The Colne Valley Beagles puppy christening was held at the Royal Oak in Upperthong on Sunday afternoon, 28 July 2013 to a full house.
I rather lost count. Were there five or six puppies? Our celebrity GP, Scottish bag pipe virtuoso, singer and performer of the wild and exotic, decorously conducted the christening ceremony. In the tradition of these things he used his Yorkshire accent and a voice that carried almost as well as his pipes as he gently anointed the heads and dipped a paw in a bowl of punch. We used to use a teaspoon in the days of Ken Green but since then we seem to be using a large ladle, although this is purely symbolic as only a few drips of the punch escape onto each hound.
Having a GP perform this ritual is probably sensible since the bowl of punch is traditionally consumed afterwards by those present who fancy the idea. Actually it all seems to go with no ill effects ever reported.
I suppose the christening tradition has been limited to the depths of the Yorkshire valleys in Summer Wine country as a strong dialect is virtually essential to the words of the christening ceremony. It really would not sound right in Essex.
Of course the other thing we do is sing. Well some do and some rather well. In the past a few made a name for themselves, not least using songs they learnt to sing at hunt do's. I used to to think a culture of song was related to a culture of hardship and deprivation but in a bond of community, such as the Welsh Valleys as one example. We are not quite up to that standard in the hunts but singing certainly lingers here as in the Lakes and I guess life was hard at one time.
