For some of the best accounts of wassail drinking go to the liner notes for some of the Topic record compilations. I have them on line somewhere.

One of the accounts tells of two wassailers- specialists who appeared year after year with a big wassail can. They took this door to door adding more and more wassail and cake and ended their journey at the back room of the local pub from which they did not emerge for several days.

I am not messing with your personal preferences here. Whatever you wish to make of it. But....I am concerned that popular expectations lead these days to people frowning on consumption of alchol which is anything over the minimum.

I would make the case that traditional means a higher level of moderation than is currently provided for or tolerated and that because of this those who do it properly feel alienated or excluded therefor organizers of events should be more tolerant and open to the customs of others to broaden participation and stop the exclusivity based upon alcohol consumption that occurs.

This take several forms either the event has alcohol free enforcement or in the horror that the muses of participants might be awakened alcohol is strictly rationed.

This is the same thing that happens in local eateries here.

Beer and wine prices are kept high simply to discourage consumption. They want fast turn around eat your food drink your one very expensive beer and leave.

I had to laugh at a mexican place that transitioned to a one pitcher per person rule. The problem was that while one pitcher is a drop in the bucket for me one half a pitcher would put my wife on the floor asleep. All about metabolism. They lost lots of business from me. I used to turn the heat down in the winter and take my armload of books and sit in a corner of the place doing research all day. I could never make one pitcher last for 8 hours neither was I intoxicated at the end of the day and along with the beer I also bought quite a bit of food.

Onward.....I have to appear for free music food and drink for the artcar show at H Street NE   Gallery O on H. They do a great successful festival- why? I helped them organize it. They do free food and drink for all of us for three days. The main festival is Saturday come on down. When this sort of arrangement exists participants do much more. The festival is free to the public therefore some of the cartists who sell art do much better. The food is great- best street food in the region and lots of local gospel.

I will launch my capitalessistic conceptual art project saturday at H street.
http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey/transart/transart1.html
capitalessistic art project


Conrad