THE Babylon Mummers will be undertaking their traditional New Year’s Day tour of West Dorset, joined by morris dancers.

You can see this merry band in Beaminster Square at 11am, Broadwindsor at noon and outside the Hare and Hounds in Waytown at 1pm on January 1.

Mummers’ plays have been performed in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland for hundreds of years and are folk dramas based on the legend of St George and the Seven Champions of Christendom.

They were originally mime or dumb shows – the word mummers comes from the Middle English word mum, meaning silent – where all the performers were disguised and known as ‘guisers’.

All the characters were played by men who kept the same part for many years.

For more details visit babylon.org.uk