Reports from the
year 2010
A WEDDING,
LOTS OF MEN IN BLACK, SIDMOUTH, SOME TANGO AND A RUSHCART AMONGST OTHERS ...
 Our
first formal appearance of the season was on Saturday 17 April with the splendid
wedding of John and Alison. This took place in the Grecian Temple at Stowe
Landscape Gardens on a beautiful spring day, and was a truly memorable occasion
for everyone there, not least John, Alison, Robert and Harrison. A silver
wedding bus had been laid on to take guests from the hotel in Buckingham to the
magnificent location of the gardens and the Temple for the ceremony,
after which there was champagne and cake outside the temple while a jazz band
played and the guests attempted to master some of the giant outdoor games
provided. Later, there was a full reception back at the hotel in Buckingham,
followed by a ceilidh with the Committee Band. This also featured a morris
spot from BB, a singing spot from Alison's group, and then another appearance of
the BB Men in Black - they get everywhere. But a truly fabulous day throughout
and much credit and many thanks to John and Alison for such a fabulous day, plus
a little help from the weather gods....
The next day saw a BB side (but without John who was mysteriously engaged, or
more accurately not engaged any more) at the Oxford Folk Festival, where the
fine weather continued and we had good dance spots in Cornmarket and at the
Oxford Castle.
On 8th May we did a spot at the Oxfolk ceilidh, where Belshazzars Feast were the
band, and then the following Sunday we were off to Brighton again for the second
year in a row at the Brighton Morris Day of Dance. This was another excellent
day, using several good dance venues around the town, before doing a version of
Coconuts at the massed stand for which we were able to rope in Emma in Windsor
kit ("never seen this dance before, have you luv?").
Tuesday 25 May saw us at the Plough, Little London (which as always was just
that bit further away than you think it's going to be) for a very pleasant
evening with Mayflower, followed by the customary courtesy sandwiches. Then on
4th of June a small but select side was off to Harrogate for Flag and Bone's
very first weekend all of their own. The highlight of this for BB, apart from
the dancing in some wonderful locations on Saturday and Sunday, was Saturday
night's themed 'Cabaret' evening. This included a competitive dance display
during which 3 pairs of BBs performed some tango routines which had been taught
to them in previous weeks by Andy, who unfortunately though perhaps wisely
couldn't be there. So we had Simon and Jerrie, Will B and Jeannie, and Lee and
Jamie, all strutting their stuff with a lot of smouldering, languorous draping
of legs over other legs, and the occasional descending skirt (should have worn
tighter elastic, Jerrie...). While perhaps not
being of the absolute highest quality, it evoked the biggest laughs of the
evening. And Sue wearing both a black wig and Paul's dress (yes really) was also a fine
sight.
 Sunday 13 June was the Windsor Day of Dance, assembling at the Jolly Cricketers
at Seer Green and then moving on to the Chiltern Open Air Museum where Windsor
had organised a very fine picnic. This was followed on 17 Jun by an evening with
Hook Eagle at The Cricketers, Hartley Wintney, before the following Thursday's
annual pilgrimage to the Red Lion, Avebury, for our now traditional midsummer
dance out with Holt Morris, followed by some fine singing in another nearby pub.
This was the precursor to a BB Dorset Tour, a welcome return having missed a
year in 2009. Rob and Mirian had arranged another good itinerary, returning this
time to the traditional base of the Giants Head camp site near Cerne Abbas.
Saturday's dancing started in beautiful weather in Dorchester but then hit an
immediate snag, with the planned train trip down to Weymouth having to be
cancelled due to a problem on the road/rail bridge on the line, temporarily
blocking both road and rail routes to Weymouth. Instead the itinerary was
hastily rearranged and we drove on to West Bay where we found some good
locations to dance and later to swim. Saturday evening had a barbeque back at
the campsite before the customary part walk, part slide (eh, Simon?) down into
Cerne Abbas to dance to a small but select audience outside the Royal Oak. This
was followed by the legendary 'gloworm walk' back up the hillside to the
campsite - the legend being that there are actually any gloworms within a 20 mile
radius. Sunday's dancing was at the Sir Walter Tyrell pub at Brook, on the edge
of the New Forest, where our lunchtime audience gradually drifted away as 3 pm
approached, kick off time in the England v West Germany World Cup game. Should
have stayed and watched us, shouldn't you?!
