The Newsletter No.46 September /October 2006

Hello,

Before the usual administrative stuff an apology for the lateness of this edition of the Newsletter - the day-job has been rather demanding and I need the money.

As we are in the middle of the AGM season please remember to let me know if a new person emerges from the shadows and volunteers (!) to be Bagman of your side or if your Bagman moves house, or email address or phone number
Ring Officers. We have received several puzzled phone calls and emails over the past few months with people being unsure who to contact for what. In essence you can contact any of us and we will pass on questions, requests, ideas to whom ever is most appropriate but to assist you here is an answer to the ultimate question:

What do the Morris Ring Officers do? What is their role?

Squire. Presidential-style figurehead. The public face of the Morris Ring, the spokesman, the diplomat.

Treasurer. Money Man; membership secretary and in Steves case, the Morris Shop-keeper.

Bagman. Secretary; all non-financial administration; news-exchange via the Newsletter; publisher of Ring Directory & Handbook; broker for applications for Ring events.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL YOUNG SIDES:

While many of you will have read Paul Reeces article in the recently published Morris Ring Circular No 52 (if you didnt see this please ask your Bagman for sight of a copy) this issue is so important I make no apology for repeating the burden of his message here. Paul wrote to all Area Reps:

I am keen to see the creation and development of regional recruitment, demonstration and teaching sides of young dancers to go into schools, colleges, communities and festivals to stimulate interest in performing the Morris. These sides may be based on a nucleus of existing young dancers already belonging to sides and schools in your area or they may need to be built from scratch by interested parties supported by yourselves, local clubs or regional cluster groups and the Ring. Everyone potentially has a chance to benefit by introducing new dancers and musicians to clubs, especially those where the average age is in the 60 s and retiring older members over the next 5 to 6 years if not replaced are likely to affect the clubs viability. If we start now there is a real chance of securing the future of individual clubs and the Morris in general. One of the best ways to celebrate significant milestones in a clubs history is to raise a new side. Our goal should be that by 2012 and the 400^th anniversary of the Cotswold Olympics, when the nation and the media are perhaps keen to focus on our national icons and traditions that we have in place a vibrant next generation of young sides ready to perform.

Paul asked the area reps to coordinate an audit of Morris Ring sides their area and any local schools that already run a Morris team or who might be interested in learning Morris dancing and perhaps starting a team. These are the initial heading for the audit:

Club or School name

Traditions covered: Cotswold, Border, NW, Longsword, Rapper etc.

Active Dancers

Age 6-10

Age 11-17

Age 18-30

Age 31-49

Qualified teachers: primary br /or secondary

Level of recruitment interest: eg strong/interested/cautious

New dancers & musicians in last 2 yrs

Paul is seeking a response by the end of November at the absolute latest so if you have not been contacted by your Area Rep you contact them! In the meantime Paul would welcome your views, ideas, interim comments and suggestions.

Massed Dances So that you can prepare yourselves in the practice season these are the dances selected by Paul for massed performance:

Fieldtown: The Valentine, Country Gardens (Stick)
Adderbury: Shepherd's Hey, Beaux of London City (shooting), Bluebells of Scotland
Bledington: Young Collins
Brackley: Jockey to the Fair
Bampton: Bobbing Around
Headington: Blue Eyed Stranger, Laudnum Bunches

Nibs Matthews There was A Celebration of the Life of Nibs Matthews - a programme of dance music and song - held at Cecil Sharp House on Sunday 17^th September. There were displays from Headington Quarry, Bampton (Daniels/Shergold side) and Stone Monkey Rapper.
Donations in Nibs memory can still be made to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library.

Peter Kennedy. For those who did not see it there was an obit in The Times on 14^th July 2006.

Repeats / reminders:

Sidefinder:http://www.morrisdancing.org/finder/sfcgi.html
Black Book tunes: http://www.themorrisring.org/More/Tunes/index.html
The official Web Site of The Illustrious Order of Fools and Beasts is www.foolsandbeasts.org.uk
The Licensing Act 2003
Included yet again because there are still people out there who are confused!

