TAVY and Tamar Apple Group held its annual wassailing evening last Saturday in the Bere Ferrers Church Hall, and then in an adjoining orchard.

The evening began with a short story about wassailing, followed by dancing and singing by the Dartmoor Border Morris and the Tavy Tars, who then went from the hall to the adjacent orchard.

There the Tars sang various wassailing songs, with much shouting and banging of drums and cans to 'frighten away evil spirits'. This was followed by hanging toast to attract the insect loving birds and the pouring of cider around the trees.

The Apple Wassail is a traditional form of wassailing practised in the cider orchards of South West England during the winter.

The first recorded mention was at Fordwich, Kent, in 1585, by which time groups of young men would go between orchards performing the rite for a reward.

On 'Twelfth Night', men would go with their wassail bowl into the orchard and go about the trees. Slices of bread or toast were laid at the roots and sometimes tied to branches. Cider was also poured over the tree roots. The ceremony is said to 'bless' the trees to produce a good crop in the forthcoming season.

Profits from the event will be donated to Devon Air Ambulance and Myloma UK.