winter 2013-14 the morris ring · while we listened to pachelbel’s canon in d major, but the most...

SteveAdamson1955 - 2013

The Morris Ring3 2 8 17

ISSUE 69Winter 2013-14

Full contentson back page

Steve Adamson with admirers at Willaston-in-Wirralduring the Liverpool Meeting in 2008. Little Willie preparesto collect.

Mersey Morris Men

Charlie Corcoran joined members of Steve's family, friends andcolleagues to celebrate the life and achievements of the formerMorris Ring Treasurer at his funeral in Shipleyon December 13th

The high esteem in which Steve was held is clearlydemonstrated by the attendance of 160 plus

people representing 50 or so sides from all over thecountry and across all three of the Morrisorganisations who attended his funeral. In additionhis family received many many more expressions ofcondolence and regret at being unable to attend.Christine, Steve’s older sister, and his twin Michael,set the scene – the funeral was definitely acelebration of BfB’s life. His siblings both painted anamusing, poignant picture of someone who hadbeen larger than life, for part of the time literally, inwhat they said. Steve had always, it would seem, asingle-minded determination to do well at whateverhe got involved with. Bob Carter, formerly of Boar’sHead Morris and more recently of Great YorkshireMorris, reminisced about Steve’s early days in theMorris and Bob Cross spoke about more recenttimes. Peter Halfpenney led the singing of theHolmfirth Anthem (Pratty Flowers), the Jockeymusicians led a medley of Steve’s favouriteCotswold tunes and there was a period of reflectionwhile we listened to Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major,but the most moving moment was listening to arecording of Steve playing Nella Fantasia by EnnioMorricone.I recalled what Bob Bradley, of HorwichPrize MedalMorris Men, had penned as this summed up what somany others have said and written:

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David Blick, Gloucestershire's very ownfolk music dynamo, and founding Squire ofthe Forest of Dean Morris Men, is honouredby English Folk Dance and Song Society

VorestGold!

Singer, melodeon maestro,dance caller, Morris man: folk

animateur supreme David Blickstarted his adventures in theworld of traditional dance andsong in Coronation year, when hewitnessed a performance by theMorris side he quickly joined:Northampton Morris Men. Fiftyyears on he celebrates his ownelevation to greatness as anEnglish Folk Dance and SongSociety Gold Award recipient.

This highest honour in theSociety's gift recognises "the verybest in folk art". Dave devoted those early years toexploring the wealth of thetradition and honing hisperformance and organisationaltalents; national service inGermany gave him yet anotheroutlet for his enthusiasms. Davereturned to Northampton MorrisMen in 1960, then teachertraining in London gave

David Blick with Baroness JanetRoyall at the presentation of hisEFDSS Gold Badge at TayntonHarvest Home on October 5th

Tom Mockford

Steve was one ofMorris’s real charactersand someone who workedextremely hard for theMorris Ring as anorganisation and for thebenefit of dancers,musicians and fansthroughout the land.As a team we didn’t comeacross Steve very often, sodidn’t know him well. Hewas a significant presenceat the Morris meetingsthat Horwich attended.We were aware of hiswork as treasurer, adifficult task in managingthe income and spendingof significant sums ofmoney and in reportingclearly at AnnualR e p r e s e n t a t i v e sMeetings. We have beenimpressed with the way hedeveloped the MorrisShop, so that it was ablenot only to respond to thespecific, minority needs ofMorris dancers, for bells,sources of fabric forbaldrics and otherwearables, but in the wayhe built up the stock ofbooks and recorded music,almost impossible to findat the time in other

“mainstream” outlets. Onat least one occasion Steveloaded up his well-travelled car to bring theshop to one of the earlyDays for St. George inHorwich.Although we didn’t knowSteve well it was obviousthat behind the bluff, WestRiding exterior, there wasa quiet, serious, andthoughtful man.

From my personal point of viewnot only is Steve’s passing is agreat loss to the Morris—it is agreat loss to me. Over the yearswhen we were the ‘civil service’ ofthe Morris Ring, we developed agreat camaraderie andfriendship. We frequentlytravelled to Morris eventstogether, with me squeezed intothe ‘Tardis’ amongst boxes, bells,CDs and most importantly hisindustrial sized flask of YorkshireTea. On several occasions Iarrived at our destination with teastains on my whites – it is not easyto pour tea carefully when a lorryin front stops suddenly.Conversations on these journeyswere wide-ranging coveringalmost everything. I now know agreat deal about tanks and howthey are different from mounted

guns; how pewter tankards aremade—and how the handlessurvive when a house is gutted byfire (they fall to the floor whensaid tankards are hung fromhooks around the wall and thebody of the tankard melts in theheat); I know how to avoid payingwater rates and how to construct agreenhouse complex on anallotment from stuff gleanedfrom skips. He was one of the firstpeople I knew to become adisciple of ebay and I wasconstantly regaled with stories ofbargains gained and deals struck.I regret that I did not take him upon the offer of a personalinstructional in how it works.Ebay brings me back to the shop.Birmingham Pressed metalproducts; Irish and Indiansources of handkerchiefs;Elephant Records; black and bluebooks—the list is endless. WhenSteve embarked on a projectthere were no half measures.From one table to two plusextensions, the gazebo, the signs,the banter about his special offers– two for the price of three.Steve was a great friend of theMorris Ring and of all of us…hewill be greatly missed.

CharlieCorcoranis Bagmanof the Morris Ring

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THE MORRIS RING CIRCULAR Issue 69 Winter 2013-14

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The weather has been amazingthis summer; for once we

seemed to have a proper summer.For me, thoughts turned to 1976;obviously not as hot, but assettled. Its not often in the UKthat you can plan a BBQ a week inadvance, but this year we could.After Copenhagen and theSilkeborg Meeting, I took thetrain into Sweden to visit friendsnear the Fasltebo BirdObservatory so I could do a fewdays birding. The autumnmigration should have been infull swing, but it had hardlystarted – blame it on the goodweather – as the birds had hardlystarted on their journey south.Oh well, another time! Backhome in Dartmouth, it was RoyalRegatta, and thesailing, air show,fireworks etcwere all in fullswing. Goodtime to dance,with 50,000visitors, but myside let me downand couldn't get6 out to dance, soI watched theRed Arrows inthe company of apast Squire andhis lady, withoutthe interruptionof dancing.The first day ofSeptember, aSunday, wasDartington Dayof Dance, which is held on the firstSunday of September (exceptnext year) in and around Totnes.We always invite local sides,usually from South Devon, butthis year we spread our wings andincluded Cornwall! Exeter,Plymouth and Trigg representedthe Morris Ring, plus 3 sides from

the Fed. We mainly danced on thePlain and partook of Sundaylunch for £5 at the DartmouthArms. A nice relaxed day foreveryone I think.The following week found Iain,Tim and me off to Winchester fortheir walking tour of thathandsome city. Winchester MMwere joined by Long Man MM,Men of Wight and RavensbourneMM. Nice friends, nice pubs, nicedancing and good weather; whatmore could you ask. When I wasdriving a coach out of London forAmerican and Japanese tourists,Winchester was one of myfavourite destinations. Wedanced outside the Great Hall,the Butter Cross, where we weregrumped at by a stall holder in the

market and several other placesin wonderful weather, until, aftera guided tour of the Cathedral,came outside by the West Door todance by the War Memorial,where our audience included alovely lady the Deputy Mayor, but- oh dear! The weather broke, andwe danced in pouring rain. From

there it was to some almshousesfor a wonderful cream tea(however, cream was a bit thin byDevon standards) where we hadthunder and lightning, with theamazing sight of a fireball oflightning rushing down the streetoutside frightening all thesmokers. Another great day!The following weekend Julia andI took the ferry to Spain to spend 5weeks on Gibraltar ringingmigrating birds. We normallyrun the Bird Observatory therefor a month in the autumn, butthis year we had been asked to setour nets nearer to the north faceof the Rock; so joined by variouspeople over the period, andhelped by the British Forces onthe Rock, we put out 324 metres

of mist nets, andcaught 1159birds (plus 2 catsand a couple ofmonkeys). Ipopped back forthe AdvisoryCouncil meetingin Sheffield,staying with ourimmediate pastSquire andLesley, who verykindly madetheir splendidhouse availablefor the meetingon Sunday 13th

O c t o b e r .Thanks guys forcoming andgiving me the

benefit of your advice! To Gibfrom Manchester next day tofinalise our ringing. The day afterI got back to Devon it was back upto Sheffield with Iain and Tim fora weekend of Unconvention withThe Illustrious Order of Fools andBeasts, where I was fed andwatered quite royally

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Spring(ett)Watch Perfecttiming at the Anker Ale

Squire'sCapers

Robin Springett,Squire of the MorrisRing, looks back onthe latter part of theyear.


