THE first day of May brought celebrations to the village of Ansty, near Tisbury.

One of the organisers, Wendy Dykes, said: "Everyone looked like were having a good time, and the weather was okay, so that's a bonus.

"We're only a small village, and we want to keep it going for as long as possible, but it seems like its well supported which is good because an awful lot of work goes into it.

"The raffle went well, the food and drink was going non-stop, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves."

Committee member Louise Gooding added: "There was a sense of a timeless tradition about it all which I think the crowd could feel and respond too.

"I heard people saying how amazing it was that this has being going for centuries. Maybe avoiding the use of a PA or any 'modern' intrusions  helps. The young dancers were very impressive and even when the ribbons got a bit tangled the audience waited patiently and gave them a huge round of applause when the tangle was unraveled. 

"The children's raffle seemed to go down a treat - a great idea.  Apparently the parking was full right up to the A30 so a pretty good turn out."