Bullroarer Took Day neglected?

Post date: Mar 19, 2011 11:52:35 AM

By Peppy Bristlebrush.     On Thursday March 17th I travelled to Brockenborings in the afternoon. I was expecting vivid celebrations, but no! Only one lass, dressed in green, played her lute (with only sheep as audience, I regretably must add!). It was Miss Lina, who originated from these parts, as you may know. But no further signs of celebration: no fence-running obstacle course, no free "Drink to Bullroarer" ale, no giftshop market stands selling commemorative beermugs, green hats or four-leaf clovers. I was baffled, I must say. Baffled!But, as I said, it was only afternoon. Announcements in our beloved Bramblebury Gazette made it clear, that there would be something afoot later that day, at 8.30pm to be precise. So I went to my friend, miller Thom, and asked of him the use of the upstairs room of his mill. For I was working on a project at the time and needed some place, seperated from the rest of the world, to complete it. Thom allowed it, bless him, and so I went to work. Desperately, I tried to block out the noise made by the internal riggings of the mill. And tried not to inhale too much of the ever present grain dust, that is an inevitable part of the grain grinding procedure. Well, that's the run of the mill for you!

All in all, I managed to get a lot of work done, but the repetitive noises of the mill made me drowsy and I dozed off. I woke to the soft sound of music and laughter outside the mill. When I peered through the window I saw many hobbits gathered near the wall out there, with three of them on top of it. They were the source of the music and many a cheerful tune was played. I realised, that I had slept passed the time that the concert would begin and felt hungry as I had missed at least three meals! Funny fact about mills: you find a lot of flour there, but no pies or cakes made of it!I put the window ajar and the lovely music filled my temporary residence. I opened the window further and peered outside. It was hard, because of the brimmed hats, but I recognised my sister Yola, Miss Tibba and her niece Miss Nimelia as being the musicians. So THEY were the mysterious Greenbrambles!  Their music certainly pleased their audience, as almost everyone present was dancing to the beat of the music. Apparently they found more pleasure even, by trying to perform their dance movements concurrently. Which, I must admit, was a great sight to behold. With everyone dressed in green it was hard to discern, but I think I saw "her" there too, dancing with all the others.

The musicians must have noticed that their audience was getting tired (It is a little trick: you speed up the music ever so slightly and if the dancers cannot adapt, you know they are tired!). They stopped playing, jumped from their stage (the wall) and an obese hobbit was hoisted up the wall by several helpers. O, wait a minute! It was no other then Master Simbo Rumblebelly, poet extraordinair! From my position inside the mill, I could not follow his speech, but later I was informed that Master Simbo had performed his poem about the Battle of Greenfields, making everyone aware what this day was all about.

After the poem, the music and dancing started again. My sisters alto voice astounded those present when she sang about "Bonny Woodhall".  I was tempted to go out and join the crowd, but the project was not finished yet. Forget the project! Maybe I was too shy because "she" was out there and I did not know yet how she would react to the letter I had sent. All the time and effort spent in therapy with the special healers gone to waste!? Maybe not, but I should really, really focus on my project now! It must be finished by sunday, preferrably even by friday.Back to the music: the three did a wonderful job, but more could be gained, they must have thought. So they invited their musical friends, Master Simbo and Miss Lina. Another awkward moment, as Master Simbo had again difficulty scaling the wall. He got so much help, that they almost shoved him over the wall, to the other side! The five of them played some more and the hobbits that did not have to leave too early had a wonderful time. "A magical evening", someone said beneath my window.

When the music had finished, someone mentioned "sketch competition!" and so they all went posing for the artists. Then.. an enormous racket filled Thom's mill! In their effort to make a very special sketch, hobbits tried to climb the roof of the mill! Ponies' hoofs repeatedly hammered on the reed clad cover of the mill. Miller Thom, later, was outraged when he saw the damage.Then I heard someone call out "fence running!" I was very relieved, that they left the mill alone, so I could go back to working on my project again without further disturbance. It was funny to see how the wall that was first a concert stage, now became a race track!My conclusion is this: if it had not been for all these hobbits, musicians and audience alike, there would not have been a Bullroarer Took remembrance! So, cheers for them! But the authorities were severely lacking this year. The only thing they seem to do is a sketch competition, which is meagre, compared to previous years!

a group of hobbits posing for the Sketch competition

Ed.: The sketches with this article have been send in by Master Lingard and Master Bovso.