me and the Green Man
yes! You read that right…..I went Wassailing down the Thames on a Sunday afternoon!! The Twelfth Night of Christmas festivities are held annually on the 6th January, and this year (also the first year) I got to hear about it!
So yesterday was one of the highlights of my London life to date!! I have lived in this city for 11 years now and it was only 2 weeks ago that I learned about the custom of wassailing. As mentioned in an earlier blog, I received an email from a friend of mine inviting me to join him and his crew on the Trinity Tide as they carried the Holly (Green) Man from St Katherine’s Pier along the Thames to Bankside. I joined the cutter and crew at the pier at 1.45pm and my excitement knew no bounds; to be a passenger on the Trinity Tide had been a dream of mine since November 2010 when I first saw it in the Lord Mayor’s Show. 
the beautiful Trinity Tide
My daughter who was to be the official photographer and I set off really early and made our way to Tower Hill…thankfully the trains were running just fine and we made it in good time We stopped off at Costa Coffee for a last-minute order (by text…gotta love social mobility) of 5 hot coffees; white please!! I was guessing the crew were in need of urgent refreshment after rowing on what was a cold and grey day, from Deptford to Tower Bridge. Then down to the pier it was…I was still stressing big time about ‘am I in the right place?’ & ‘where were we landing?’ and sent a panic stricken text to Joe to make sure I had the right place. Daft!!!
me on my phone
When we arrived at the pier, there was no Green Man to be seen; my nerves were skittering about and almost overwhelmed my excitement. Then suddenly I saw the Trinity Tide as she rounded the bend
the Trinity Tide arrives in good time
and a few seconds later I saw the Green Man making his way down the walkway to the pontoon!! Hooray!! I was in the right place at the right time! This does not happen often The Green Man looked absolutely splendid decked out in his greenery and the face painting was extraordinary! The Holly Man ‘brings in the green’ and ‘wassails’ or toasts the people, the River Thames and the Globe – an old tradition encouraging good growth.
the extraordinary Holly (Green) Man arrives
The cutter pulled up alongside the pontoon and quick as a flash before anyone could change their minds I was on and seated. Try to pry me off now and see how far you get!!!
safely ensconced and looking as pleased as punch
Within a very short space of time we were off…..the piper in the bow,
settled in for the trip; the piper in the bow of the Trinity Tide
the oarsman ready to row, the jolly green man standing as we go, one of the Mummers to wave and say hello; wassail the boats, then me in the VIP seat ( ) and Joe standing at the stern to guide us safely along the river with nautical expressions like: easy as you go, or keep it even lads and even the odd ‘heave’.
looking ever so tiny against the huge structure of Tower Bridge, the Trinity Tide is on her way
Ohmygosh…what fun!!! I was truly in my element, grinning from ear-to-ear like a cheshire cat. I could scarcely believe my luck.
What an experience…..I can recommend it to anyone….although I am not sure that you would be able to go in the Trinity Tide, but you can sure take a ferry along the river. The views of the city are marvellous and although the tide was out and the water so low I could probably have walked along the river (kidding!), it was just amazing to sail beneath the bridges and see the buildings along the embankments from that perspective.
the underbelly of London Bridge, thankfully not falling down that day.
The Cap’n and his crew hailed and cheered the Green Man and the Trinity Tide and even 3 Days in London got 3 cheers….what fun!!
We made exceptionally good time, those blokes sure know how to row….and before we knew it, and way too soon for me, we arrived at Bankside.
the Green man arrives at Bankside...let the festivities begin!!!
And an extra bonus….because we were so early we (the rowers not me!!) rowed almost to Waterloo Bridge and then back down again, all the while the Mummer and Green Man wassailing along the Thames.
We landed safely on the beach (Churchill would have been proud), where we were met by a group of Mummers and others.
The Mummers waiting to greet the Green Man
Quick as a flash the Green Man was gone and I didn’t even have time to say goodbye I climbed out the boat with huge reluctance! The embankment was lined with revellers and spectators there to see the arrival of the Green Man from the Thames, watch the Mummers and join in with the celebrations and Twelfth Night festivities.
Their costumes were just brilliant and the characters enchanting! I said goodbye to the Trinity Tide and crew and all too soon they made their way back along the Thames to Deptford.
goodbye Trinity Tide; bon voyage and thank you
The play was in full swing by the time I found myself a good vantage point and although I could not see very well or hear much of what was going on, the bits that I did get to see and hear were uproariously funny. At the end of the play, cakes are distributed – a bean and a pea hidden in two of them. Those who find them are hailed King and Queen for the day and crowned with ceremony. The little cakes were duly handed out and King Bean and Queen Pea were identified, they were crowned and the whole jolly group set off with revellers and spectators trailing behind to the George Inn for the next bit of the tradition. I ran like mad through the back streets (it’s really useful knowing my way around!) to get to the George Inn before the crowd as I really wanted to record them arriving….which they did with great noise, pomp and ceremony!! What a brilliant experience.
the Holly (Green) Man arrives at the George Inn, Southwark amidst much noise and ceremony
I can highly recommend that you put the 6 January 2015 into your diary and head on over to Bankside for next year’s festivities. Snippets of information in this blog are from this site; do visit it, it’s brilliant.