Events: Warning! Following the unfortunate incident at the Rose & Castle Morriss weekend when a lot of property was stolen whilst everyone was out touring the local villages can we urge all organisers of events to leave somebody or better still bodies on site to make it obvious that someone is there. Also make sure people dont leave valuable things on site in tents / caravans / cars.

The 1847 Town Police Clauses Act. This obscure legislation allows a Local Council to close a road. It should cost you nothing unless a police presence is required. Please let me know if you have successfully used this legislation.

The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Indexes to the collections of some of the best-known folk music collectors of the twentieth century are now available on the Library's website - http://library.efdss.org The main Library website is www.efdss.org/library . For further information contact Malcolm Taylor 020 7485 2206 ext 29 or

Past Morris Ring Meetings For a definitive list of all Ring Meetings to date visit http://www.themorrisring.org/Archive/previous_rings.html

The Morris Ring Archivists like to receive copies of your programmes, photographs taken, media coverage, etc..

TREASURERS RAMBLINGS.

Please indulge me for a few moments, but this has got to be said regarding the NEW Morris Ring Treasurer. Q: What ever happened to the old one?

Whilst attending numerous Morris events throughout the year, I have been on the receiving end of some curious but genuine questions such as, who are you and/or where is BFB? Do not be afraid or embarrassed for, it is I, your Treasurer for the past 13 years. Some of my dearest and oldest Morris friends have been noticeably gob smacked at new 11 stone Treasurer of the Morris Ring. My sincere thanks to all for your heartfelt good wishes received to date. I have no objection to continuing with the BFB suffix as used by my friends and others for so many years. It is so hard not to be smug and humble at the same time!

It's that time of year again. With this mailing you will find your Morris Ring annual subscription renewal form. Please do give this matter your soonest attention.

I am delighted to announce that we have again succeeded in freezing your annual membership / associate subscriptions for another year. This has been as a direct result of our combined efforts in reducing our costs to meet our income, as opposed to the ever spiralling reverse scenario. When I say our combined efforts I refer to all the elected officers and Harry Stevenson in our publications department. This has been a coordinated team endeavour and the results will be plain for all to see and hear during the Treasurers report at the 2007 A.R.M. in Leicester. Invigorating stuff eh! The subscription deadline date is 30^th November 2006. Payment received prior to this date will save you £10.00.

For those wishing to partake of the optional Personal Accident Insurance, please complete the renewal/application document enclosed and dispatch to same to Michael Stimpson (NOT Steve Adamson) along with your appropriate premium payment, made payable to Michael Stimpson & Associates. Financial Services Authority regulations forbid me from handling any aspect of this policy. The premium is £1.50 per head including an INCREASED LEVEL OF COVER with a deadline of 19^th January 2007. After this date your application and any payment will be returned without being processed. This policy provides personal accident cover in the U.K only (16yrs - 65yrs). For P/A cover abroad, this WILL be incorporated in your personal travel insurance.

We are now entering into the season of Ceilidhs, Barn Dances and the like. One of the most commonly asked insurance questions is, We are organising a Ceilidh/Barn dance. Do we have public liability insurance for the event?

NO if you are selling tickets to the general public you will require the additional cover for which the premium is £52.50 (incl I.P.T. at 5%). You must contact Michael Stimpson, as early as possible, tel. 01923 770425. The event details and additional premium must be with him at least seven working days prior to the event. The earlier the better.

Ales, feasts, instructionals and Morris Ring meetings are automatically covered. It is only when the paying public are involved/invited that the additional premium kicks in. The safest way is, if in doubt ask.

All of the above information regarding insurance matters has been approved by our F.S.A. registered insurance broker, Mr Michael Stimpson.

