If I'm honest, I had never heard of "Dwile Flonking" , so I had no idea what to expect as I rather innocentely strolled down the main high street of the town called Lewes. A town that can be found in East of the county Sussex. It was a fantastic May Bank Holiday Sunday afternoon, where everyone was out and full of joy, safe in the knowledge that work was still a full two days away. The smell of warm ale, wafted through the cobbled streets and in the feint distance I could hear the sound of not only music playing but also the odd scream.
Intrigued by both the sound and smell, I followed my senses, which guided me firstly over a bridge,which then followed walking down a narrow side alley. Reaching the end, I found myself huddles within a curious throng of strangely dressed adults who were dancing wildly to music, holding hands around a lone figure who crouched low,long stick in hand.
Suddenly the music stopped, the dancers froze and the lone figure proceeded to flick what appeared to be an old rag, dipped in beer on to those dancing. Everyone cheered, the lone figure then literaly downed a pint, while everyone huddled aroud him. Once all the ale had been consumed, this band of straw collared, waistcoat wearing country folk, once again began to dance around a newly elected Lone figure.
Dwile Flonking, has been a tradition of Lewes amongst regulars of the infamous Lewes Arms (also the home of the international Pea throwing championships) since the mid 1960's, it does have a set of rules, which I was unable to work out. Although the initial scenes reminded me of an excert from Stephen Kings "Children of the Corn", once I had sat down on a nearby crate I felt quite at ease.
If you would like to know more about the lost art of Dwile Flonking, then you should visit the Lewes Arms website here.
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