After this there were no more scheduled events until the now traditional BB Bunfight at the end of November. It had been decided that our spot there would be based on the autumn’s YouTube phenomenon ‘Gangnam Style’ by the Korean rapper Psy. After only a little tension, a routine of sorts was put together, to be performed in our ‘Men in Black’ outfits. At practices we were greatly helped by newly joined David, who although unable to attend the Bunfight was able to substitute at practice in a number of positions for people who were absent (although this is not as impressive as it sounds as the routine was basically identical from every position…). The Bunfight itself was another great success – a sell-out once again, and an enthusiastic attendance with lots of younger people to enthuse over the Gangnam spot – some of whom apparently want to marry Mark after his stand-out performance at the front. The following day a smaller than usual BB side was in attendance at the Wokingham Winter Carnival, for which the rain just about held off for our dance spots.
And then it was the end of the year – finishing off in the style of recent years with the BB Xmas meal followed by the St. Thomas Day dance out. For the second year in a row, the Xmas meal was at The Bull at Barkham, where once again we took over the top part of the restaurant area for a jolly evening including the dispersal of Secret Santa presents when Paul’s back was turned. Some very fine efforts this year, including the zip line toy racing cars which some of the older boys took to with far too much enthusiasm. The evening also featured a presentation to Will B, off to Australia with Sarah for a year, of a calendar featuring lots of pictures of him in action over the 4 years he has been with us – mainly, it must be said, dressed up in a number of extraordinary costumes as is the nature of life in BB. A couple of days later on 22nd Dec we were in Wokingham Market Place for our St. Thomas Day dance out. As seemed to happen an awful lot during 2012, we managed to avoid the rain during our dancing despite heavy showers both before and after. The day featured the largest number of current BB dancers ever assembled – 16, though not everyone was dancing – however we were able to have 2 sets for many dances despite the space being somewhat confined this year. The day was also notable for 3 things – one good, one poignant, and one diabolical. The good things was seeing David make his debut for us, and very competently he performed too. The poignant one was the last appearance with us for a while of Will B, including a very fine ‘Nutting Girl’ solo jig, performed with his usual elegance and style. And the diabolical thing was 2 sets making a complete hash of ‘Cocky Jockey Sticks’, proving beyond all doubt that the dance should never be attempted without a walk through round the corner first. Still, it was Christmas ….
See Bunfights for all the photos.