Your MORRIS SHOP is thriving as ever, please see centre pages. If you discover a Morris orientated book or CD that you suspect I might not know about, please get in touch and tell me about it. I am particularly keen to seek out more Sword, Rapper, North West and Border Morris material. You are my eyes and ears.

Other Issues / Topics / News

Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green takes place over the first May Bank Holiday and has teams coming from all over the country and overseas. If you've never been before and would like to, please or telephone 01424 436052. Pictures showing the Jack being released from the Fisherman's Museum this year at www.hastingsjack.co.uk

"The Trees that made Britain". The BBC will be showing an 8 part series on "The Trees that made Britain" on Friday evenings at 7.30pm starting on September 15th. Episodes 5 and 8 are expected to contain some shots of Morris dancing.

Mendip Ring Meeting Local news report from Burnham-On-Sea Somerset of A dozen morris dancing groups from across Britain are gathered in Somerset this week for the 308^th Meeting of the Morris Ring Read it here

The 31st Tour of the American Travelling Morrice 22-29 July 2006 On the last Saturday of the Tour, ATM joined up with The Travelling Morrice and with Chipping Campden Morris Men for a tour of Morton-in-Marsh, Broadway, Hidcote Manor, and finishing with a processional from the Church Rooms to the Square in Chipping Campden, where they all gave a dance show. Visit the http://www.themorrisring.org/News/atm1.html for photos. The American Travelling Morrice comprises dancers and musicians from across the USA. Originally composed of men from Binghamton, NY and Boston, the group has grown to include dancers from across the nation, as well as a very few men from England. While many of these men dance regularly with teams in their home towns, they come together for one week each year to form the American Travelling Morrice.

Photos http://flickr.com A lot of excitement has been caused in some circles by the discovery of this web site: therein can be found thousands of morris pictures. You type in your search criteria and wait to be amazed, astounded, amused, the choice is yours. A search of Morris Dance gives 3,021 hits; Clog Morris - 590 hits; Morris Ale - 118 hits; Bampton Morris - 25 hits and Saddleworth Morris - 24 hits

Video Archives abound. There are some interesting videos of the Morris on http://video.google.com and enter "morris dancing" or "morris dance"

Chipperfield Ring Meeting 2006 Antony Heywood who produced a DVD lasting 75 minutes of the Helmond Ring Meeting from material shot by Jonathan Heywood has repeated the process for Greensleeves! Jonathan visited all three tours on the Chipperfield Ring Meeting 2006 so the DVD shows a wide variety of teams and sites. Copies of this DVD are available at £5 each plus postage (£2.50 for up to three copies sent to the same address and £4 for more than three). Orders to Antony Heywood, Rietstraat 15, 5662 RA Geldrop, The Netherlands. or

Banbury Hobby Horse Festival Although they don't show how hot it was Pete Thomas has put some photos of the Hobby Horse Festival at http://www.morrisman.f2s.com/Richtradition/Banbury_2006/index.htm

Village Greens: Morris dancing now possible in Holburn. John Price of St Albans Morris Men caught this news item on BBC Radio 4: The first new village green to be created for more than 50 years is being opened in Northumberland. John comments that it is interesting to hear morris dancing mentioned in a totally matter-of-fact manner. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5247636.stm
He goes on the say: 'Listening to views expressed by residents of Bourton-in-the-Water it would seem that a pub is important to most people when looking for "the perfect village" - though a number had a twinkle in their eye when they said it. References to a church, a shop and a village hall as well, of course, but not a mention of a village green!'

Wife / partner swapping? Do you know of a family that lives, eats and breathes folk music? Channel 4 are looking for families to take part in the challenge of a life-time. Wife Swap, the popular and award-winning series is back and were looking for new families. Visit the Ring home page News Column for further information http://www.themorrisring.org/News/swap/index.html

Traditional English Morris Dancing now available on DVD to watch in the safety of your own home! A collection of traditional English dance styles - Cotswold Morris, Border Morris and Clog.
Each Morris Dancers of England DVD features entertaining dances and interesting personalities from some of the best sides performing today. £6.99 each.

