A GROUP of Cookley morris dancers who taught David Hasselhoff some moves last year are holding a traditional wassail.

The event, arranged by Fox’s Border Morris, takes place on Friday and was the idea of Martin de Vine, who started the group 10 years ago.

A wassail involves singing to trees in the hope a good harvest will be produced in the summer.

He explained: “Wassail is an ancient custom and is intended to bring good luck and a bountiful fruit harvest.

“The practice was common across the area until the First World War when, like so many customs, it was lost from public consciousness as a result of the huge loss of life in the conflict.”

The group met David Hasselhoff in July at a festival at Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire, where he was filming a fly-on-the-wall documentary about his time in England.

The Baywatch actor joined in with the dancing after group members showed him a few steps.

The wassail will start between 7.15pm and 7.30pm at The Anchor pub in Caunsall. After a display of dancing and a wassail of the fruit trees, the event will move to The Eagle and Spur in Cookley where there will be a torchlight procession around the village, finishing at Cookley Sebright Primary School by about 9pm.

In fruit growing counties of England, including Worcestershire, wassailing was used to “awaken” the trees and get rid of evil spirits to ensure a good harvest in the summer.

The word wassail derives from the old English phrase “waes hael”, which means “be healthy” or “be whole”.

Mr deVine added: “Wassailing fruit trees date back to Anglo Saxon pagan fertility rites. Bread, soaked in cider is put in the tree and those in attendance singing songs and drinking cider from a cup is based on the custom of offering gifts to the good spirits of the tree.

“Theses practices may actually have some benefits as the noise awakens insects who are either eaten by birds attracted by the bread or die in the cold weather.”