Thanks for your kind words and I am pleased to hear that the Message Board has been of assistance to you.

We certainly do have a wonderful and generous group of people who help out and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed through out the year for taking the time to do so.

Best Wishes to all of you and I hope you have a great Christmas and that the New Year will be a good one.

The Wassail carol below is a Gloucestershire tradition and it’s been around at least since the 17th century.

Although it is beleived that the Viking invaders gave us the toast " Ves heill " ( pronounced Wes Ale ?),
the Saxons turned it into " Waes thu hal", and later “Wassail !” , literally meaning “be in good health”.
The reply to this is traditionally “Drink-hail !”

Wassailers are carolers who go from door to door carrying a wassail-bowl and singing carols. The wooden wassail-bowl
is typically filled with wassail, a spiced ale. The bowl is decorated with ribbons and garlands. The wassailers expect the
good people in the house to keep their wassail-bowls full !

So to members of the Board - "Wassail !"
Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year

S

The Gloucestershire Wassail Carol

1. Wassail, Wassail all over the town!
Our bread it is white and our ale is brown:
Our bowl is made of a maplin tree,
So be my good fellows all -- I'll drink to thee.

2. The wass'ling bowl with a toast within,
Come, fill it up now unto the brim.
Come, fill it up that we may all see,
With the wassailing bowl, I'll drink to thee.

3. Here's to Dobbin, and to his right ear,
God send our master a happy New Year;
A happy New Year as e'er he did see --
With my Wassailing Bowl I drink to thee.

4. Here's to Smiler, and to her right eye,
God send our mistress a good Christmas pie;
A good Christmas pie as e'er I did see --
With my Wassailing Bowl I drink to thee.

5. Here's to Fillpail, and to her long tail,
God send our master us never may fail
Of a cup of good beer; I pray you draw near,
And then you shall hear our jolly Wassail.

6. And here any maids? I suppose there be some --
Sure they'll not let young men stand on the cold stone;
Sing hey, O maids, come troll back the pin,
And the fairest maid in the house let us all in.

7. Come, butler, come bring us a bowl of the best,
I hope your soul in Heaven will rest.
But if you do bring us a bowl of the small,
Then down shall go butler, bowl, and all.

If you want to listen to a version, go here !
http://www.bbc.tv/gloucestershire/christmas/2003/10/wassail.shtml

and if you want to make some, be it the Oz summer (!) or New England winter ...

Recipe for Wassail

3 red apples
3 oz brown sugar
2 pints brown ale, apple cider, or hard cider
1/2 pint dry sherry or dry white wine
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
strips of lemon peel

Core and heat apples with brown sugar and some of the ale or cider in an oven for 30 minutes.
Put in large pan and add rest of spices and lemon peel, simmer on stove top of 5 minutes.
Add most of the alcohol at the last minute so it heats up but does not evaporate.
Burgundy and brandy can be substituted to the ale and sherry.
White sugar and halved oranges may also be added to taste.

As this year draws to a close, on a site whose primary interest is the Past and we reflect on our own recent past, may I wish all contributors and readers a Merry Christmas and Peaceful New Year.

Best wishes to all for the Festive Season. This site gives me so much pleasure. It seems no time ago that I stumbles upon it, but in those days the posts were few and far between.
I often wonder how a fellow Aussie from W.A came to be the administrator, and I'd love to know more about that helper to all, Slowhands.
I'm still waiting for that breakthrough that will give me a clue to the parents of my G.G. grandfather, James Layton (Leiton, Leighton) who claims to have been born at Pauntley, but has left no trace. The search goes on........