The following weekend we were
down near Exeter for one of the highlights of the 2010 Morris calendar, Great
Western's 40th birthday weekend. This was based at the site of the Village Hall
at Christow, which provided ample room for camping and a spacious hall for
various of the weekend's events - just as well it was spacious with close to 40
fine teams assembled, including some who had reformed just for the event like
Paddington Pandemonics, Downes-on-Tour and several other illustrious blasts from
the past. Friday evening consisted of a getting-to-know-you-again reunion and
scratch band ceilidh, and was followed on Saturday by 4 separate bus tours using
7 buses to various charming parts of Devon. BB's tour, which included 7
Champions, Muddy River, Iron Men and 7 Gilders, and one of the many GW sides on
tour that day, went to Newton Abbot, the Rising Sun, and River Dart Country Park
- all good dance venues, especially in the great weather the weekend was blessed
with. After the tours finished it was back to Christow for tea and cake, and
then a chance to dress up in whatever was appropriate to the secret letter each
team had been given. BB had been given the somewhat challenging but ultimately
suitably macho letter X, and chose to include a reference to Xmas in our evening
attire which for the BB boys was Men in Black outfits (yes, again). Respect to
Paul though for going that little bit further and producing the full Santa Claus
outfit, though this confused one small child who was marched up to him to relay
his Xmas wishes. That ultimately confused Paul more than the child, but
fortunately Paul was able to defer to Elf Sue standing nearby to sort out the
actual detail of the child's Xmas list. After wrapping ourselves round the hog
roast, the evening was then taken up with a series of spots from most of the
teams - some musical, some dramatic, some funny, some slightly weird. We came on
towards the end to do Men in Black in a tiny space, which nevertheless went down
a storm after an initial false start when not enough space had been cleared. The
evening was topped at the end though by a truly fantastic spoof film which GW
had put together, featuring the antics of the 4th Emergency Service ("Police,
Ambulance, Fire or Morris?") assembling a team of dancers to perform at short
notice at a village fete. Several members of GW had been asked to contribute
short clips of themselves supposedly answering an emergency morris call from
various locations, but with no real idea of what the whole thing would look like
and on the evening, only Pete Merrett, who had spent much of the previous weeks
putting it together, knew what was to be shown. The result was an outstanding
film which must pass swiftly into Morris folklore!
The next day, all
sides danced at various locations around Exeter before assembling at the Exeter
Quays where an excellent pizza lunch was provided, and then a massed stand at
the Piazza Terracina nearby. A truly memorable weekend, excellently organised as
ever, and great fun to be a part of. And a special mention too for our boys,
especially Alun, squires-for-the-weekend, who made an excellent job of
organising the team and choosing dances. A lifetime's morris secretarial duties
may be in store (please) .......
 After this there were no more events
in July, but plenty of practice as we got ready for our season's highlight with
another appearance at the Sidmouth Folk Week from 30th July to 6th August. This was a week long
series of performances at one of the leading UK Folk Festivals, and a Sidmouth
invitation remains one of the top accolades for any Morris side. Our week
started with a reception for the booked teams at the Blackmore Marquee, followed
by a procession along the promenade and through the Market Square - the first of
several opportunities to check whether all the summer practising of posing had
finally paid off. Our first performance was during the afternoon in a showcase
for several of the booked teams, where we rolled out the 1-6 dance and the first
of the week's performances of Coconuts (not to be the last). Later on we made
the first of our appearances at the dance display area at The Hub, the performance
centre for the Festival, centred on the Ham and Port Royal area at the eastern
end of the Esplanade. Which included the second outing of Coconuts (amongst
other dances) - one could sense Simon's concern as he saw his carefully
harvested coconut stock dwindling in front of his eyes ....