International Sword Spectacular The Fifth International Sword Spectacular Festival will be held in Yorkshire on the 23-26^th May, 2008. The aim of the weekend is quite simple to bring together the biggest and most varied collection of sword dancers we can manage, so that they can see each other dance and get to know each other a bit better. We expect to see 30-40 British teams, a dozen or so from Europe, and an unknown but growing number from North America. As ever, British longsword and rapper teams are likely to turn up in the largest numbers, but one theme for 2008 is to reach out to those Morris teams who do a bit of sword but who rarely go out with other sword teams. We would love to see you. Prices have still to be announced, but will be comparable with many weekends of dance. You'll be very welcome as individuals or as a team.

Morris in Modern England I wish to gather source material for a book about Morris in Modern England. In the first instance, I would like to ask for copies of any press reports or magazine articles about the Morris that sides have in their scrapbooks. That's anything from full-blown articles to newspaper clippings. Photocopies will do, but the source and date are important. I can't use anything undated or unattributable. [Information direct to Mac please.]

RING PUBLICATIONS

Harry Stevenson:
Editor of the Morris Circular
Erin House,
59, Olivers Battery Road North,
Winchester
SO22 4JB
Mobile 07775 785271
Tel: 01962 855911
Email:

Editor of the Morris Dancer. You will have noticed from Newsletter No 45 that the post of editor of the Morris Dancer was vacant - Eddie, the previous editor for some 20 years, having retired. We had a volunteer replacement but various pressures forced him to reconsider at rather short notice. This is an interesting job as whilst the Bagmans Newsletter and The Morris Ring Circular have fairly clear audience and purpose The Morris Dancer has a far less clearly defined market. As a consequence, especially in these days of belt tightening, there are problems as to how much we should spend on the printing and distribution of what has proved to be a minority publication. We are currently seeking a volunteer to join our publications team and take this on. Any offers?

Fools and Beasts Unconvention (hosted by Letchworth MM) Dates confirmed as 27^th -29^th October at Old Walden, nr Biggleswade, Bedfordshire,
Usual Workshops, Saturday Tour etc., room only for 35 delegates, indoor camping at the Village Hall. Cost approx. £50 pp. Application form online.
Fools and Beasts Badge Design Competition(?) In the past years, there have been several designs for the badge worn by members of the Illustrious Order of Fools and Beasts; the current one is an enamel badge with a sketch of a Harlequin type of Fool dancing, surrounded by the words United Fools Union. These badges are now running out and a new design needed which reflects both the Fools and Beasts element of the Order, and incorporating the wording "Illustrious Order of Fools and Beasts". Designs are welcome from anyone, not just members of the Order; please send your design to:

Judging will take place at the next Unconvention. (See above) Chosen design might well win a prize...!

Kennet Morris Men (formed 1957) 50^th Birthday Celebrations Kennet have been dancing in and around Reading for 49 years now. In order to celebrate our 50^th year we have hired two narrowboats. Since we are named after it, we intend to sail the boats along the Kennet Canal from Bath to Reading dancing at 50 pubs en route.
We hope to be seen off by the mayor of Bath on Saturday 12th May 2007 and be greeted by the mayor of Reading on arrival there the following Saturday, 19th May 2007. This is challenging, but not impossible.
We hope to enjoy ourselves, emphasise the historic link between Bath and Reading and gain some publicity for morris dancing. We hope the event will be covered in local papers, on local radio stations and possibly regional TV as well. The event might even get us some new members. We note that Wadworths has a brewery right on the canal at Devizes.

Sticks: Hazel Morris sticks from £1.50 each (70cm long 3cm diameter) with discounts available for quantities over 20 in one order.

Longswords and Rappers.

