The musicians who play by night in the streets at Christmas are called waits. It has been presumed, that waits in very ancient times meant watchmen; they were minstrels at first attached to the king’s court, who sounded the watch every night, and paraded the streets during winter to prevent depredations.
In London, the waits are remains of the musicians attached to the corporation of the city under that denomination. They cheer the hours of the long nights before Christmas with instrumental music. To denote that they were “the lord mayor’s music,” they anciently wore a cognizance, a badge on the arm, similar to the represented in the engraving below, from a picture by A. Bloemart.
The Piper.
He blows his bagpipe soft or strong,
Or high or low, to hymn or song,
Or shrill lament, or solemn groan,
Or dance, or reel, or sad o-hone!
Or ballad gay, or well-a-day—
To all he gives due melody.
Preparatory to Christmas, the bellman of every parish in London rings his bell at dead midnight, that his “worthy masters and mistresses” may listen, and be assured by his vocal intonation that he is reciting “a copy of verses” in praise of their several virtues, especially their liberality; and, when the festival is over, he calls with his bell, and hopes he shall be “remembered.”
he would be served with an ASBO these days(Anti Social Behaviour Order)
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
Erm I don’t have any personal friends I thought that much was obvious hence my pathetic attempt at sending ye a card which was locked “Really” is meant to be an Emoticon thus so.
My second equally pathetic attempt at universal friendship via a ecard to ye all is a play on words thus…
FECK, n.1, v.1 Also fek, ¶faik, fake. I. n. 1. Value, worth, return, result (e.Sc. 1825 Jam.).
1789 Burns Elegy on 1788
E’en monie a plack and monie a peck, Ye ken yoursels, for little feck!
1889 T. L. Mason Rafford
Bits o’ bonneties on their heids sae sma’ that they micht as weel gang bareheided for a’ the `feck o’ them in keepin caul’ frae the heid or lugs.
make of it what ye want.
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
ps" so I take it that Tom Waits is descended from buskers, then." Lord Mayors Men actually but still buskers…
and a seasonal…fartin… greeting to you, as well, sir.
what do you suppose it says about my maturity levels that i saw “The Piper” and immediately thought about graffiti-ing it in photoshop? probably nothing good, hm?
I always thought that was a great gob of wax+ cotton for stoppering up his ears from the sound of that biniou, which he’s fingering quite impossibly, AND missing the top of his grate drone.
I thought that much was obvious hence my pathetic attempt at sending ye a card which was locked 
Lord Mayors Men actually but still buskers… 