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him the chance to dancewith both Ravensbourne andLondon Pride Morris Men; healso enjoyed singing at IslingtonFolk Club and CecilSharp House.In 1965, Dave's teaching careertook him, wife Annie and theiryoung family to the Forest ofDean and a lecturing post at thelocal college, where he taughtengineering. Very soon Davefound himself dancing withGloucestershire Morris Men, andalso started the Forest of DeanFolksong Club. At Dave'sprompting, the club's membersbegan the revival of the oncevibrant and widespread Foresttradition of Morris dancing. Davewas the very first squire of theresultant Forest of Dean MorrisMen and remained their guidinglight for many years.Dave wanted a distinctiveregional feel to the new side's kit,and he and Annie set out toresearch the rag-jacket costumewhich was peculiar to the Forestof Dean and favoured by no less aperson than Alex Hunter, theMorris Ring's first Squire.Annie's degree in fashion designand Dave's feel for the traditioncombined to successfullyinterpret archive material left bySharp and by Wortley. The resultwas a practical rag jacket based onthe traditional 19C costume of thevillage of Ruardean. The youngside, now resplendent in theirdistinctive jackets, travelledwidely under Dave's stewardshipand were soon admitted tomembership of the Morris Ring.Dave Blick's ever-presentstriving for the widest possibleownership of traditional danceand music inspired him and hisfellows to establish the firstForest of Dean Family MorrisFestival in 1972. The Festival,now in its 43rd year, was designedas an event in which not onlyMorris men but also theirpartners and children couldparticipate. Countless Morrisfamilies, over the years, haverelished their stay in the Forest,with many returning onnumerous occasions.In 1972 David and Annie also

launched the Clearwell CastleFolk Club, a club frequented byfolk luminaries such as JakeThackeray, Fred Wedlock, andSwansea Jack among others. Justas important were new singerswho were constantly encouragedby Davidto “have a go”.Dave's engineering expertise andhis love of traditional music wereboth called into play when, in the

1970s, he collaborated withmusician Jim Jones to design andcreate high quality three-holepipes out of stainless steel. Theresult was a range of some of thebest tabor pipes ever made.Dave Blick then went on toresearch the Forest of Dean'sChristmas Mumming. His effortsunearthed three plays, each oneunique to the area: two werediscovered in a local library andthe third was handed to him byJimmy Prosser, an elderlygentleman of Newnham onSevern. Not content withensuring that this preciousmaterial was preserved bysending the scripts to theVaughan Williams Folk Library,Dave also formed the ForestMummers to bring the plays,once more, to life. The Mummersstill venture out each Christmas,

and to date their efforts haveraised over twenty thousandpounds for local charities.In the 1990sDave discovered thatEngland had not beenrepresented at the LlangollenInternational Eisteddfod for 20years. He remedied this byforming an English folk dancegroup, Castiard, which has nowrepresented England three times.

Thanks to his coaching they havebeen placed as high as joint 6th inthe judging. David Blick continues to driveforward the traditional repertoireof the Forest of Dean's rich folkheritage, with seemingly nopause to draw breath. For half acentury he has taught, led, cajoledand inspired generations ofdancers, singers, musicians andplayers. His award of the EnglishFolk Dance and Song's highesttoken of appreciation justlyrecognises the tireless work of aremarkable Morris man.

Songs from the Garden Room, a CDof 22 of his favourite folk songs sungby David Blick, is now available.Contact Dave Marcoveccio([email protected],07969 665 923) for details.

Forest of Dean Morris Men in1992 with DavidBlick top right

Forest of Dean Morris Men

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(check them out onYouTube doing Vandals on theDodgems). A day dancing inSheffield centre was interesting,but we had surprisingly goodweather; the worst rain was whistwe were being fed by J DWeatherspoon, and theafternoon, positively balmy. Thefeast was in a pub called the ShinySheff, referring to HMS Sheffieldof WW2 fame; I knew the laterone that was sunk by an Exocet inthe Falklands. Anyway, thelandlord looked after us reallywell, producing a feast ofquantity, quality and variety todelight us all. On the way back tothe Scout hut, the promisedstorm struck, and the Scout hutovernight on the Saturday wasinteresting, as it was under aconker tree and the gales keptconkers bouncing off the roof allnight … queue lots of small boysnext morning searching forconkers! The South Devoncontingent slipped away afterbreakfast, leaving theUnconvention to hold the AGM.Another wonderful weekend! Moving into November, I am

conscious of all the effort beingput into Children in Need, but Iam also aware of the terribledevastation in Sri Lanka and thelikelihood that many sides willwant to contribute to that appeal.I leave it up to the good judgementof you all of course.My final away weekend this yearwas to Nuneaton for the AnkerAle. The weather forecast for theSaturday was particularly bad,and we were expecting amiserable drive. As it turned out,Tim and I drove up in pretty goodweather and arrived at theBrewery Tap before almosteveryone else! We enjoyed acouple of nice pints there, even ifthe “mild” was really a “porter”and then went to DaveArrowsmith's where Pat kindlymade us welcome until we weredue at the Ale. OK, so I alwaysbang on about how important it isto meet and chat with old friends,and this was no exception, but Iwas able to meet quite a fewyoungsters as well! The alestarted off with Anker's oldSquire dancing out and the newSquire dancing in; interestingly,

p3 from their oldest member to theiryoungest! The dancing before themeal was fast and great fun, with awell judged programme ofdances. After about an hour westopped for the food and someexcellent singing; followed by thesecond half of the dancing, whichbecame very frantic at times.Good dancing, good beer, goodfood, what more can we ask for!The down side for me was theneed to get up and leave by 05.30;it being Remembrance Sunday,and as a town councillor, I had tobe in Dartmouth for the annualRemembrance event. As it turnedout, we drove home in wonderfulweather, the dawn over Stratfordon Avon from the M42 was quitememorable, and I was indoorsbefore 09.30! I have declined all otherinvitations before Christmas, as Iam off to The Gambia leading abird watching trip. Back in timefor Christmas with family, thenBoxing Day and New Year to lookforward to and the DartingtonMummers Play as well!

Greetings All! Robin

There was an enormous turn out of morris and sword dancers at the celebration of the life of Ivor Allsop inNovember 2012, including many former and current Morris Ring officers, and I took the opportunity to drag

them away from their pints to take the accompanying photograph, writes Derek Schofield.

L to R Charlie Corcoran current Bagman, Bert Cleaver Squire 1970-72, Paul Reece Squire 2006-08,Brian Tasker Squire 2008-10, Robin Springett current Squire, Tim Sercombe Squire 1996-98, Mike GarlandSquire 1988-90 & Bagman 1977-84, Cliff Marchant Squire 2002-04, Peter Halfpenney Squire 2010-12, RogerComley, Squire's Fool, Bob Cross Squire 2004-06, Mike Chandler Squire 1990-92, Ray King Squire 1984-86,John FrearsonBagman1998-05, Keith FrancisBagman1984-91, Steven Archer current Treasurer.

GeoffJerram(Squire 1986-88) and Barry Care (Squire 1982-84) were in attendance but unable to stay for thephotograph. Not present were surviving former Squires David Welti(1976-78), Richard Hankinson(1994-96),Daniel Fox (1998-00) and Gerald Willey(2000-02) and former Bagmen John Wells (1971-77), ChasArnold(1991-95) and Tony Parsons (1995-98).

Morris Ring Officers celebrate the life of IvorAllsop

DerekSchofield is Editor of English Dance and Song, the magazine of the EFDSS


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splendid celebration dinner washeld in the (very nice) dining hall.White Rose men from as far backas the original side and othersfrom later years attended. Apoignant moment occurred whenCliff Barstow, founder of the sidein 1953, saluted son Ned who inturn saluted 18 year-old sonJoseph, who danced a double-jig(Nutting Girl) with his cousin

Liam. White Rose is a side withreal family tradition! Music andbonhomie, with the occasionalglass of beer, followed until theearly hours.Sunday lunchtime saw everyonedancing in front of HuddersfieldRailway Station's neo-classicalCorinthian façade, followed byfond farewells – till next time.It doesn’t seem two minutes

since the 50th weekend,” saidsomeone. Two minutes? Blimey,it’s ten years on and White Roseare sixty years old!We took a chance and organised aweekend at the very beginning ofMay, hoping the weather godswould be kind to us (they were).We decided to invite friends,people we regularly dance with -although some we don’t see forseveral years at a time – for aproper reunion. Joining us inHuddersfield that day wereKemp's Men, Hexham MorrisMen, Rivington Morris,Persephone Morris, SouthportSwords, Rose & Castle Morris,Silkstone Greens and LeedsMorris Men - all there to help uscelebrate sixty years of WhiteRose Morris Men.We had three coach tours: onealong the Calder Valley to Halifax

and Hebden Bridge, another toEmleyand onto Cannon Hall, andthe third up the Colne Valley toSlaithwaite (‘Slawut’), Marsdenand Uppermill. A nice day’sdancing with a variety of stylesand traditions, all of high quality.The weekend was based atHuddersfield New College and a

“

Not bad for sixty! Will Hampsonfacingand DougKellof WhiteRose Morris Men get steam upoutside Huddersfield Station

Huddersfield Examiner

At LinthwaiteHexhamMorrisMen

West YorkshireWonders

White Rose Morris Menmarked their goldenjubilee with a weekend toremember, writes SquireRichardFowler


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On the morning of Saturday 7September nine young

Morris dancersbetween the agesof 13 and 20 stepped intoMayfield Primary School hall in