W A N T E D: Ring Meeting Feedback

Following this years Morris Ring Meetings the Morris Ring officers have received some feedback from both host and guest sides and are we are keen to receive more! A couple of comments / suggestions that have been received so far:

• Concessions for under 16's?
• Tour Sizes - should these be limited to four teams per tour. On Saturday my total for the day was 4 dances and some of our men managed only 3

Feast - Congratulations to Mendip for introducing Seating Plans. This meant that the usual race & rugby scrums to reserve spaces was avoided and that sides were guaranteed to be seated together.

Silkeborg Morris Men

"..... This is not in any way intended as a Morris Ring meeting, but a weekend of dance where we show the Danes as many facets of the Morris as we can. We are looking for around 70 men."
In a minute village in the middle of Jutland, between the burning of the witch (a Danish custom to celebrate Saint Hans) and the eating of sausages, the seeds were sown for the birth of Silkeborg Morris Men.
Like many fertility related happenings it was an accident, father unknown and all that. That was 30 years ago, and the child lives on, 17 men strong, ages 18 72. Calls for a celebration & we have secured the perfect setting at, I hope, the right price.
Silkeborg Morris Men would like to invite 5 or 6 sides Morris / Sword / Mummers to help us celebrate our 30^th Birthday.
Dates: Thursday 5^th July to Sunday 8^th July 2007 inclusive.
We envisage an INFORMAL weekend of dance at a folk festival on the northern tip of the peninsula of Jutland where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea meet in the areas of Skagerrak meets Kattegat at Skagen, which is the venue for the Skagen Folk Festival
I haven't seen this years program yet but there have been many good names in the past, Steeleye Span, Run Rig, McCalmans, Vin Garbutt, Fairport, Oyster, Dubliners and many more
We can provide: (free of charge)
First class indoor camping including hot showers & excellent toilet facilities;
Breakfast ticket; Evening meal ticket; Back stage pass giving free entry to all concerts and to musicians bar with cheap beer. Plus Free Transport from & to either Ålborg or Århus airport.
We expect:
You find/finance your own transport either to Skagen or one of the airports mentioned above.

We are planning everything within walking distance of your mattress, though we may decide on widening our horizons, which may or may not cost the hire of a bus. Not a fortune I might add.
We envisage some walking tours / massed Morris / processionals during the weekend. If there is a large response we would like to give priority to diversity in order to give a complete picture of our heritage.
*For more information please contact Silkeborg Morrismen Directly via Email: Web: http://www.silkeborgmorrismen.dk/

*PS, Also, please inform the Overseas Bagman - who will try to help from this side of the North Sea !

Web sites:

Thanks to David Jackson, Bagman of The Kings Morris for this helpful hint:
Most teams already have a website. However, useful information about constructing or improving a website with maximum impact can be found on the website: www.bandsman.co.uk/tips.htm This gives a checklist of suggestions and recommendations to brass bands on how to use a website to attract potential hirers and new members but this information is of course of equal interest to Morris sides.
Comment The recommended link page has many good practices, but fails on W3C validation of its source code! No DOC TYPE and 7 other maybe related errors. The top page of their site fails in a similar fashion, but with 15 errors! I think that providing valid HTML to a specified standard (something I strive for but don't always achieve) will also improve your site. See http://validator.w3.org/. See also http://www.webstandards.org/

THE MORRIS RING - JIGS INSTRUCTIONAL

Sutton Bonnington, Nottinghamshire 19-21st January 2007

The Cotswold Morris Jig provides an opportunity for an individual performer to show his skills, whether by way of a change of emphasis, or expansion of style, without the constraints imposed by a team of dancers, but kept within the scope of the known authority, i.e. not to 're-write' a tradition. As well as frequently being used in a ceremonial role to distinguish the solo dancer, the Jig is a valuable device for the Squire or Foreman of a club to present a varied and more interesting programme.

The Jigs Instructional endeavours to inspire the confidence and ability to dance Jigs by giving a good basic grounding in each tradition.

Further details on the Application Form. Apply by 5^th December

White Trousers Most of these are seconds that are as good as the best. Tried and tested by Jockey Morris Men and the Morris Ring Treasurers new wardrobe dresser. Well worth getting in touch.

