On the Ba'

This month has seen many Shrovetide so-called 'Mob Football' matches taking place up and down the country (as I talked about here). Yesterday in was the turn of the Denholm Ba' - a traditional Borders handball game with written records dating back a couple of hundred years. Its origin lies in a match using an invading Sassenach’s head as a ball. 

Allegedly. 

Most of the action takes place on the large green in the village centre with goals along the A698 to the East for the Doonies and Honeyburn Bridge to the West for the Uppies. Teams are usually of ten to twenty players, often including participants from neighbouring settlements with their own similar traditions like Hobkirk and Jedburgh. Play usually continues after dark until around 7.30pm and in spite of the generous space in the village centre, players always end up stopping the traffic for a while in the street. 

Good luck everyone! 

Shrovetide Mob Football matches can be brutal ...