Cambridge. Already members ofMorris Ring sides in the east ofEngland and each with at leasttwo years dancing experience,several with much more, theywere keen to meet each other andextend their experience of Morrisin the company of others of theirown age-group.The workshop was led by PastSquire of the Morris Ring, MikeGarland of East Suffolk MM, witha challenging programme for theday.After a short introduction the firstsession began. The aim of thesession was to explore differencesbetween traditions – wide sets –

narrow sets – different capers –hand movements. The second session exploredvisual characteristics of setformation, horizontal andvertical movement and theperformance as theatre. Danceslearned during the day wereCuckoo’s Nest, Bledington;Twenty-ninth of May,Headington; Black Joke,Adderbury; Rose Tree, Bampton;Shepherd’s Hey, Wheatley; andShepherd’sHey, Ravensthorpe (astick dance).The third session explored oldways and new ways in thedevelopment of dances. Duringthis session the group dividedinto two to invent a new figure.This was followed by anopportunity for individuals todemonstrate jigs - Princess Royalfrom Bampton, I’ll Go and Enlistfrom Sherborne and Nutting Girland None so Pretty fromFieldtown.The fourth session looked at adance that was new to everyone.Audlem Banks was named byBristol MM after the place wherethey made it up, but Mike referredto it by name of the tune that wasused, Banks of the Dee, in thestyle of Ascott-under-Wychwood. Working in thecolumnar format the groupidentified and incorporatedDifference, Movement andTheatre to create an impressivedance thatwas new to alla n ddistinctively“Ascott” instyle.During theg r o u pdiscussion allof theparticipantsarranged toe x c h a n g eemail addresses, collect feedbackof the day and ideas for the future.By the end of the day all were

agreed that we had achieved ourprimary goal: “to developfriendship and mutual support ina cohort of boys and young menthat can perform together andbecome a beacon for prospectivedancers of a similar age”. If proof were needed of this, thevery next day Kemp’s Men ofNorwich and Peterborough

Morris joined with The King’sMen for their annual walking tourof Thornham. Five of theworkshop participants werepresent and had soon augmentedtheir numbers to danceBledington Cuckoo’s Nest,Headington 29th of May andRavensthorpe Shepherds Hey toan enthusiastic reception byaudience and other dancers. The next week saw Kemp’s Menand Rutland Morris Men tour theBittern Heritage Railway Lineinto Norwich. The Eastern DailyPress quoted Peter Mayne of

Kemp’s Men: “Oneof the great highpoints… was thatwe had some youngpeople with us - one14 and two 16 yearolds who recentlywent on a Morrisdancing weekendaway inCambridgeshireand were able tocome back to show

what they had learned.”We appointed a Child ProtectionOfficer, Mike Jones of

The Great Eastern Morris Workshop

Mike Stevensshowcases amajor innovationin youth dance

First steps Mike Garland and studentsMike Stevens

Inspired DavidDolbyin actionMike Jones

High achievers MayfieldstyleMike Stevens

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Kemp’s Men, whodeveloped a policy statementbased on the Morris Ring’spublished policy and including asection for a parent to set andagree the arrangements for theirown child.For local arrangements we

worked through the bagman ofthe local side, in this case GrahamCox of Cambridge MM. We werethus able to take advantage of theschool relationship already inplace and organise the daythrough a Ring member sideensuring third party insurancecover. We were also able toarrange to collect hot food, freshsalad, fruit and drinks for lunch.All communications withprospective attendees werethrough their “home” side.Individual email addresses forunder-18s were not used, for veryobvious reasons.Grateful thanks are due to mycolleagues Graham Cox and MikeJones, to Mike Garland for anexcellent workshop and DavidDolby for really danceable music.Thanks are also due to the MorrisRing for its generous financialsupport.

Mike Stevens is the Morris Ring'sEastern Area Representative

Graduation Cuckoo’sNestat TheOld Coach and Horses, Thornham.

P. Phillipson

It's not often you run into apublishing tycoon, a Nobel

Laureate and a Bollywood SuperStar on the same day, unless youare a member of RavensbourneMorris Men. I have heard ofBollywood — who hasn’t? — butwhat I did not realise at the timewas that half a billion Indianmales would have happily killedto have been in such closeproximity to this Indian SuperStar, let alone touch Her. Thisrealisation only came when a bitlater on, at a stand in London, ayoung couple came up to me andasked to be photographed withsome of the RMM just because wehad been in the same garden asHer! What was going on?On the Julyafternoon inquestion, RMMwere invited todance at aw e d d i n greception in arather nice partof London, and Imean RatherNice. A few beersand a good lunchwere takenbefore we madeour way to the“ s e c r e t ”location. “Weare here to danceat the weddingreception!” Iblurted out tothis rather large chap withmuscles on his muscles. “Let mecheck,” he said in a strangelygentlemanly voice that youinstantly knew did not allow for

any further elaboration. “OK,” hesaid and we were put into a sideroom half the size of my house toawait the call. “Would you like adrink while you wait for theguests to arrive,” offered themaitre d', “and please keep asquiet as possible as you are asurprise.” So after 2 picosecondsof consideration, we indicatedthat yes, indeed we would be ableto accommodate a beer whileawaiting the summons toperform, while continuing tomarvel at this reasonably priced£12 million property.Time passed by, the call came andwe tramped out to start our standin the brilliant sunshine of thegarden. Already seated, anxious

to see us dancethe traditionalEnglish Morris,were the parentsof the bride, onefamously knownaround theplanet as theNobel Laureatee c o n o m i s tAmartya Sen.Fine, thenappeared thehappy couple.John Makinsoncut a verydistinctive figureas theBridegroom, thenoted Chairman

and CEO of the Penguin Group(worldwide) i.e. a publishingtycoon to boot. On his arm was thevery lovely bride Nandana Sen(did I mention she was lovely?)and apparently she has

Above it allMrsM. &her supporters

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BromleymeetsBollywood

RavensbourneMorris Menhorse around with penguinsand filmstars.JimPitts tells all


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some presence on theBollywood scene. Presence?“She's more famous than Jesus,”as John Lennonwould say!So picture the scene: JohnMakinson, publishing magnate,hardly raising a sweat inShepherds Hey, followed byNandana Sen of Bollywood fameand the horse sidling up to eachother and jogging about, reallygetting into the spirit of it all.

Then Nandana Sen volunteeredto join us as our “rose” in The RoseTree. Yes, the chosen six not onlygot to dance with one ofBollywoods Super-super stars,but got to grab her legs and hoisther up as well! In hindsight Ireally wish I knew this at the timeas I would have savoured themoment even more realising thataround 655,875,026 Indian maleswould have been actually really,

The very reasonably priced RavensbourneMorris Men and the delighted wedding party

Dear Editor,

The mention of Pudseyin the last issue of the MorrisRing Circular prompts me to attach a photo ofTowerseyMorris Men with Pudsey.

Supplemented by John Bush of Whitchurch MM andRoger Comley, our area rep, we were hired as extras toappear in a feature film starring the other "Pudsey".

The photo shows us at the end of a day's shooting (notAdderbury) with the dog that won Britain's got Talenta couple of years ago and Ashleigh, his owner/trainer.

Regards

TonyMerry BagmanRetired

TowerseyMorris Men

Towersey Morris Men with Morris Ring SouthMidlands Area Representative Roger Comley, JohnBush, Ashleighand, erm, Pudsey

TowerseyMorris Men

...and Tinsel Town beckons TowerseyMorris Men

really jealous of little old me.Still, I fully intend to milk this forall it’sworth. So I am just off to theRaj of India for some free nosh inexchange of a copy of thephotograph to go in pride of placeon their wall with both the famousRMM and Dad, the NobelLaureate (well this is Orpington,and every little helps!).

Photos: Ravensbourne Morris Men

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Following the mass excursion to Adelaide in March 2013, Morris Ringsides enjoyed hospitality a little closer to home during the year at meetingshosted by Thaxted Morris Men, Dolphin Morris Men, Martlets Sword andMorris Men and (just across the North Sea) SilkeborgMorris Men.

THAXTEDMORRIS MEN31 May-2June 2013 Images by StevenArcher

336thMeeting

Quintessential Thaxted

Thaxted Flyer Toby Melville,airborne, Jon Melville,concertina.Squire of the RingRobin Springett, far right,looks on (and up).

The massed display with host side ThaxtedMorris Men, far left


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I started dancing with MerseyMorris Men at the beginning of

October 2012 having neverpreviously double-stepped,capered or galleyed. It had beenexplained to me about the MorrisRing and the fun that can be hadat their weekends away with lotsof other Morris Men at what isknown in some circles as a RingMeeting. Now when I first heardtalk of such things I was a little bitconfused, as I wondered if I wasgoing to be meeting BilboB a g g i n s ,Gandalf, Gollumand so on. And doyou know, havingnow been to suchan event, I wasn’tvery far off!The title of thispiece promisestales of dolphinsamong the cowpats. And forwhy? Well, in Nottinghamshirethere lives a group (or should thatbe pod?) of dolphins. They arevery nice, friendly dolphins anddance very well. They are theDolphin Morris Men and theyhosted my first experience of aRing Meeting (or, as I now knowto call it, a hosted meeting ofMorris Ring sides. Thank you, MrEditor). The Meeting took place in thevery pleasant, rural village ofSutton Bonnington. It is aquintessentially English villagewith a couple of pubs, a couple of

