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Berkshire Bedlam Morris

Who are we ?

Berkshire Bedlam, a renowned men's Cotswold Morris dance team from Wokingham in Berkshire, were formed in 1977, and perform a wide range of dances. While some are based on the legendary Leafield dances of Oxfordshire, the majority of today's repertoire is original compositions put together in recent years. Whatever the dance, BB's aim is to perform with gusto and spirit, and to present spectacular and original performances. Do we succeed? - come and see us to find out!
You can find out lots more about us through this site including something of our history, and a guide to the dances in our past and present repertoire. There are old and recent pictures of the side in our gallery section, latest news of events, a guide to our media appearances, and you can even find out what happens at a Berkshire Bedlam Bunfight.
New dancers are always welcome at any of our weekly practices whether an experienced dancer or a novice, and we can provide full tuition for anyone keen to have a go - contact details at the bottom of the page!

Recent and Future Happenings ....
2017 - our 40th birthday year! It's BB's 40 birthday year, and what a celebration we had in July! Before that though we've enjoyed a sunny day at the Oxford Folk Festival where we featured in a Spanish TV documentary, had a fabulous weekend in May at the JMO in Leicester followed by a day in the morris heartland of Adderbury, partly dedicated to a celebration of David's forthcoming marriage. And who knew he could play air guitar that well? And then in June the wedding - many congratulations to both David and Heather - a great couple! Our big event of the year was held over the weekend of 22nd and 23rd July, when we hosted a number of other superb teams at our 40th anniversary celebration, based at Tadley Rugby Club, themed 'Billy Bedlam's Holiday Camp'. On the Saturday we visited locations around West Berkshire, followed by a fantastic celebration evening including spots and musical interludes from us and our guests. Who there will ever forget Elvis Steptoe? On Sunday we all danced in the centre of Reading to round off a great weekend - pictures and full story to follow soon! But meanwhile there are still more good events to come this year...
All You Need is Bunfight - see you 25 Nov! We had another fabulous night at the 2016 Bunfight ceilidh, themed 'Living La Vida Bunfight - Bunfight goes to South America!  We're going to Get Back and Come Together again for another Hard Day's Night this year on 25th November, with this year's band The Diatonics, Nick Walden calling as usual, and the Beatles flavoured theme 'A Hard Day's Bunfight' - It Won't Be Long till you can get your Tickets to Ride!	2016 - another memorable year! We had another fine year in 2016, including in particular another successful week long appearance at Sidmouth Folk Week! We also had several events all around the country, a trip to the seaside on our own Dorset Tour in June, and another special Christmas season and Bunfight. Can we top it in 2017? - you betcha!
2016 jig successes at Sidmouth Fabulous efforts once again from BB members in the John Gasson Jig Competition at Sidmouth last year - Alun and Mark with musician Tom winning the double jig competition, Jameson with musician Saul winning best over 40 and 3rd place in the solo jig, Jerry as musician with Windsor dancers Charlotte and Maria coming 3rd in the double jig, and Will with Sue putting on a medal-worthy show in the solo jig. Great performances!	Downton Morris ... Anyone wonder who the mystery morris team was briefly featured in the BBC's 2012 Christmas Day's Downton Abbey?   Yes, it was some of BB who just happened to be in the Downton area on the day of filming, and stopped by to liven up the country fair using some borrowed togs. For added authenticity, some of the young chaps had a short back and sides first, which they thought was just spiffing...

 

Latest Media News !!

Yes, you can now have a little BB at home with you by ordering one of our DVDs - see the MEDIA PAGE for details, and also links to our various media appearances in print, in pop videos, on TV, and on YouTube!

 

Contact Us / Join Us / Book Us

We're always delighted to welcome new members. We practise on Thursday evenings at the Scout Hut in Evendons Lane, Wokingham, RG41 4DX (click here for map) and dance out at festivals, pubs and other events throughout the summer. If you would like to come to any of our practice evenings to try it for yourself, you will be very welcome (though maybe phone or drop us an email first to check what we are doing!) - we may also run occasional weekend practices for those who can't make a Thursday evening. If you would like to find out more about us, or check if we may be available for a particular event, our contact details are:

Main contact & Webmaster - Malcolm Major - Tel 01189 771952 or 07715 294568, or e-mail malcolmmajor at ntlworld dot com
You can also contact the following :
Squire - David Steptoe (david dot steptoe at ntlworld dot com)
Foreman - Jameson Wooders (j dot d dot wooders at gmail dot com)

And finally, if you would like to find out more about other Morris sides, or Morris dancing in general, try these links :
Morris Side Finder : a UK wide guide to find teams in all parts of the country
Wikipedia's Morris Dance Page : a good explanation of the origins, history, terminology and different styles of morris

and remember .... ....it never rains on Berkshire Bedlam