously revives Bold Slasher, whom the audience has presumed dead – but unfortunately, due to postcode prescribing, it is available only in Halifax HX7. After the final performance it was time for tea. More culinary excitement is promised mid-month, when the annual World Dock Pudding Championships are to be held at Mytholmroyd community centre, where cooks compete in front of an audience, to the accompaniment of a brass band. Dock Pudding is a unique dish, (regarded as a traditional Springtime tonic in the Calder Valley), consisting of handfuls of sweet dock (<em>Polygonum bistorta</em>) cooked with nettles, onions and oatmeal, and traditionally served fried in bacon fat as part of breakfast, although a vegan version achieved a special mention one year. Proportions of the key ingredients vary, and families jealously guard their own special recipes. Robbie Coltrane actually came second in the competition a few years ago, when he was passing through the Calder Valley as part of his 'B-road Britain' series; but in a radical departure from tradition, he added cheese. If anyone is considering trying this dish, please be assured that nettles lose their sting when cooked. You can watch Coltrane and his pudding in this clip from YouTube. Happy Easter Bank Holiday Monday! |