Dolphin Morris Men45thAnniversary

337thMeeting21-23 June 2013

SUTTONBONINGTON

churches, a couple of shops andcottages-with-roses-round-the-doors and it is surrounded byruralness. This means fields.Unlike at my only otherexperience of Morris frivolity –the Forest of Dean Morris Men’sFamily Weekend – no extraneouswives/partners/family wereinvited. These are strict dancersand musician only events – andwe were camping, in tents. Now Iassumed, not unreasonably, thatthis would mean a campsite withproper pitches for the tents and

toilets and shower blocks. Oh no,not here. This was a field that wasusually the home to what are I’msure is a very nice herd of cows.The problem is that they had onlyvacated it the day before and largeareas of it were still steaming.Once we had steered our waythrough these and found enoughcleanish grass we made camp.The ‘facilities’ consisted of loosand showers of the porta- varietyand a small marquee that hadtea/coffee making facilities and abarrel of beer – arguably the onlycivilised thing there. Oh, and it

started to rain!The weekend followed what I’mtold is a fairly standard format,with a leisurely meal and a fewdrinks on the Friday evening andthen off for a couple of coach tourson the Saturday with the additionof quite a lot of rain. On theSaturday evening I had assumedit would be similar to the Friday,but no. There was not just foodnor even a meal – but a feast! Weall had to stay dressed in kit andwe all had to gather together atthe same time. Tables had beenlaid in the church hall and wewere waited on by members of theDolphin Morris Men. There waseven a ‘top-table’ for theImportant People. I assumedthese would be those who had hadtheir own special coachthroughout the day.The food was very nice and thebeer flowed very freely. We evenall had our own bottle of speciallybrewed beer to take home. Afterthe meal, sorry, feast, I was

getting ready fora stroll to thepub and a littlenightcap, butwas told I had towait for thespeeches. Thefirst to his feetwas the Squireof the Ring. Hethanked us forcoming and the

Dolphins for hosting theweekend. Then the Squire ofDolphins got up and thanked theSquire of the Ring and proposedsome toasts. The first to theQueen (I hadn’t noticed her comein) and then one to someonecalled Cecil Sharp. “But who he?”I wondered aloud.Sounds of stifled gasps and oldmen fainting at my irreverenceand lack of knowledge ran roundthe room. I was quickly informedthat in Morris circles (or rings) hehas God-like status, for it was hewho spent a large part of

Sunday morning in SuttonBoningtonFrom hosannas to hostelry

Matthew King, of MerseyMorris Men, offers a first-timer's tale of dolphinsamidst the cow pats

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his life gathering andwriting down the dances andtunes that inform all we do.Then someone else from one ofthe other sides got up andthanked the hosts for theweekend and then someone fromthe hosts stood up and thankedthe thanker, and then someoneelse… you get the idea, I’m sure.Fortunately by about 10.30 thegentle sound of snoring rousedpeople sufficiently for them torealise there was a pub to go to, sowe did. Such, apparently, are thequaint traditions of these events.Another quaint tradition is that ofthe church service on the Sundaymorning. The purpose of this is tobless the Staves. What? When aMorris side applies to join and isinaugurated into The MorrisRing, they are given their officialStaff of Office. This consists of alength of broom handle about 2feet long with some ribbons tiedround it. At the service they are allplaced on the altar in church andblessed by the vicar. And then, ofcourse, the hosts do a little dance!Each side then had a couple ofdances outside the church (in therain) before the procession to thepub for more dancing and a hogroast lunch. But, this beingMorris we didn’t just walk to thepub – oh no! – we Winstered.Another gap in my knowledge! Iwas given a quick lesson in thisancient art. ‘OK’, I thought, ‘I canmanage that’. About 20 minutesand three-quarters of a mile laterI was somewhat cursing whoeverhad come up with that mad idea!In the end, despite the rain andthe speeches, I had thoroughlyenjoyed what was a very goodweekend and I look forward tomany more in the future – I justhope that they are taken a bit lessseriously! Dolphin Morris Mengave us a great meeting;congratulations on 45 years ofmagnificent music and dance,and huge thanks for making thisfirst-timer feel so welcome.

On Friday 5th July the suncame out and stayed that way

which provided a start to afantastic weekend of friendship,fun and good dancing. The basewas Westergate CommunitySchool which had goodaccommodation and each clubhad its own classroom, togetherwith a room for female musicians,with the Martlets taking over theyouth wing. The catering, of ahigh standard, was provided byInnovate, the school's caterers.Clubs started to arrive from6.30pm with the bar opening at7.00pm and the evening mealbeing available from 7.30pm.Soon everyone was booked in andsettled into their rooms. It did nottake long beforethere was a buzzabout the placewith a "songclub" starting at9.00pm in theroom above thedining hall.Martlet's SteveMatcham askedsome local singers to come in forthe evening and soon a good singaround was taking place. This wasa new venture at a Morris Ringmeeting which met with generalapproval. It will be interesting tosee if this is taken up at futuremeetings. The men not wishing tosing danced in the hall under theleadership of Ken Hudson.Others found the back gate to the

school and made their way to the"Wilkes Head" where they founda beer festival taking place andsoon there was more music and

singing taking place.On Saturday morning the sun wasshining we were all up ready for ahearty breakfast at 7.00am andthen into costume ready for thedays tours. The buses arrived at8.45 ready for a 9.15 departure.One tour visited Chichester,Emsworth, Havant and Bosham.Another tour went to Itchenor,

East Wittering,Chichester YachtClub and theChichester CanalBasin. A thirdtour visitedBognor Regis,Littlehamptonand Arundel.At 3.30 all sides

came to Chichester Cathedralgreen for a massed display ofMorris and sword dancing. TheMartlets had the honour of beingthe first side to dance, and theirdance was Old Trunkels. This wasfollowed by all sides performing ashow dance with massed dancinginterspersed throughout.As local newspaper TheChichester Observer

Peter Davey reportson his side's goldenjubilee weekend onthe sunny south coast WessexMorris Men in Havant

At the CathedralThe host side performs

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MARTLET SWORD& MORRIS MEN60thAnniversary338thMeeting5-7 July 2013 CHICHESTER


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had it, "A heartwarmingperformance saw 200 morrisdancers from all over the country.Men gathered to celebrate the60th anniversary of the MartletSword and Morris Men".Following the massed display itwas all on the buses and back to

Westergate for tea and coffee anda break before the Morris Feast.At the reception before the Feastthey welcomed Councillor AlanChaplin, Mayor of Chichester,and Hazel Barkworth, widow ofthe late founder memberTerence, accompanied by Brianher son-in-law. We all sat downfor the Feast at 7.30 where wewere treated to Leek and Potatosoup, Beef and Ale Cobbler andhome made trifle and fresh fruit.Our guest speakers were RobinSpringett, Squire of the Ring (theLoyal toast); Geoff Jerram,Winchester (the ImmortalMemory); Peter North, Squire ofMartlets (Our Guests) and DavidSeaborne, Westminster whoreplied on behalf of our guests.Presentations were made toFestival Director Peter Davey forthe organisation of the weekendand to Peter North for hismembership of the Martlets for60 years. No feast would becomplete without the Squire ofthe Morris Ring inviting some ofthe visiting sides to give us a songor two. Following the formal part of theevening coffee was served whilethe tables were cleared away tomake room for some dancing,

Dartington showing us that theystill had more energy than most ofthe rest of us. Music and singing was led byTrigg in the school canteen whichcarried on into the early hours.Sunday morning was anotherbeautiful summers day, with anearly breakfast and on to St PaulsChurch Chichester for a 10.00service. Robin Springett read alesson and the Martlets dancedThe Barkworth Lads during theservice. After the service it wasover the road to the FestivalTheatre for the finalperformances of the weekend,and what a stroke of luck theyhad! The men were due to danceoutside the old theatre which isbeing rebuilt but to everyone’delight the contractors were inthe process of laying a woodenpathway to the temporary theatrein the park which provided anideal stage area. Once again theMartlets had the honour ofstarting the display this time withthe British Grenadier. All thevisiting sides performed a showdance with some massed dancesmixed in, and with the last BonnyGreen the celebrations ended.Lunch was served in the ChurchHall. Everyone said theirfarewells and the clubs departed

following a very enjoyableweekend of celebrations.In attendance were Trigg, GreatYorkshire, Dartington, Men ofWight, Green Man's, EastSuffolk, Ravensbourne, Ripley,Thaxted, Victory, Wessex,

Westminster,Whitchurch andWinchester.An excellent video to nearprofessional standards was madeby Honorary Martlet, TonyWhite, and copies are availablefor £6 from Peter Davey([email protected]).

Line dancersWinchester Morris Men play it straight in Chichester

Well organised! Squire of the MorrisRing Robin Springettwith the author

Press button B and get yourGreat Yorkshire Morris back

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After hosting a Day of Dance inCopenhagen in 2009

Silkeborg Morris Men decided totry out a full meeting inCopenhagen. Three English sides(Bathhampton, Shakespeare andKing’s Lynn), Helmond fromHolland, Pete and Jim fromIlmington, Chris from DurhamRams, the Morris Ring Officersand of course the host side fromSilkeborgparticipated.The weekend was blessed withbeautiful summer weather.Friday evening was anopportunity to visit Christiania(notorious free-town withabundant supply of funnytobacco, uppers and downers).After supper most sides spent theevening dancing and minglingwith the locals on the harbourarea and pubs.On Saturday the sides were ontwo different tours in centralCopenhagen. This demanded agood deal of walking, buteverything worked out well, andas true Morris Men everyone did

their part. The tours ended at theweekend church market by St.Alban’s Church close to The LittleMermaid. The feast was heldoutside the centre of the city, butthe British Ambassador, Ms.Vivien Life, found her way and

attended all evening giving anenthusiastic speech.Sunday morning started with along Winster Processional alongthe old harbour (oddly calledNyhavn) past the Royal Palacewith the Opera and old sailingships as a perfect setting. Theservice was held in St. Alban’s

English Church, and the sidesfinished the weekend dancing onthe church lawn and having a pintat the harbour. Silkeborg MorrisMen were especially proud topresent by far the youngest side,which could account for them

seeing no problem in longwalking tours and we rounded offthe tour dancing an energeticUpton on Severn as taught us byDouglas from Wisconsin.We are very satisfied with the waythings turned out though hostinga Morris Ring meeting away fromhome presented a few extrachallenges. Luckily we haveGlenn from Kings and Uffe fromSilkeborgliving in Copenhagen tomake many of our arrangementsand not to forget Jacob – ouryoung, energetic foreman. Asalways it is a pleasure to bearound Morris Men, to enjoytheir dancing, their spirit andtheir fantastic tradition for songsof all kinds not to forget somebrilliant female musicians. Lastbut not least we would like tothank Robin Springett forguiding us safely and knowinglythrough the weekend.