Sunday lunchtime saw most of the team dancing on the seafront (except Lee and Jameson,
off with 7 Champs, and Jerry with Windsor) where we finished up sharing a good
spot with Nonesuch. Then after another display at the Hub, most of the team
decamped to the Jig Competition in Blackmore Gardens to support the excellent
representation from BB - Sue and Will B plus Sue and Alun in the solo
competition, and Will M and Mark dancing in NYFTE colours in the double
jig competition. It must be said all our dancers and Sue did exceptionally well,
and in particular Will M and Mark were unlucky not to be placed in the double
jig results - but the stars on the day were Will B and Sue in the solo jig, who
won the best new entrant prize and finished 3rd overall - a great performance
and well deserved result. Monday started with running a workshop for one of the
youth events, followed by an afternoon performance at The Hub and then a joint
show in Blackmore Gardens with Hammersmith and Nonesuch. In the end this was a
turn and turn about display, though we did manage to get the other teams to join
us through our Magic Arch at the end of Fairies which they all did with great
relish.
Tuesday was a big day for us, starting with running a workshop in the morning at
the Bulverton Marquee, where we had several sets up doing 'Dance of Chance',
followed by the challenge of solving the 'Dance of Stance' puzzle, which all
seemed to cope with adequately. Then after a couple of performances at the Hub,
including at last an outing for the Glorishers A-team, we did our own impromptu performance
on the seafront before a excellent spot in the Market Square with Chinewrde and
Sciorr. Finally, after a very sociable team meal at the Cricket Club, it was off
to LNE at the Bulverton, with The Committee Band, where after an earlier spot
from Hammersmith we had a terrific reception for Men in Black, done this time
with the all the 12 BB dancers present on the day, and with Sue and Bob cowering
in the wings, waiting for the train crash that never happened ....... In fact it
went exceptionally well, after some slight difficulty with timing at the
beginning where we couldn't hear the music, loud as it was, over the
enthusiastic reception of the audience as we put on our shades (think Beatles at
Shea Stadium, 1965). Even the shooting sequence went nearly perfectly all the
way through this time, which has to be a first. Great reception at the end and
afterwards - but after 3 performances during the year, culminating in this one,
that may have to be it for BB's MiB?! We'll see!
Wednesday was a day off (just as well as the only rain of the week fell during
the morning - see? it never rains on ... etc ....), and we had to say goodbye to
some of the side, although several assembled in the afternoon at Lee and Paul's
rented house for afternoon tea and some of Lee's excellent scones (baked following
some considerable help from the absent Linda, so basically all he had to do was
pop the mixture in the oven and hope the middles didn't sink too much - which
they didn't). We still had plenty of numbers for Thursday's dancing, starting
with a lunchtime set at the Hub, though the numbers were reduced by 1 more when
Malcolm spectacularly pulled a muscle in his back, rendering him somewhat unable
to stand up unsupported for a while. Despite this, there was a successful set at
the Anchor Gardens, along with Nonesuch, and then another set at the Hub. Then
on to the Friday, the last day of the Festival, where we had a 15 minute spot of
our own at the Hub in the afternoon, followed in the evening by the highlight of
the torchlight procession. With reduced numbers, it was decided to do the
procession in Men in Black kit for the 6 dancers with Sue and Bob also in
suitable outfits, although with Malcolm's continuing limited mobility the only
figures we could incorporate from our MiB dance were the Monkey Walk and Boxes (Whirlygigs
being out on account of the flaming torches we were carrying). This was a
suitably bizarre way to end what had been a fabulous week, which left those in
the huge crowd who had some idea of what we were doing suitably amused, and
everyone else either amused, puzzled or in some cases scared, especially with
the 'no photographs please' mantra we kept repeating, the antithesis of our
normal posing processions. As always there were huge crowds all along the
Esplanade to see the procession go by, and then head down onto the beach for the
ritual dousing of torches on the rocket signal, followed by the usual
spectacular end of festival fireworks display. A great week for all those there,
some exceptional performances, a high standard of dancing throughout, some great
social occasions, and lots of good memories for everyone to bring back home with
them. Well done to all the BB dancers, musicians, partners, families and other
supporters for everyone's contributions!
