PIG DYKE MOLLY - Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival 2014

The ancient Fenland tradition of plough boys collecting money and gifts in the streets on Plough Tuesday has now evolved into a week-long festival in the market town of Whittlesey, (Whittlesea). On the second Saturday in January each year, a Straw Bear and a couple of smaller bears parade around the market square and streets on a route that encompasses many of the public houses. Numerous and diverse folk dance teams and entertainers fill the streets and vast quantities of drink are consumed, causing many of the eccentric merrymakers to be even more eccentric.