Photos: SilkeborgMorris Men

SILKEBORGMORRIS MEN339thMeeting 23-25 August 2013KØBENHAVNSilkeborgMorris Men took their guests to Denmark's capitalcity for their meeting, as BagmanJacobChristensenreports

Ringing wet Ruud Verhoeven,squire of Helmond Morris Men,performs Nutting Girl in a moistcorner of Copenhagen

Sunday morningAlong the Nyhavnto morning service


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In my early dancing days, moredecades ago than I'd care to

admit to, I was involved in a groupcalling itself 'Sods Morris', as inSouthern Occasional Days. Themembers, drawn from a numberof clubs along the South Coast,had a common cause –tocelebrate their youth with verve,vigour, and interpretation awayfrom the constraints imposed bytheir clubs. We performed jigsand occasionally brought themtogether into a set therebycreating our own rules and style.It was from this dancing that myinterest in Jigs evolved and hasstayed with me ever since. I like tothink the 'Sods' paved the way fortoday’s teams like the 18-30s, theJigs Crew, and no doubt others Ihaven't heard of. The Jigs Instructional had itsorigins as an ongoing annualevent in the 1970s, I believe, andwas led by Bert Cleaver (Squire,1970-72) and hosted byGreensleeves MM. Most of theearly meetings were held at Sarratbut moved to SuttonBoningtoninthe 1990shosted by Dolphin MM.I became involved in the late 80steaching a couple of traditionsa n doccasionallyas musician. The delegatesat that timew e r eexperiencedC o t s w o l ddancers whoknew the setdances buthad little or noknowledge of solo dancing in theform of Jigs. Following the moveto Sutton Bonington and the

availability of extra venues in thevillage the target audiencebroadened to encompass variouslevels of experience; we runparallel sessions for experienceddancers and for relativebeginners. More recently we haveencouraged absolute beginnersusing the Jig as a vehicle forlearning to dance (as opposed todances). Whereas in its early days theInstructional's aim wasspecifically to teach Jigs andhence encourage their inclusionin teams' displays, the varyinglevels of experience and expertisewe see now has brought aboutanother subtle change ofemphasis. We now spend moretime on the steps and evolutionsspecific to the tradition beingtaught and use the Jig as a meansof putting those movements intopractise. This approach is usedfor both the 'novice' and'advanced' streams although atthe latter level it is assumed thedancer has a fairly extensiveknowledge of the set dances and isable to adapt to the style beingtaught. This concentration on thefine points of the tradition, even

for the experienceddancer, has beenfamously describedby one Past Squireas 'giving yourMorris an MOT'. It has always beenthe case thatdancing is bestlearnt from anexperienced dancerrather than from

some inanimate source such as abook. Lionel Bacon, in theforeword to his 'Handbook of

Morris Dances', states that it isnot a primer—it provides areference to what to dance, nothow. At the time the book waswritten the only reliable source ofguidance would be anotherexperienced dancer from whomone could learn not only what, buthow and why. With today's wideaccess to such sources asYouTube, etc, the edges may be alittle more blurred, but for onemajor exception; namely youcan't argue with or question avideo. Discussions such as theestablished authority behindwhat is being taught, the reasonswhy a movement is performed insuch a way, and the teacher'sinterpretation, form an essentialelement of the Jigs Instructional,an element that cannot reliably becarried by present-daytechnologies. We do not set out to impose anyspecific style apart from a degreeof conformity, solely for theduration of the weekend, so thatwe can establish common groundfor teaching—('singing from thesame hymnsheet' as the sayinggoes). It has always beenrecognised that dancers willbring their own club styles andinterpretations. Our function isto teach the movements of the jigdrawing on established

Geoff Jerram, Past Squire of the MorrisRing (1986-88) and organiser of the MorrisRing's annual Jigs Instructional weekend,reflects on its changing role over the years

Giving ye Morris an MOT An earlyalumnusof the Instructional?

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authorities of howdances used to be performed(Cecil Sharp, Lionel Bacon, theTravelling Morrice, and so on) asfar as they are known. Thedancers are free to adopt theirown style, one of the attractions ofthe solo jig being, after all, toperform without the constraintsimposed by a set dance andthereby allow a more expressive,even flambouyant, presentation. This approach differs slightly, Ibelieve, from that taken by otherworkshops such as those run bythe Outside Capering Crew, forexample, who encouragedeviation and the exploration ofalternatives and embellishments.1

The Morris Ring JigsInstructional provides thegroundwork based upontraditional sources and then letsthe participants seek their ownvariants, perhaps with theassistance of these otherworkshops. To this extent they donot exert any influence on thework we do butarguably theconverse may betrue. I leaveothers to judge! And talking ofJudging, Ipersonally havealways beensuspicious off o r m a lcompetition andhave frequentlye m p h a s i s e d ,when asked, thatMorris dancersdiffer fromsportsmen andwomen in thatwe do notcompete, beyondperhaps a little friendly rivalry.Judging implies a right or wrong,e.g. the winner has donesomething more correctly thanthe loser. This is not the case withMorris Dancing where there is nofirmly established set of rules by

which one can bejudged –or,perhaps I shouldsay any rulesevolve beforethey can becomeestablished. Atbest thereforesuch judgementsare ana d j u d i c a t i o nwhere, in theopinion of thejudge, oneperformance ismore pleasingthan another.Such judgementsare, in my view,s l i g h t l ydangerous because they carry agreat deal of influence but aresometimes based on nothingmore than a whim. In the case ofthe John Gasson competition Ihave seen a competitor win by useof what I regard as gimmickrybearing no relation to the dance.

As I said, it's alldown topersonal viewand in that casemine differedfrom the judges'.Who was right? Idon't seek ananswer to thatbut recognise I'llgenerate anarmy who'lldisagree with me–which is, ofcourse, mypoint. Havingvented thatp a r t i c u l a rspleen I waspleased, proud,to hear that one

winner had previously attendedthe Jigs Instructional.2

The Instructional weekend ishard work and involves sessionswhich start on the Friday eveningthen carry through to Sundaylunchtime. It has been noted that

we cover a largenumber of jigs,often all thoserecorded fromany giventradition - toomany to expectpeople to learnfully. Weprovide, as Ihave said, theg r o u n d w o r kand leave it tothe individual todecide whichtradition/jig toexplore morefully andenhance tomake it their

own. All the teachers andmusicians are available foradditional workshops, perhapsclub or regionally based, outsidethe scope of this weekend andmore specifically targeted toneeds. These do happen on afairly regular basis and frequentlyare open to all, ie. without thegender restrictions imposed bythe Sutton Bonington facilities orMorris Ring Constitution. Finally - the Music! The solodancer requires a differentmusical 'expression' from the setdance and the music must fit thedancer much more intimately. Inother words, no two jig dancersare the same (putting asidediscussion about double jigs) andtherefore a singular rendition ofthe music is unlikely to benefitmultiple dancers. This poses a bitof a problem! While we haveexpert jigs musicians they arethere for the benefit of the learnerdancers. To provide help tobudding musicians is acompletely different venture andalso requires the availability ofexpert jig dancers. Yes we havethem as well but they're a bitbusy! The Musicians'Instructional has attempted tohelp in the past but it is not asubject easily covered

Double jig 2: No, after you IanAmbrose left and Ian Stewart ofDolphin Morris Men

Dolphin Morris Men

Double jig 1: After you WinchesterMorris Men's Albert Wilkins right withthe author

Winchester Morris Men

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Eighty dancers and partnersenjoyed Peterborough

