Day Of Syn 2022

A bit of a belated post, but last Sunaday and Monday I attended the Dr Syn weekend celebrations in Dymchurch. Normally I just go on the Bank Holiday Monday which is the main day, however in the programme it stated that there was an art exhbition in the village hall and also an exhibition of photographs from previous Days of Syn in the New Hall but these were only on the Saturday and Sunday. So I decided to go on Sunday afternoon and attend the Evensong service at the church opposite.

In fact there was a typo in the programme and the exhibition in the New Hall was open on the Sunday and Monday! However it was good to visit on the Sunday as programmes were scarce and all gone even by the Sunday, so I had to rely on the goodwill of a shop to send me their copy for my archives and I was given a programme by a stallholder at the art exhibition who was packing up.

I didn't stay for the landing on the beach in the early evening on Sunday, but the evensong was well worth attending with many of the locals in 17th century attire and the sermon given over to 'Northern Nick' a storyteller, who delivered with perfection, rhyming tales of smuggling, Nelson, the Rye lifeboat disaster and of course Dr Syn.

On the Monday was the usual fare with the Morris Dancing outside the New Hall first thing in the morning and the trial of the captured smuggler. It was noticable that there is no longer a presentation of the characters and an explanation of their part on the story, especially since so many had dressed up as particular characters; and for those with no knowledge of the novels, a nice way to ensure the stories continue and perhaps encourages the next generation to seek out the novels. In fairness though, the programme does have a list of the main characters and the part they play in the tale. And the programme now is colour and well produced and certainly a step up from the black and white photocopied affairs on the 1990s. Although timings for the events on the Recreation Ground would be helpful in the future.

At eleven o'clock the ensemble duely processed from the slipway to the Recreation Ground for the fair.

The fair, is as always, more of a traditional village fete, with tombola stalls, games and local community groups fundraising for their causes. I'm not convinced about the recent inclusion of having wrestling bouts in the centre of the field and how this fits in with the whole Dr Syn ethos, but perhaps I'm a purest and if wrestling brings more crowds in then who am I to complain! But the axe throwning stall looked good fun, and local cider producer Merry Moon had set up a small tent selling their wares of fruit ciders and mead. (Sadly they didn't have my favourite - beetroot cider). Also at the fete was a local author and artist selling copies of his Dr Syn art book and also art prints. But what was more fun was the lego figures that had been made up and framed by his son of the charactures from the novels. In my mind there has always been a gap in the market for those selling Dr Syn themed merchandise, regardless of not of whether Disney owns the right to the name Dr Syn for the purpose of making films. Please come back next time!

There is also a new-ish micropub in Dymchurch High Street now (The Hidden Treasure) for those wanting a quieter drink than in the Ocean or City of London. Sadly the Martello Tower, run by English Heritage was closed, presumably due to a lack of volunteers. 

The final battle was on the Recreation Ground at 4pm when practically all the fete was in the process of clearing away. What with the lack of timings given in the programme and most people leaving the field as the fete shut down I feared that what should be the culmination of a great weekend would become an anti-climax, but as the hour approached the locals did come back and about 200 did sit down and watch the smugglers win against the Revenue men. So roll on 2024 when it'll be the 60th anniversary of the Day of Syn and hopefully the event will be even more spectacular!

Sunday 4th September 2022