I can’t believe that  most people will  have forgotten about this  ancient and rather unusual festival of ours.  The 30th  of May is National Megaphone Day. A long forgotten festival dating back to  the late 17th century, when it had a different name, to do with commoners and noise. The festival was introduced to ‘give the plebs a voice’ just for one day, mind. For many years in market towns around Britain, the plebs and servants  where allowed to  walk round the towns with megaphones and anything they could bang, making as much of a bally hoo as they wanted with absolutely no danger of lock up or  prosecution. All the big wigs went undercover for a day and hid away from the noise. The law has not been repealed so if you want…get out there with your leather or papier mache megaphone, find a market town and make an awful din and quote the Royal charter of 1685 passed  by  Jolly old King Charles the II just before his death (feb 1685). The custom  was quickly quashed by the puritans, who did not like the idea of anyone doing anything that might make them feel better about themselves. It had a bit of a resurgence around the 19th century in some  smaller market towns around Leicestershire like Ashby-de-la Zouch. A few Morris dancing packs  and their prancers keeping going, but it is just not well known enough yet. Now is the time  to bring it back, with a bang, take a friend( or friends) and  a picnic….and your finest shouty voice. Long live the megaphone- shout!