Cornish-born Jess Wynn is on the Post Graduate Writer's Programme at Falmouth College.
Helston's famous Flora Day celebrations are held every year on May the 8th (unless the date falls on a Sunday or Monday when it is instead held on the preceding Saturday!).

Jess takes a look at the locals' big day.
This story first appeared on the independent Internet magazine Hackwriters.com

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I have a vision. A long procession of small, furry creatures skipping gaily up the street. Elegantly groomed mice, hamsters, rabbits, whisking their partners in circles, jiggling and squeaking in time to the music.

It's all a bit of a Disney moment but at least it would be in keeping with the occasion. And life really needs to be tidier.

Unfortunately I could find nothing in any of the relevant literature that alluded to either this image or to why Furry Dance, better known as Flora Day, is so named.

No doubt they tried the rodent dance thing and were foiled by the big wheel in the fairground - once hamsters and co. reached it they were compelled to spend the rest of their short lives monotonously and pointlessly going round and round and...

Well anyway, as a Cornish person I have always just assumed that Flora Dance is just another excuse to get drunk and wear strange floral arrangements in my hair.

Plus some great opportunities to have nausea induced by some hideous fair ride that seemed like a good idea at the time. If pressed I could mutter something about Pagan rituals and... um... fertility rites or something. The interesting thing is that this is about as much as anyone seems to know about it.

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