One year at the Wareham Wail, the Sidmouth Anchor Middle Bar Singers (peasants) were penalised at the midnight Mediaeval Banquet for stealing the boar's head from the top table (royalty and aristocracy), and commanded to sing the Wild Rover to the tune of Away in a Manger. (All the tables at the Mediaeval Banquet have to sing in turn for their mediaeval supper.)

There is usually a £5 penalty for singing the Wild Rover in the Anchor Middle Bar sessions during the Sidmouth festival, but it was noticeable that all the singers on the Middle Bar table at the Wareham Wail did actually know all the words and were able to sing them to the tunes used by the other tables for their songs(which in turn led to the further penalising of the Middle Bar table and inspired Steve Thomason to write his song The Bard, which has since been recorded by Jock o'Dreams and Goldengob)

Kitty