A right royal soaking for wap mayor (From Stroud News and Journal)

A right royal soaking for wap mayor

THE SUN shone and the rain stayed away for Randwick Wap on Saturday - although the Wap Mayor got a thorough soaking.

Revellers unceremoniously dumped Michael Lloyd in the mayor's pond, rather than the more usual baptism style of dunking, where water is gently poured over his head.

"Mayors are rarely dropped in," said Wap co-ordinator Stan Giles. "But he's a very popular chap and appreciates a joke and a bit of fun."

Sky television turned up to cover what is ranked one of the 50 most unusual customs in the country.

Wap May Queen Sarah Wicks led the procession ahead of Mayor Lloyd who doused the crowds in water as he passed in his sedan chair, borne by four stout men of the parish. Sarah,12, did her duty by pouring water over the Mayor - then he was literally dropped in it.

No-one knows the exact origins of the event, which once upon a time was marked by drunkenness and revelry. The event was re-born in the 1970s and this year's Wap was definitely a success.

Morris men, mummers and the Bubonic Wind Band got villagers and visitors alike in to the swing of the celebrations, which went on well in to the evening.

This year's Wap egg challenge was won by a team which had ventured from the other side of the world to see this remarkable happening.

The team of New Zealand backpackers managed to send an egg down a 16ft slide, without it breaking, in to a box with a snooker ball, then across the pond.

Mr Giles thanked everyone who came and especially the Wap committee for making the event such a success.

"It went very well," he said. "We had more stalls than before and it was a day to remember."