Sidmouth though was by no means the end of the season. Just a couple of weekends
later a small but perfectly formed BB team (well done to all who made the
journey, especially Roy and Alun) was off to the moors of Lancashire for the
Saddleworth Rushcart Festival. This particular rushcart is a two wheeled wooden cart laden
with rushes stacked 15ft high and weighing around 2 tonnes (no steering wheel,
no brakes) and pulled by Morris men (never women!) from all over the country,
and preceded by a large band, over the course of the weekend festival. The
origins of this lie in a traditional ceremony performed in many villages around
the area, culminating in using the cut rushes to line the floors of churches
during the cold winters. This particular ceremony was revived in 1975 by the
Saddleworth Morris Men who during August collect rushes, build up the rushcart,
and dress it on top with heather, rowan branches and a unique banner that hangs
proudly on the front (this year celebrating Florence Nightingale). The cart is
ridden by a 'jockey' from the ranks of Saddleworth Morris Men (the most
experienced dancer who has not previously had the honour), who rides on top of
it for the duration of the weekend, with only his copper kettle of beer,
frequently replenished, for company. On Saturday 21st August, starting from
Uppermill, the cart was pulled around some of the beautiful villages of
Saddleworth, stopping along the way for refreshments, and for dance and music performances
for the large crowds that gather and follow. The BB dancers wisely spotted that
it would be easier to take hold of the 'stangs' (lines of wooden poles attached
by ropes to the cart) behind the cart rather than in front where it would
actually be necessary to pull (especially after finding out the cart had a
rather dodgy wheel which barely made it through the weekend). Meanwhile Bob and Sue had gamely joined the band
at the front of the procession, which apart from them was almost (but not quite)
exclusively male - however it must be said they were made to feel properly
welcome. After a sociable evening at The Waggon in Uppermill on the Saturday
evening, everyone reassembled on the Sunday for the very long drag up the hill
from Uppermill to St Chads Church, for further dancing and entertainment
including wrestling and competitions open to all such as worst singer and gurning.
We had nominated Simon for the wrestling until finding that the same extremely
beefy Saddleworth dancer had won the competition for the last 10 years by the
simple expedient of picking up his opposition, regardless of size, and lying on
them for the requisite 2 pinfalls. Sadly we had to leave before the gurning got
properly under way as we had some obvious candidates for that too, but meanwhile
had enjoyed some good dancing in the area outside the church where a large crowd
watched displays from all the guest sides. Another really enjoyable experience
for us, and great credit to Saddleworth Morris for making the weekend happen
with such a great mix of ceremony and tradition, but also great fun - and
without exception they made us all most welcome throughout.
After this, the next event was another outing at the Wallingford Bunkfest on
Saturday 4th September, the 7th consecutive year we had attended this festival
which is bigger and better than ever after a sticky period a few years ago. We
are usually fortunate with the weather there, and on another sunny day we had performances
in the Market Square, on the Kinecroft small stage, and at the Dolphin, before
our dance displays finished with a good set on the Kinecroft main stage, sharing
dances with Ashnah belly dancers. After this all of BB retreated as usual to
Sue's for our 'Chunkfest' - a very sociable afternoon tea featuring some
fine cakes and a huge bowl of pineapple chunks with evaporated milk. Probably
the only time every year most of eat us pineapple chunks - but well worth waiting
for. After this many of the party headed off to see The New Rope String Band at
nearby Didcot - great fun as ever!
A particular
highlight of the season for most of the team came a couple of weeks later when
for the first time ever but hopefully not the last we ran a hen party session
for a lively group of 20 something girls. Tim declined to join us, having a much
better event to go to, but those of us who did go found the session strangely
enjoyable, as did the girls who thanked us profusely afterwards. Amazingly Bob
managed to find over 20 different pieces of percussion from her magic basket so
they could join in the percussion bits on Fairies before getting the bride Amy
and all the guests to walk through the Magic Arch of Happiness at the end ....
