Warwick Mop Fair

I didn't bother too much to find out why this was called a "Mop" fair (even though I was a bit intrigued), until I decided to post about it. Thinking that my readers might wonder... I did a bit of research, which proved to be quite interesting.

Here are a few facts I found on the Fair's website (http://www.warwickmopfair.co.uk/history.html):

"When the Mop first started nearly seven hundred years ago (during the reign of King Edward III), the event was a hiring fair for local labourers and employers to meet in a social setting. Workers would be hired for a trial period of a week; hence the Runaway Mop the following weekend allowing either party to back out if they were unhappy with the arrangement. Once the formalities were over, the labourers could spend their token wage (given by the new employers) at the stalls gathered for the occasion or the local pubs! "

"The title ‘Mop’ has been a subject of debate by historians for a number of years. The most likely link is that labourers wore a symbol (a badge almost) to identify their trade. This meant employers would instantly recognise those wanting work in their industry. These symbols were believed to have been known as mops."

"This is a unique British tradition that only Warwick and a handful of other local towns can claim to be part of. A tradition that has continued throughout history, during the Black Death, the Civil War, the Great Fire of Warwick, two world wars and continued right up to the present day in the very centre of the town."

Here are the kids trying to "hook a duck" to win a prize. You're allowed to spend as much time as you need and it's not very hard to do, so in the end everybody gets a prize. The ducks have differently colored dots on their bottoms, indicating what kind of toy you get - small, medium, large (you get to choose the toy). I figure most ducks have the color corresponding to a small prize on them because both this year and last year my kids got small toys. ;-)

Happy with their prizes 

Alexandra enjoyed going on a few rides (Andrei was happy to just sit in his stroller and watch)

A few pictures from last year's Fair, when my mom was here visiting (in the 4th picture you can see Alex's purple unicorn and Andrei's tiger - their "hook a duck" prizes from last year).

Everyone had a good time. I think we'll make this a yearly tradition. :-)