Thurs Jun 5 saw us at The Bell at Aldworth with Old Speckled Hen, for another pleasant evening of dance, bready snacky things, and a pitcher or two of ale provided by the pub. After the dancing we crowded into the back bar for a lively session, and Jameson even got to do his father painting the parlour. Again. There was paste and paper everywhere. It probably helped that he’d had a beer or two by this stage – well you can probably pitcher the scene yourself.
Then on Saturday 7th it was BB’s very own Day of Dance, ably organised by Bob. After travelling into Reading from Wokingham by train along with guest sides Rogue and the Outside Capering Crew, the first spot was in Forbury Gardens. This is normally a tranquil haven on the edge of town, with the peace on this particular Saturday morning broken only by the top notch Morris entertainment and a selection of the town youth assembled on the bandstand, who could only stare in some amazement at the aforementioned top notch entertainment, and indeed actually show some interest as well as occasionally a tad too much enthusiasm for joining in, though attempting to do baccapipes on crossed skateboards took no little imagination.
Next spot was by the Town Hall, where we drew a fair sized and largely appreciative audience, as well as a brief shower of eggs. Thanks, youth of Reading, but we had already eaten. From the spot we adjourned to nearby O’Neills for lunch, a large Irish style pub with plenty of room and eventually plenty of food though it took a while to arrive. In the end we could barely give the spicy chicken wings away.
After this to the Oracle display area, for a prearranged spot during a promotional day for the Caversham Charity Folk Festival. From a dancing point of view this was a highlight of the day as by now it had turned into a sunny afternoon, and there was a fair sized audience on the display area steps which helped to bring out the best in the dancers. The musicians were also helped by being able to use the amplification already in place for the other music acts, so altogether it led to impressive performances from everyone. During one of the Capering Crew dances, one lad was egged on by his mates to come and frolic in set, and was dealt with in short measure by Simon Pipe who chased him and mimed chucking him over the railings into the Kennet and Avon canal around which the Oracle development has been built. It was a spirited performance from Simon and got good sympathetic approval from the audience – it also ensured no more interruptions!
The Oracle spot finished with BB’s Fairies, after which it was back to Wokingham on the train for the final dance spot of the day in the Market Place. This also finished with an interruption just at the end of the very last dance of the day, and once again involving the Capering Crew, but this time it was Tracy’s little boy Mark who ran on just as Tracy, Sue and Simon were performing the last figure, and grabbed Tracy’s leg. She just about managed to shake him off it, but he immediately grabbed her other one and was still there at the final flourish, much to the amusement of everyone present including the dancers.
The formal part of the day finished with tea and cakes at Bob and Malcolm’s for most of the participants, (never has so much tea been drunk by so many people in such a short space of time, or so it seemed) and then the informal part of the day got going, which somewhere later in the evening developed into take away pizzas, washed down with yet more cake. A very pleasant day for all, and blessed overall by favourable weather too, though as we all know by now it never rains on Berkshire Bedlam …….
Thursday 19 June saw us out again for the not-quite-summer-solstice evening with Holt Morris at the Red Lion at Avebury. Another excellent evening of dancing followed by a musical session at The Bell on the A4 in nearby West Overton, which included solo songs from Paul, Lee and Malcolm, and an inspired Pink Floyd’s Bike Song, with a psychedelic arm waving chorus much to some of the team’s apparent discomfort but perhaps they didn’t know the words.
The 28th and 29th of June saw us in Bristol for the Pigsty weekend, based again at Pilning junior school. The dancing got off to a fine start when at the first spot, in Millennium Square just outside the @Bristol exhibition, Jameson went to get some money from a cashpoint machine and as he did so got spectacularly splattered by a passing seagull. The things some people do to get a round of applause. He should of course have known to be extra careful, Bristol being the scene of the famous custard slice throwing episode of 2 years earlier. To add insult to injury the machine was out of operation. Now if only he had been better prepared and brought enough money with him ….
After this we enjoyed some good dancing in the centre of Bristol, and an excellent lunchtime spot on the terrace of the Avon Gorge Hotel in Clifton with views of the Clifton suspension bridge which some of us later walked across holding on gingerly. And amazing to think that after that short crossing there we were in Wales – it just seemed so near. In the evening there was a ceilidh with the Geckoes, a spoof Bhangra spot from Mad Jacks and an excellent song from Harburton Navy. (Wot, no BB spot?). Finally on Sunday a slightly diminished number performed manfully at the lunchtime pub spot at the Anchor at Oldbury-on-Severn. Another excellent weekend, well put together, and with kind weather for us once again, because of course it never … rains ….. on ……. zzzzzz.