Morris Men's Day of Dance on awarm and sunny day onSeptember 28th. Guests fromFenstanton Morris, The King'sMorris, Rockingham Rapper,Bourne Borderers, LeicesterMorris Men and not forgettingMorris Ring Area RepresentativeRoger Comley started the day at10am on Cathedral Square beforeheading out of the city on theNeneValley railway.The warm weather was a bonusand the crowdwere delightedto see traditionaldancing andeven moredelighted when,w i t h o u twarning, thewater fountainsthat had beenout of actionmost of thesummer for repairs came on inthe middle of a set.With a train to catch dancersmade their way up the high streetcalling at Town Hall, Rivergateand Charters. A 45 minutesconnection time was taken atCharters where dancers andguests should have enjoyed aleisurely drink but themanagement of the bar opened30 minutes late which cut downthe opportunity to sample someof the fine ale.A short walk along the river sawthe dancers arrive at Nene Valleyrailway station in time toentertain the passengersalighting from the first streamtrain of the day before themselvesclimbing aboard. A new railwayguard for the day, Tom’s Cock,waved the green flag and the trainheaded off to Wansford.Prior to lunch, which was takenon board railway carriages atWansford station, two dancespots gave the dancers the chance

to work up an appetite and makeroom for some beer. Visitors to the railway who hadturned up to see and ride steam

trains weretreated tot r a d i t i o n a ldancing whilethey waited forthe next train toa r r i v e — a“bonus,” saidone of thespectators.Further dancingat Wansford

followed lunch before some of thedancers boarded the train for theshort tip to Yarwell and it washere during the run around of theengine Roger Comley gave us hislegendary and ancient ManxScallop Dance.After picking up the rest of thedancers and heading back intoPeterborough, Ollie Simons(brother of Morris tart Matt)showed the passengers on thetrain that he could leap as high as

his brother during a solo jig,although he did use the carriageframework for leverage.Back on Cathedral Square, thistime away from the waterfountains, the crowd wereentertained for around an hour,even a yellow and green canarydropping in as Bourne Borderersdanced, leading to commentsabout the smallest-ever Beast.Bonny Green wrapped up thedancing for the day and it was offfor tea and home made cakes.We were let down by our bookedconference centre just two daysbefore the event and, faced withthe task of self-catering in anunfamiliar hall, we were all verygrateful to the small team of wiveswho stepped into the breach onthe day. Peterborough Morris Men thankeveryone and look forward toseeing you all next year.

*standard gauge, as any fulekno

Photos: Peterborough Morris Men

Four foot, eight & a half inches*of scallops—andacockerel

Nene so pretty Roger prepares hisaudience for scalloping at Wansford

Wattle I do now?Tom'sCock obliges

The Uptonupon Severn Stick Dance, withthe Morris Ring Bagman, second from right, inPeterborough's crowded Cathedral Square

Peterborough MorrisMen's Day of Dancewas a great success,despite fowl play andsome very fishydancing, explainsRichardSimons


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Plymouth Morris Men wereamong the 160 people invited

to Brest to help celebrate the 50th

anniversary on the Plymouth -Bresttwinning link.We represented the cultural partof the exchange along with thePlymouth Maids clog dancers,Wreckers Border Morris fromSouth East Cornwall, the City ofPlymouth Pipe band, theDevonport Park CommunityChoir and graduate theatrestudents from PlymouthUniversity andthe Barbicantheatre.We had alreadydeclared andhanded over ourcutlasses prior toboarding theferry but theu n f o r t u n a t ePipe bandapparently had abit of troubleover their SgianDubh withs e c u r i t y .Furthermore ani m p r o m p t umusic session was broken up bycrew much to the chagrin of some(non-Morris) passengers, ‘toomuch noise on a night ferry’apparently. This was to improvegreatly on the return.On our arrival at Brest we weremet by a large number of Brestois,including many of the musiciansand dancers we had hosted in the

Brest visit in May 2013. In whatwas to become a recurring theme,we were plied with food and drinkat the reception point beforebeing driven to our first dancespot with was in the hugeCarrefour-led CentreCommercial in Brest. We sharedspots for the rest of the day withthe Maids and a couple of pipersfrom the band.It was hot both in the centre andlater outside. We danced to alarge and appreciative audiencein the centre. Almost asappreciative was the owner of thebar adjacent to our first dancespot although Carrefour alsoprovided us with a large case ofwater and also an excellent buffetlunch in their staff restaurant.

Most of us ventured on the newtram system for a trip to our nextspot, in a park before theassembled and initially, puzzled,pupils of 3 local primary schools.A couple of audienceparticipation mass dances soongot them excited and enjoying theevent. One of their teachers laterreported that the children hadthoroughly enjoyed the event as

had the staff, much to their ownsurprise.We then headed for the morechallenging assignment of thelocal secondary school, the LyceeIroise, where the assembledgroup of teenage Englishstudents seemed likely to be amore difficult crowd? Not really,an early selection of teenagevictims to dance Not for Joe withus followed soon after by a massShepherd’s Hey got a mostenthusiastic reaction and lots ofphoto calls before we left.We then had the formal part of theevening, a welcome from theMayor followed by a theatreperformance from the abovementioned graduate students.Reactions among the side to this

ranged fromenthusiasm tob a f f l e m e n t —that’s culture foryou!It had been veryhot, a heavyd a n c eprogramme soperhaps wecould all head forbed? No chance!Most of us endedup at ane n o r m o u sgarage partysomewhere inthe Brest

suburbs where we wereentertained by the pipers andbombard players of Kevrenn StMark, local melodeon bandDizoursi and our own musiciansas well as getting to try someBreton line dancing. This lasteduntil well after midnight - hopethe neighbours had a sense ofhumour.

Plymouth Morris Men, with Bagman JoeCumming, were among the 160 people invitedto Brest in late September 2013 to help celebratethe fifty years of the Plymouth-Brest twinning link

Plymouth Morris Menby PontRecoverancein BrestChrisEarl


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It was an early start thenext day when we wereparticipating in celebrations tomark the annual Foire St Michel.This is Brest’s annual event,

unique in France, which letschildren sell unwanted toys in amarket setting.We did a bit of dancing then tookpart in a parade through the mainavenue of market stalls beforegoing back up to a lounging areawhere we were due to be fed(again!). By happy coincidencethe food tent was opposite a tentselling hand-pulled beer from alocal brewery (Coreff in Carhaix,highly recommended), so in thefinest tradition of the Morris weset out to do our bit to assisteconomic recovery in the Frenchbrewing industry.After a fine lunch and some moredancing, we had a furtherprocession into the centre ofBrest where we danced in apedestrian square high above theriver and opposite the Castle.

Once again we gathered anappreciative audience and anappreciative local bar owner!We then had some free time,which some time to explore theculture and shops of Brest butothers, sad to report, headed forthe back room of another local(Irish) pub for another music andsinging session. The Irishlandlord was sufficientlyenthused to offer the lastremnants of the company freebeer (Coreff again!) so long as hecould join in on spoons. We feltobliged to accept his offer.We then headed for a huge ceilidhwhich had been put on by thetwinning committee whichfeatured more singing anddancing. Bed was late again…Next day saw a leisurely breakfastand, finally, a bit of sightseeingbefore a farewell reception at alocal biscuit factory, honestly,then a trip back to Roscoff.The ship back had a far moreMorris-friendly captain, sofeatured all three sides dancingon the rear deck of the ferry‘Armorique’ to an appreciative ifsometimes bemused audience ofboth travellers and crew.Wreckers had used their timewith the Pipe band to work out asuitable dance to be accompaniedby pipes and drums which wasquite spectacular whilst we addedone of the ship’s female officers to

our long line of extremelyattractive ‘Roses’ with a spiritedRose Tree.As night drew in, we went backinside where the DevonportCommunity Choir gave a halfhour concert in one of thelounges. This turned into a threehour song and music sessionwhich lasted us back to Plymouth.It was agreed that the six hourshad never passed more quickly.Our thanks are due to thePlymouth - Brest twinningcommittee for the invitation,specifically to our individualhosts who took us into their homeand looked after us so well, toBrittany Ferries for their goodhumour and to the people of Brestwho welcomed us, applauded us,joined in with us and overall gaveus a weekend to remember.

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in open forum becausethe needs of the dancers vary. Asthings stand I know of no regularevent specifically aimed at jigsmusicians but I certainlyrecognise the need – as do thenumber of musicians who askeach year if the Jigs Instructionalcan help them. I expect thissubject would be best handled ona more one-to-one basis.Comment and suggestions fromexperienced musicians (setdance or jig) would be welcomeand, should an offer to host come

p16 forward, I'll be happy to devise aprogramme with help from'expert' dancers and musicians.

1 I quote these words fromtheir website out of contextbut hope I have notmisrepresented or given animpression which differs

Following a sell-out weekend in 2014, Geoff Jerram will beleading the next Jigs Instructional for the Morris Ring in sunnySutton Bonington on 16-18th January 2015. Provisionalbookings are now being taken: [email protected] to secure "top-notchcatering, music & the most knowledgeable and patient instructors"(a satisfied first-timer, 2014).

from their author's.2 Jack Worth of (amongothers) Bristol Morris Menwon Sidmouth Folk Week'sJohn GassonJig Competition(solo category) in 2010 and,with Fiona Bradshaw, thedouble jig competition in2012.

The musicians excel - of course!TimIngram

Sharp practice in the Rue deSiamTimIngram


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Lithuania. So said the Bagman.And thus it was decided.

