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The History of The flaming Tar Barrels:
The tradition of the flaming tar barrels has been going on since around the 17th Century. It involves running around the packed streets of Ottery with a flaming barrel full of tar on the backs of the locals and passed from man to man when it gets too hot. It was possibly started as a pagan ritual to get rid of the devil from the streets? There is a great sense of pride amongst the locals who get to carry the barrels. The spectacle this year had the street packed to capacity something akin to the old style football terraces, a mass of heaving packed crowds tightly wedged together. Suddenly a shout "out the way" and time to be quick on your feet as a crowd of adrenalin fuelled men come charging through the crowd with a great flaming barrel of tar on their shoulders. Trying to keep out of the way is not easy as the streets are jammed tight, everyone intent on remaining un-singed. A trail of sparks and dark plumes of thick black acrid smoke fill the air and then they pass. You see sparks on the backs of other revellers and frantically check yourself brushing off the sparks from your coat and hair. Those who did get too close brushing away the singed hair and eyebrows while there friends laugh at them. This huge spectacle is now a huge event with coaches coming from around the country. A full size fun fair and multiple street vendors make this a spectacular event. But beware if you do not like tightly packed crowds this is not the place for you. This year was nearly cancelled due to political correctness and fears of insurance for the event & crowd safety, it was rescued at the last minute by local sponsorship. It would be such a shame to loose this anarchic tradition due to legislation, and I fear if they tried to stop this, a new sport would emerge where the police will be chasing the locals around the streets telling them to "put that flaming tar barrel down please you are in breach of public health and safety laws", to which the locals will reply " *1%*#~".
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