Wet and Messy 1
What fun to see stocks and pillories being put to their original purpose: punishment through public humiliation. And the time-honoured tradition of pelting the criminal with all sorts of yucky things is still going strong. Fairs and fetes often have stocks and pillories in which people willingly subject themselves to a barrage of soggy sponges, custard pies and the like. There never seems to be a shortage of volunteers, and there are always plenty of people who are eager to pelt the helpless prisoner........as the following pictures demonstrate.

A teenage lad constructs a pillory for wet sponge throwing, but it needs to be tested before being used at the local fair. To this end, he manages to persuade his mother to try out the pillory. As you can see, it seems to work very well.

A bunch of students at Cornwall College are provided with water, sponges, custard pies and a pillory. What could possibly go wrong?

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Teachers take turns in the pillory at Margaret McMillan School.

Some pictures from the Zombiewalk in Birmingham, England, where people disguise themselves as zombies to raise money for charity. These are discerning zombies who prefer to baste the head with wet sponges before eating the brains.

Some employees of Tesco getting very wet indeed, possibly at the hands of angry customers.

Morrisons supermarket has found a way to recycle out of date stock.

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Helping to save rhinos on World Rhino Day 2016. Volunteers are pelted with water balloons and, appropriately, wet rhino dung. At least the rhinos are playing their part.

An enthusiastic volunteer at the Stalisfield Green Fair.

In a US TV show called "ANT Farm", Chyna and Lexi (neither of whom are over-burdened with intellect) are tricked into the pillory at a local carnival by Maria Antoinette, who proceeds to pelt them with cream cakes. I suppose they didn't have any bread.

From an unknown German fair.

Good to see tomatoes making a comeback, after all the wet sponges and custard pies. The old ways are the best (nostalgic sigh).

The demon drink shalt lead ye to eternal damnation....preceded by a spell in the pillory at the Bristol renfaire.

A garden party somewhere in the UK.

The good villagers of Gower in Wales have apprehended a witch. Her protests that she did not blight the leek crop go unheeded.

These are from a skydiving club, where Monica (for it is she) is being disciplined for making a bad landing.

Now for some "before and after" pictures. Wonderful expressions on their faces!

Some old scores are settled in Emmerdale, a British TV soap opera.

These vidcaps are from the Richard Bey Show, a US television programme. Here we see a worthy attempt to reinstate the pillory as a community punishment. The entire audience is invited to pie the miscreant in the pillory....which they do with undisguised glee!

More vidcaps from the Richard Bey Show. Baked beans this time. Less fattening than pies, although the truly health conscious would opt for rotten tomatoes. Less than 50 calories per splat.

Click here for the next page of wet and messy pictures.

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Last modified 12 September 2022.