Willesden Wassail

Businesses including a Polish restaurant and a shoe shop were blessed and sang to by residents as part of an ancient ritual re-created in Willesden Green again last weekend. Residents were joined by a team of spoken word artists, led by Rachel Rose-Reid, as they marched down the High Road to honour their local food providers. Wassailing is a tradition dating back to pre-Christian times in which a group of people sang a traditional winter song to their weather-beaten apple trees in order to encourage a good harvest. Artists joining included Muslim hip-hop duo Poetic Pilgrimage and Willesden Green Vocality Choir. When the march reached the library centre, “Transition Town Willesden” provided a special Wassail punch made from locally picked apples.