Varied Surroundings

There is more to being human than travelling around the world sampling its many delights, and recent reading has taken me deeper into subjects like philosophy. Though I am a scientist by training, the humanities continue to appeal to me, and various life events have led me to explore them more than otherwise might have been the case. That is now the main thrust of what you find here, along with other things that have a use in navigating life’s journey.

Congleton Bear

Here is a English folk song that I picked up that illustrates why Congleton is known alternatively as "Beartown". You may here variants of these verses but these apparently are the original word that John Tams set to the tune of another English folk song.

It is a merry little ditty that may have a lot to say about a less well known roguish side to the English character. There is a merry subversiveness here that some would do well to study and that subversive trait can be express is less pleasant ways but let's not dwell on that too long and enjoy a respite from the more serious-minded ways of the world.

The wakes coming on and the bear he took ill
We tried him with potion, with brandy and pill
He died in his sleep at the eve of the wakes
The cause, it was said, was strong ale and sweet cakes:
The cheeses of Cheshire are famed, but beware
Of stories they tell of the Congleton Bear
Congleton Bear, Congleton Bear
They sold the church Bible to buy a new bear.

He served the town well and he served town true
To lie him in state was the least they could do
The old bear was dead, a successor they'd need
A new bear was wanted, and that at great speed:
The cheeses of Cheshire are famed, but beware
Of stories they tell of the Congleton Bear
Congleton Bear, Congleton Bear
They sold the church Bible to buy a new bear.

Now a parson is useful in times of great need
And imbibed with strong porter he quickly agreed
The parson, his Bible he give then and there
We sold it in Nantwich to buy a new bear:
The cheeses of Cheshire are famed, but beware
Of stories they tell of the Congleton Bear
Congleton Bear, Congleton Bear
They sold the church Bible to buy a new bear.

Oh, the new bear, a she-bear, was toast of the town
To music and laughter she danced up and down
So loudly the cheering would waken the dead
It caused the old bear for to rise from his bed:
The cheeses of Cheshire are famed, but beware
Of stories they tell of the Congleton Bear
Congleton Bear, Congleton Bear
They sold the church Bible to buy a new bear.

Pills, potion and brandy induced a deep trance
And refreshed by the music he began for to dance
He danced down the road causing many a gaze
Word quickly spread that the old bear was raised:
The cheeses of Cheshire are famed, but beware
Of stories they tell of the Congleton Bear
Congleton Bear, Congleton Bear
They sold the church Bible to buy a new bear.

He rolled his dark eye as he spied the she-bear
And with an embrace they danced jigs pair-and-pair
The cheeses of Cheshire are famed but beware
Of stories they tell of the Congleton Bear:
The cheeses of Cheshire are famed, but beware
Of stories they tell of the Congleton Bear
Congleton Bear, Congleton Bear
They sold the church Bible to buy a new bear.