Bathampton’s end of 2013 seasontour would be in this Baltic state.Questions immediately arose:how do you spell it? Where is it?Why, when you Google it, aremore than half the pop-upphotographs snow scenes?A dozen men, led by SquireMartin Bayfield, flew RyanairBristol to Kaunas. The airport inthe middle of a pine forest. Theterminal a grey shed. The buswaiting, but first the driver had togo into town to collect someluggage. We drove through grey,dreary streets of ex-soviet blocksof concrete flats and quietlyc r u m b l i n gb u i l d i n g s .S o m e w h a tredolent ofSlough on a wetN o v e m b e rafternoon. Butnot quite asbeautiful.We had beenwarned to expectbad driving, butour driver wase x c ep t i o n a l l yproficient. Hecould eat hislunch, drink hisbeer, talk on thephone and driveus to Vilniusall at the same time.The architectural variety ofattractive buildings in the oldtown from the last two or threecenturies surprised us. Its claim

to fame was that once, whereveryou stood, you would be able tosee at least four churches. TheSoviets put paid to that duringtheir various periods ofoccupation but many restoredchurches are now well used.Gedima Castle atop the rampartsdominates the old town. Wefound the magnificent modernmuseum is a useful free loo stop.Richard, our first guide, was astar. As rain started to fall on adisconsolate group of men, kitcovered by plastic ponchos, he ledus to the Old Green House, thelast wooden house in town andnow a pub. Where we managed acouple of pints of Kalnapilis.When the rain eased we headedinto the old town and dancedbefore the Presidential Palacewhere the lady President mighthave been watching from behind

a moving upstairs curtain as westarted the day with some gentleBampton and our version ofBritish Grenadiers.Which all prepared us perfectlyfor the Beer Tasting Lunch. As we

sat in a cellar around platters offood our host, the micro-brewer,kept bringing jug after jug of hisdifferent beers. Brewed eitherlight or dark it ranged from abright European lager tosomething more akin to a hoppyale. What is not drunk isdiscarded into a brown bowl andrather disgracefully there weretraces of beer in this bowl whenwe left. We had tasted sevendifferent beers and the voices hadrisen in volume from politechatter to three figure decibelsinto full song when the Squireannounced, in a slightly slurredaccent that sounded vaguelyBaltic, that we should not dancein the afternoon for, although wemight believe we are dancingperfectly, it might not lookparticularly well to any onlooker.Such a glorious lunch.

We were takenout of town to thedramatic TrakaiIsland Castle.Here the Squirewas so moved bythe setting thathe ignored hisown instructionand we dancedon the banks ofthe lake. No onefell in and thet o u r i s t s( p r o b a b l y )didn’t notice theglazed eyes nord i f f e r e n t i a t ebetween valiant

attempts to stay upright and wellmastered footwork.Dancing in the old town thatevening was delightful. Thepeople so friendly, locals and

Bathampton Morris Men's recent jaunt toLithuania resulted in a trip of compellingmemories and gastronomic surprises,reveals John Salmon

BathamptonMorris Menat Trakai IslandCastle

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tourists alike. “Whatpart of Lithuania are you from?”they asked. Confused that ourside’s colours, yellow, green andred, are the same as those of theirnational flag. With cobbledstreets lined with bars, intriguingbeers at £1 a pint, English-speaking beautiful (and I meanbeautiful) bar staff. This wasBathampton’sheaven. The last bus left at midnight andback at the hotel we found the baropposite was open. The barmanplayed a mean guitar, the shorts(when we learnt to pronounceTrejos Devynerios) was cheaperthen beer and we settled down fora session of all types of music andgoodness knows what alcoholuntil the early hours. And all thatwas just the first day. The rest of the trip was similar.We danced at the fruit marketwhere there were no tourists anda crowd of locals gathered. Our kitseemingly bringing a flash ofcolour to the grey streets and asmile to faces. We playedmelodeons on a bus designed for14 passengers with nearly 30 onboard. Stopping for a beer outsidea nightclub, the off-duty strippers

stopped to watch ourperformances. At dinner oneevening we were treated torousing Lithuanian folk songsand traditional “joining in”dances. The final day we went back toKaunas where we found that theshabby streets gave way toanother attractive old town. Aftera beer break, where more peopledrank coffee than beer – always asign of a good time had by all - a

quick spot outside the cathedral.

The Chinese tourists rushed totake the photos but as always theytook no further interest andbuggered off without watching. Iwonder what they thought theyhad photographed when they gothome. The food at lunchmaintained the variety andhealthy options which we weresurprised to have been offeredthroughout the tour, but a word ofwarning for those who may followin our dance steps. Keep awayfrom Zeppelins. The localdumplings, heavy and greasy, arenot recommended.Our hostel accommodation wassimple, clean and good, with en-suite rooms for three or four men.The staff, once encouraged tosmile, were friendly, pleasant andhelpful. Our dance spots weren’tdisturbed in any way by police orofficials (unlike previousexperiences in Prague, Malta andCataluña where we have beenclose to arrest). And we copedwith the weather which wasoccasionally rainy but not cold orsnowy. With thanks to BagmanIdris’s superb planning abilities,arranging our five days at under£400 per man all inclusive, thetour was memorable for all theright reasons. And we canthoroughly recommend lovelyLithuania as a dance destination.

Photos: StevenArcher

“What part of Lithuania areyou from?”

Evening in VilniusOld Town

ObituariesBill Holt1920-2013Bill started dancing withBathampton Morris Men in 1968and he remained a regular andactive dancer until well into his90th year. At his 90th birthdayparty in October 2010, at whichRobin Springett represented theMorris Ring, Bill was given thetitle of "Father of the Side".Bill continued to dance regularlythroughout the first half of thefollowing summer but then hishealth began to deteriorate andhe only came out for specialoccasions. His last morris outingwas on Plough Sunday in Januarythis year; he didn't dance then butwe're told that a few weeks earlierhe'd given a solo demonstrationfor the other members of hissheltered accommodation attheir New Year's Eve party!Bill was an enthusiastic dancer,singer and raconteur. Truly one ofthe more colourful characters ofthe morris, he will be greatlymissed.

IdrisRoker

LesChittleburgh1949-2013Les Chittleburgh of Isca Morrisdied suddenly on November 9th.Les began morris dancing withCardiff Morris Men, then in 1976was one the founder members ofIsca Morris Men. He was amainstay of Isca throughout,serving for many years as bagmanor squire, and latterly assecretary. He was also the mainorganiser of the unforgetable IscaFamily Weekends. Les and hiswife were also Welsh folk dancersand ballroom dancers.His funeral reflected his love ofthe morris. Isca men danced inwith Cadi Ha, the musiciansplayed Caseg Eira for theCommendation, and a massedConstant Billy followed outside.

KeithLascelles

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It is with enormous regret that TheMen of Wight announce that one oftheir founder members, MikeHowley, passed away in May 2013.Mike was a man of many talentsand the many threads of his lifewere often held separately. Henever boasted of his achievementsand now that he is gone, it has beena slow process to gather all theinformation that has been neededto piece together this obituary.Born in 1930 in Nottinghamshire,Mike worked in the library serviceand in July of 1957 had movedsouth and was working asChichester Branch Librarian. TheChichester group of the EDFSS hadbeen founded that year and severalof its members worked in thelibrary service. A fellow librarian(Brian Sopp, a founder member ofMartlet MM) discovered that Mikewas a competent violinist andpersuaded him to join theChichester Folk Dance Group astheir musician. Mike soon aftertook up the accordion and for thefollowing 13 years accompaniedthe dance group on their manyvisits to continental festivals,especially to Germany where hisfluency in the language proved agreat benefit. He became acommitted core member of thegroup and was elected chairman.During his time in Chichester, his

flat was always a meeting place forthe dancing/music makingfraternity with endless cups ofcoffee being served. MaggieTevendale (nee Dodd) of theChichester group remembers:“Many happy memories remain ofour annual May Day celebrationswhen Mike’s home was the hub inthe preparations for the processionthrough the city – a 6 am start withdecorations to the Landau whichwould convey the May Queen andthen wiring the flowers onto thesword lock culminating in thereward for hard work – a breakfastfry-up in Mike’s small kitchen; wewere then set up for the dancing dayin front of us. His contribution toour lives with his sense of humour,endless fun and laughter and manylasting personal friendships willremain in our memories forever.Such happy days.”He maintained the contacts hemade in Germany, Belgium andAustria throughout his life andmade biennial visits to Schlitz rightup to 2009 when his failing healthprecluded him from undertakingthe 1200 mile car journey. Tributeshave been received from a numberof European dance clubs whofondly remember his playing andhis company. The organisers of theSchlitz festival hold particularlywarm memories: “Mike alwaysarrived on the Wednesday beforethe Trachtenfest; for theSchlitzlander Trachten undVolkstanzkreis members thisalways meant ‘now the festivalbegins’ ”.In 1959 Mike was invited to play forthe Martlet Sword and Morris Menand quickly became the Club'sprincipal musician and was squirein 1964/5.In 1970 Mike transferred to the Isleof Wight where he became DeputyCounty Librarian and eventuallyDirector of Cultural Service. In hispublic life he preferred to be calledby his second name and so therewas often confusion when trying tocontact him at work unless youremembered to refer to him asRobin. His colleagues thereremember him as 'a charming boss'and 'a very nice gentleman'. Mikewas instrumental in introducingnew technologies to the Island’slibrary system – yes, computers!Shortly before his move to the

island, a group from the Sloop InnFolk Club were exploring the ideaof Morris dancing, having attendeda workshop at the ChristchurchFolk Festival. Hearing thatsomeone had appeared who knewsomething about the subject, hewas contacted and quickly waspersuaded to run some teachingsessions for a mixed group from thelocal country dance club. Withsome persuasion from Mike, in1970 ‘The Men of Wight Morris’were formed with Mike as their firstSquire, and over the last 43 yearsthe team has regularly performedacross the Island and, throughMike’s many contacts across thecontinent, in Germany, Portugal,France and Belgium.Mike was a most helpful andempathetic teacher of Morrismusic and was a great influence onthe playing of many Island andmainland musicians. His playingwas firmly BM (Before Melodeons)and his lyrical style providedenormous lift to the dancers.Former Morris Ring Squire, GeoffJerram, said of him, “I knew Mikefrom the mid-late 60s. He waswithout doubt the major influenceand mentor in my early playing andone of the most helpful andempathetic teachers of Morrismusic I've met. I asked Mike to playfor my dancing in and out jigs asRing Squire; I know he regardedthat as a great honour - he probablydidn't know how honoured I was tohave him playing for me.” Mike was the nominated musicianfor many Morris Ring meetings,including three such events hostedon the Isle of Wight and he wasoften called upon to play for manyother Morris teams at one time oranother. The picture shows himwearing the badge of office ofMorris Ring Musician.On a personal note, my abidingmemories of Mike were thoseperformances where, with just theslightest movement of hisshoulders, he would indicate thatsomething was about to happen.Next thing I would find that I wasleft holding the tune melody whileMike, with eyes half-closed, wouldbe weaving harmony lines behindmy playing. These occasionsalways ended with Mikeproclaiming, “Beautiful tuneMichael, beautiful tune.”

