June 1977 – Pig roast for Badsey Silver Jubilee festivities

Badsey roused by pig-roast team

A party of men set out from Badsey in the small hours of Tuesday to collect a carcase from Campden for the pig roast, and they let the whole village know when they got back.

“We toured the village with the pig in the back of a lorry at around 6.45 a.m. sounding bells and hunting – horns, said Mr D. Caswell, a member of the organising committee. “We wanted to let people know that things were getting under way.”

The next tour of the village was made in a more sedate manner – by jubilee queen Veronica Dore, aged 16, and her two attendants Sarah Caswell, 15, and Rebecca Caswell, 9. Afterwards they had lunch with Badsey’s over-seventies in the village hall, following the crowning ceremony by Mr E.L. Mustoe, licensee of the Round of Gras. Roasting of the 140lb pig began at about 7 a.m. on the village sports field in Brewers Lane. With 1,000 links of sausages it was used to fill ten gross of bread rolls. When they ran out, 20 sliced loaves were quickly used up. With the pork and sausages went a hundredweight of onions.

There were children’s sports, a novelty wheelbarrow race and a best-dressed house competition in which two neighbours were joint winners – Mrs A. Plant and Mr J. Anderson of Aldington. A comic football match was played between a team of local bunny girls and another team portraying past and present television personalities.

Among other arrivals at the sports ground was Lady Godiva, better known as Mr Ted Wheatley who put on a blonde wig and climbed on a horse to make the journey through the village.