Aahhh …
And then November’s practices saw us rehearsing our spot for the Bunfight on
27 November, which turned out to be another great night. For once, we hadn’t
had to worry beforehand about whether we could fill the hall, thanks to the
excellent early publicity from John, and thanks to Jerry having lots of young
relatives and friends who still like the morris world and ceilidhs and haven’t
got to the bitter, twisted and cynical stage yet though it will come, as it does
to us all. Plus I guess having the Committee Band with Nick Walden calling again
helped considerably, in fact doing their penultimate ever gig. Great outfits as
usual from all the side, and many of the guests, though particular mentions for
Paul’s tights, Lee’s Star Wars family, our Bob's Spacehopper, and Sue and
her Bob as the Martians from the Cadbury’s Smash advert, though they seemed to
find stripping the willow particularly difficult later on. And well done to Will
for doing his jig in bear feet, after 2 sets for the Mazurka had just about
avoided too many collisions. And then, after the traditional Irish Bingo, it was
time for 16 of us (including Sue and Bob this year) to perform our carefully
rehearsed Smurfs dance, a faithful rendition of the fabulous Britannia
Coconutters nut dance, done to a recording of their tune which even had inbuilt
applause at the end - fortunately. But as usual our efforts seemed to go down
very well with our audience though we noted no cries of encore this year. But a
fabulous night as always, and great to see a full house all enjoying themselves.
And after such a fabulous evening, what better way to follow it up than with a
day at the Wokingham Winter Carnival. The weather was fine, though bitterly
cold, and we had a good day's dancing with Borderline and the Exiles before
joining the procession through the usual large crowds followed by a dive into
The Lord Raglan to thaw out.
And finally, the following Saturday, what was to turn out to be the last dance
event of the year - the Big Caper show along with the Outside Capering Crew at the
Haddenham Festival. Overall this was probably one of the best Big Caper shows
the teams have ever done, really showing the benefit of the afternoon rehearsal
immediately beforehand, as for the most part the show was fresh in everyone’s
memory. This meant in particular that the joint dances, the interplay between
the two sides, and all the changeovers between dances, worked pretty well as
planned throughout. Of course, there were some unscripted challenges along the
way, not least during the sword dance when Jameson's calf muscle seized up, just
as Jerry's had done at the same point in the same event a couple of years earlier. Though he got through the dance,
he was unable to take part in the subsequent ones, causing some hasty replanning.
But great credit to Alun and Will B for covering during the jig sequence in the
jig medley, and Tim for stepping into Goblins – both without any rehearsing.
Jameson did eventually limp out for the finale, which also went extremely well
again, with all leapfrogs perfectly synchronised and executed. Of course though
this wasn’t the end of the challenge for the evening as we were left one short
for the Men in Black spot during the Oyster Band ceilidh – until Bob stepped
faultlessly into Jameson’s place despite never having danced it for real
before. A fabulous performance from him/her and all the side – and one which left
Hugh Rippon, caller for the evening, rather lost for words.
Thursday 17 Dec was
the annual Xmas meal, once again at the Thai House in Finchampstead, on a
suitably cold Christmass-y evening with swirls of light snow in the air. And
once again for some reason Paul missed Santa distributing his Secret Santa
presents. The usual depths had been plumbed for this year's offerings, with one
of the stand outs being the yodelling flamingo Paul received. And good to see
almost all the team there despite the weather.
Our very last event of the season should have been our traditional St. Thomas
Day lunchtime dance out on in Wokingham Market Place on the last Saturday before
Xmas, Saturday 18th. But early morning brought heavy snow all around the area,
and by mid morning it was clear play would have to be abandoned for the day.
Would this mean the end of an unbroken run of over 30 years of Berkshire Bedlam
in Wokingham on St. Thomas Day? Mindful of this proud record, Jameson and Emma
trudged through the snow up to the town centre in order to claim another year of
presence, and so the unbroken run continues (despite no actual dancing this
year). Though they also took the opportunity to have a pint or so in the Red
Lion while watching the snow - which spookily stopped at exactly 12 noon, our
normal time to start dancing - obviously fate wants the side to carry on again
in 2011 .....
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