If you have enjoyed this blog please do retweet it, and if you would like to join me on twitter I would be delighted. I am also on facebook and if you have any photos you would like to share of your London experiences, why not join the growing community of people who love London. Thanks for dropping by and reading my blog. If you are in London for 3 days….or perhaps more, I wish you a wonderful stay.
Wassail the Lady in Red
Well what can i say. We have come a long way from the lady waving the scarf near Tower Bridge. I was determined to one day find a seat for you onboard Trinity Tide.
As you have seen over the years the crew & indeed Trinity House love this boat and when it comes to passengers, Well these seats are normally reserved for Elder brethren of Trinity House, who range from Admirals, Commodores, Vice Admirals and the odd sea Lords and the like. So it was a pleasure to eventually have the pleasure of Cindy Eve (TDIL) aboard.
Let’s do this again in 2014.
Regards from the crew of Trinity Tide.
What a smashing memory of a superb afternoon. We didn’t get to speak much, as I was busy piping at the other end of the boat, but I’m glad you enjoyed it all so well! Please may I copy your pic of me & pipes in the bow?
I lost all track of time, do you know how long we were on the water?
Wassail! Richard
http://www.richard-york.co.uk http://www.taleteller.co.uk
oops – forgot to add my websites to the last comment!
http://www.richard-york.co.uk
and http://www.taleteller.co.uk
2013.01.08 now added
Thank you so much for that perspective. You can’t see it from your pictures but the crowd was so thick those at the back could only see the pointy bits of holly on the top of the Greenman’s crown. Those in the know arrive a bit early to grab the best spots
. I was with a bevy of pedlars ‘working’ the edges of the crowd so, hopefully, there was entertainment all the way round it. If you can’t wait until next year to join in the fun do come to The October Plenty. It’s similar but different – based on Harvest traditions -…..and don’t rush ahead 
….join our procession as it’s part of the fun. In October we end up at Borough Market and mummer’s plays are done several times so there’s more chance of seeing everything. Details on
Back to Twelfth Night. The piper on the boat was my friend Richard York, so many people went home with ‘magic’ wishing wands that 2013 must become a magic year, and the George is worth a visit any time of the year but was particularly atmospheric that evening and very welcoming with its mulled wine, dancing and continued merriment.
And most certainly lets do it again in 2014!!! That would be awesome and I will diarized the date right now!
Have a fab day, I hope to see more of the Trinity Tide (she is a beauty) in 2013′s London river events. Any dates/events/races you would like me to blog or tweet about do let me know and I will schedule them in.
Thank you for everything…it was magical.
Warm regards
Cindy
Oh wow!! Richard hello!!
what a delightful surprise to see your comment 
Thank you. It was a smashing afternoon and over way too quickly…perhaps next year we can persuade the crew to row all the way to Vauxhall LOL. We were approximately 45/50 minutes all told. I think we left at 2pm and we got there just about 2.50pm. It was brilliant listening to you piping and you can just hear the sound in the videos I recorded…I will upload them to youtube soon. So glad you liked the photo, we have a few more…I will check with the photographer Cémanthe of Stop and Think Photography and get back to you about using them. Is it just for private use?
What a fun event it was. I was just sorry that I could not get any closer to the play and only managed to find a spot on the perimeter of the crowd…and what a crowd it was too! My word.
Lovely to have met you, albeit briefly. I hope to meet up again sometime when you are in London. I had a peek at your websites…wow, you do weddings too…magical. I just read on your TaleTeller site a snippet about Chaucer…I did part of his route to Canterbury in 2011 from Southwark to Deptford and myself, a friend that I met via my blog and a group still to be selected are planning a big trip for April 2014…from Southwark (The George Inn to Canterbury over 5 days)!!! We have been doing research and met at the Hoop and Grapes pub last week to start planning. I also discovered the place where Chaucer had his house at Aldgate…there is a delightful wooden structure that was erected last year to mark the place. Wonderful London.
I have added your websites to the bottom of your comment as I think they are well worth sharing.
have a fab day & I will get back to you re the photos.
Regards
Cindy
Annie! How delightful to see your comment today
I have just heard from Richard too…what a pleasure. That was one of the most fun events I have ever attended and listening to Richard’s piping on the Trinity Tide was magical. I love your website and the costumes are astounding….what a talent. My mother was a seamstress and created the most extraordinary outfits for people as well as wedding dresses. I will most definitely look out for the October event…what date is it? Sounds like a lot of fun and for sure I will join in 
Thank you.
Yes, the crowd was enormous…apparently way more than expected. How lucky we are to live in a city with so many marvellous events.
have a wonderful day and thank you so much for taking the time to read the blog and leave a comment.
Regards
Cindy
http://www.anniethepedlar.com/