Keeping up traditions

Well Winchelsea’s Boxing Day street game has surpassed that by at least five years and is still going strong.

Kicking the Frenchman’s Head, sometimes tactfully referred to as ‘The Winchelsea Game’ is a light hearted reminder of a past historywhich has seen the ancient town ransacked and plundered by Gallic invaders on a number of occasions. Revenge is sweet!

We can expect the usual good natured boisterous mayhem in Castle Street on Wednesday, the perfect antidote to the sedentary over-indulgence of Christmas Day.

The ancient town is upholding an English tradition - more than that it has created a Sussex tradition.

Get along to see it if you can. The event will at least go someway to making up for the loss of the town’s bonfire celebrations in November when a farmer withdrew use of the field that had been used as the bonfire site for more than a decade.

If it whets your appetite for Sussex tradition then head for Rye Foreign in early January when a wassailing the apple trees ceremony takes place at the Royal Oak.

The news team here at the Rye Observer would like to thank readers for their support and stories throughout the year and wish you a very merry Christmas.