05/05/2026
đ¸ Minehead (Gallery 1) â May Day Eve â 30/04/26
I left Penzance chasing the clock and then car trouble, of course, because no good tale begins without a small obstacle to overcome.
By the time I reached Minehead, the Original Oss had already stirred. The parade was alive and moving, and I rather clumsily met it head-onâless a grand arrival, more an accidental interruption. A quick, slightly flustered retreat, a hasty park at the roadside and I tumbled out with camera in hand, armed only with my trusty 24â70.
I slipped into the current of the crowd, carried along toward the town as drums echoed and ribbons danced. Despite the rush, the stress and the feeling of being slightly out of step, something settled.
And there it wasâthe Original Oss. Wild and playful, weaving through the streets like something half-remembered from a dream. Faces lit with laughter and anticipation, hands reaching, feet following.
I may have arrived late and a little unprepared, but perhaps thatâs the way of these things. You donât catch the tradition, it catches you.
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'Its origins lost in the distant past the Sailors Horse dances the streets of Minehead today as it has done for centuries. To the beat of the Drum and the zing of the Accordion it swings and swaggers through the town, flicking the air with its long tail, a bright shiver of ribbons and ostrich plumes, chasing the children, accosting the men and catching the women.
In the old days they say it frightened away the Danes. In the 21st Century it can still make the heart race and the legs prepare to flee.
The Hobby Horse is still a vibrant part of the English traditional landscape. Long may it stalk the streets of Minehead on Mayday...'
The Original Sailors Hobby Horse