Michael Howley1930 - 2013

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Mike’s interests were notjust confined to music: he was adirector of both the Isle of WightArts Council and the ApolloTheatre Trust; he enjoyed painting,gardening, acting, he composed,co-authored and edited booksabout Island history, was a local TVand radio presenter and his voicecan still be heard as an audio guideat BradingRoman Villa.His funeral at Newport Mister wasattended by many friends from TheApollo Theatre, the Men of WightMorris, Oyster Girls Morris, WightBells, Island Cloggies, MartletMorris Men and the ChichesterFolk Dance Group as well as manyother friends. In typical Mikefashion, the service had beenplanned well in advance withhymns all chosen for theirsignificance to his life. The Men ofWight, in kit, danced Four Cross ashis coffin was borne into thechurch, a dance written by the mento a tune composed by Mike.Mike was above all a consummatemusician, in demand not only forhis Morris music but for socialdancing as well.

Mike Butler

RONNIEGODBOLD1949 - 2013

Ronnie was a founder member ofHageneth Morris Men which wasformed in June 1977 to celebratethe Queen's Silver Jubilee atHaughley's 'fair and medieval fete'.During his tenure heenthusiastically encouraged

The Morris and folk music worldlost a remarkable man whenMichael died on 7th May 2013 aftersuffering, with his usual fortitude,from Parkinson’s disease. It issimply not possible to write in ashort article of his interests,musical ability and service to manyclubs as an inspired musician,singer, dancer and supporter ofrelated traditions, as well as hislifelong interest and player ofhockey.Michael came up to St Catharine’sCollege, Cambridge to readModern Languages in October1959 and in his second year, hejoined the Cambridge Morris Menand the Round. So started a lifetime of dedication to the Morris,Playford and English Countrydancing.The Squire of the CMM in 1960 wasRobert Saunders, who had starteddancing in the 20’s and who greatlyimpressed Michael and he cameonto his first Travelling Morricetour in 1961 as a fine beardeddancer and with other men on thattour met and were lectured to byRolf Gardiner. After that he cameon most tours, acting as Foremanon at least eight occasions. In 1963he revived his piano playing, learntas a young boy, to take up

MichaelBlanford1938-2013

Photo: HilaryBlanford2000

p22 foreign trips, leading Hageneth onmany trips to France, Germany andBelgium, and dancing at festivals,cultural exchanges and specialevents in those countries.Never losing his love for the Morris,he remained a member of the side,continuing to dance on specialoccasions after 2002.Elected squire for four years,foreman for many years andbagman/treasurer for over tenyears, he took these positionsresponsibly, setting thebenchmark for others whofollowed him as officers of the side.He also kept the side scrapbookfrom the start of the side until2002, making it possible for latermembers of to appreciateHageneth’shistory. During his terms as squire andforeman he helped to develop a'side style' which enabledHageneth to enjoy great popularitywith the public and other Morrissides. His vigorous dancing stylemade him an example that manypeople tried to emulate, but veryfew achieved. He greatlyinfluenced Hageneth's distinctive,energetic style. The last time Ronnie danced outwas in June 2012, when Hagenethperformed at a Haughley fair tocelebrate the Queen's DiamondJubilee, thirty-five years after theside's formation. He danced withhis usual enthusiasm and energy,not putting a foot wrong althoughhe had not danced the Morris forover two years.Many friends and relatives saidgoodbye to Ronnie at the WestSuffolk crematorium, the UnitedReform Church in Stowmarket andat his 'wake' at the 'Meadlands' inStowmarket, where Hagenethwere joined by Mike Garland andCodge Barber from the East SuffolkMorris Men to dance Ronnie'sfavourite dance, Orange in Bloom.Sally Green, another foundermember of Hageneth also dancedOrange in Bloom. Hageneth thendanced a border dancechoreographed by Ronnie, Speedthe Plough.He will be sadly missed byHageneth and the Morriscommunity in general.

BrianFrancis

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the piano accordion andto serve the Morris in thatadditional way. He remained anexcellent dancer and for manyyears cycled on Travelling Morricetours with his “machine” taken in acar. On these tours he not only ledthe music sessions in the pubs butsoon took to joining in the singingwith his own repertoire and carriedon the songs sung by Arthur Peck,Russell Wortley and Webber afterthey had passed on. His repertoireand instant recall of tunes of allsorts and songs was astoundingand admired by all. After leaving Cambridge in 1962 hemoved to London and joinedLondon Pride Morris Men andcountry dance club. Hisprofessional life was as anaccountant and after qualifying heworked for Peat, Marwick andMitchell, now KPMG, before beingrecruited to FisonsPharmaceuticals as theirInternational Tax Managerbecause of his fluent knowledge ofhalf a dozen European languages.His managers found him hardworking, reliable and utterlydependable. He travelled all roundthe world and managed to combinetrips to North America with Morrispractices across the continent andwas an important influence in thedevelopment of the Morris inAmerican. He attended Pinewoodsin the ‘60s, becoming a member ofthe Pinewoods Morris Men. Hejoined the first AmericanTravelling Morrice Tour in 1976and returned for later tours moreyears than not. In 1981 he moved to Ipswich andjoined the East Suffolk Morris Menand took part in country dancingand music sessions with NeilLanham and also the Harvey Boysamong many others. Following thetragic death of Graham Potter hetook over the Editorship ofMardles, the local Folk magazinein 1994 and remained in verysuccessful office until he moved toKent. It was through this work thathe came across Hilary Warburtonof the EFDSS which led to theirwedding in 1997 accompanied by afull folk cast. When Fisons was taken over andmoved to Kent, he and Hilarymoved to Chatham and soon gotcaught up by Hartley and WadardMorris sides and many local

ContentsSteveAdamsonBFBCharlieCorcoran 1DavidBlickEFDSSGold Badge Recipient 2Squire's Capers Robin Springett 3Morris Ring Officers Past and Present 5White Rose Morris Men RichardFowler 6Great Eastern Morris Workshop Mike Stevens 7RavensbourneMorris Men JimPitts 8TowerseyMorris Men TonyMerry 9Hosted Meetings

ThaxtedMorris Men Images byStevenArcher 10Dolphin Morris Men Matthew King 11MartletSword & Morris Men Peter Davey 12SilkeborgMorris Men JacobChristensen 14

Jigs Instructional GeoffJerram 15Peterborough Morris Men RichardSimons 17Plymouth Morris Men JoeCumming 18BathamptonMorris Men John Salmon 20Obituaries Bill Holt, LesChittleburgh, Mike Howley,RonnieGodbold, MichaelBlanford

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The Morris Ring Circular is published by the Morris Ring at least threetimes a year. Planned publication date of Issue 70 is June 2014; copy date16th April. Please send letters, articles and photographs (300 dpipreferred—please state date, location and photographer) to the Editor:[email protected](0151 334 4566). Shrinkage may occur.

I hope, wherever you are in the world, that you enjoyed an exceedinglyfruitful Yuletide of mumming, dancing, singing and playing, with evenmore to come your way in a happy and healthy 2014.Wozzle!TonyFoard

p23 musicians and dancers.Throughout all these years hecontinued to support Cambridge,London Pride and East Suffolk andwould often drive miles and homeagain the same evening to play. He was a great supporter oftraditional activities and hadattended Bampton on Whit (BankHoliday) Monday for nearly 50years where this year they dancedItalian Job in his memory atChurchfield House. He visitedBacup for many years and enjoyedother similar traditional activities.Michael had a prodigiousrepertoire of all tunes and couldrecall them at a moment's notice toget other musicians going. It wassuch a pleasure to dance to hisplaying, whether for a jig or setdance, as he was always watchingthe dancer, even if his well-knownsideways stance did not give this

impression, and immediatelyadjusted the speed or the gapsbetween notes or bars to fit thedancer’s steps. His medleys forsuch dances as Bampton Side Stepand Balance the Straw includingChristmas carols and Beethoven’s9th were always much enjoyed byaudiences and the dancers.He was a real English gentleman,possibly old fashioned andmeticulous with his shoe cleaning,Although a private person in manyways he was always willing to playor dance as needed and to adviseteach and pass on his knowledge tonew or seasoned musicians anddancers. He will be rememberedwith other great Morris men andtalked about for years to come, andwe will always miss his quiet senseof humour and his huge support sowillingly given.

John Jenner


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winter 2013-14 the morris ring · while we listened to pachelbel’s canon in d major, but the most...

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