Music to flunk your dwyle to

On Sunday I took part in my first game of dwyle flunking. An ancient traditional pub game stretching back as far as the 1970s in Lewes, and even earlier to the 1960s in Norfolk (when it goes by the odd name of dwile flonking).

The rules are complex and lost in the mists of drink, but essentially it involves one team member at a time flinging (flunking) a beer-soaked cloth (dwyle) off the end of a stick at the other 11-person team as they dance round them in a circle. Points are won and lost for hits and misses, for imaginative yet traditional costume, and by bribery.

As well as beer, folk music is a vital part of the proceedings, as it is played during the dancing and the dwyle is not flunked until the music stops.

I took this pic of the two fine local traditional musicians as they were warming up ready for the contest. I love the concentration and connection as prepare.

They were fantastic.

We lost.