Reminder: It has been suggested that The Morris Ring might consider the possibility of acquiring a presence at The National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire to provide a permanent memorial to those who have served the Morris Ring and Morris in general in one way or another during their life. Through this sides, individuals and families might mark whatever contribution their deceased friend or loved one made to the Morris Ring nationally or locally. This is intended to supplement and not replace things such as donations towards the Archive work of the Morris Ring or local memorials or tree-planting. Information was distributed with earlier Newsletters but we have received limited response. Past Squire Bob Cross, who is collating expressions of interest and offers of money, would like to receive the thoughts and comments from clubs and individuals in order for him to prepare a report and more concrete proposals for the ARM in March 2007. Please let Bob have your views by the end of November 2006 we need to act one way or the other based upon firm knowledge rather than silence which could be interpreted as massive support for the project or a wave of indifference. Please remember that this has to be supported by side and individual sponsorship.

"Portsmouth." Mike Oldfield, best known as composer of "Tubular Bells" occasionally has drawn upon folk and traditional material for his work, such as "The Sailor's Hornpipe" and "Portsmouth." Sean Smith of Commonwealth Morris discovered this gem on the internet: {This link is now missing so try http://youtube.com/watch?v=I9gaByH7WLM instead - JM} It is {still} worth a look.

CONCLUSION

The opening dance spot of Oakworth Village Morris Mens Silver Jubilee Weekend (an excellent do) was in front of Keighley Market Hall. Paul Reece (Squire of the Morris Ring) overheard an elderly couple who were watching the dancing intently commented at the end of one dance: 'I suppose it keeps the pigeons away'.

An anecdote from Chris Davison, Bagman of Barnsley Longsword & member of Redcar Sword Dancers, again raises the question of the public image of Morris Dancers. He reports:
"A couple of years ago I was employed by London Underground at Canary Wharf and used to catch the Jubilee Line back to my digs in the evening. One night I got on to the train as usual and managed to get a seat. A young lady got on and sat next to me and carried on a conversation with another young lady in the seat opposite. It became obvious that she was someone's PA.
"He wants me to organise everything for his garden party" She said to her friend as the train set off, "he wants a bouncy castle, he wants a hot-dog stand and all that sort of thing as well. He even wants me to organise some Morris Dancers, I mean, where am I going to find Morris Dancers?"
So I leaned over and said "You're sitting next to one, can I help?"
She jumped up and immediately got off at Canada Water station!

I round off with a big public Thank You to Phil Heming of the Tarka Morris Men who translates my Word document Newsletter into PDF files for ease of electronic transfer.

I again repeat my offer to use this newsletter as a means of communicating with other sides in the Morris Ring - I cannot pass on News if I don't receive any. Similarly the members of your side will not receive the news if you and / or the Bagmen do not pass it on!

Radio Times 22-28th July 2006 and refers to the 700 or so dancers in Trafalger Square
Bernie Porritt

 

 

 

 

 

I have to share this picture with you. Taken by Fran Johnson the wife of one of the Leicester Morrismen whilst at Saddleworth showing the importance of keeping a keen eye on the condition of a sides Beer.

 

 

 

Future Dates:

2007

2^nd - 4^th March ARM Hosted By Leicester Morrismen

14^th April 3 orgs. event. Birmingham

1^st 3^rd June 309 Thaxted John Bull Morris Ring Meeting

29^th June 1^st July 310 Ripley 25^th Anniversary Morris Ring Meeting

20^th 22^nd July 311 Stafford 50^th Anniversary Morris Ring Meeting

31^st Aug 2^nd Sept. 312 Tonbridge Geoff Metcalf Morris Ring Meeting

2008

7^th 9^th March (?) ARM - Hosted By (Possibly Wadard MM)

30^th May ~ 1^st June 313 Thaxted Morris Ring Meeting

TBA.. 314 Whitchurch MM 60^th Anniversary Morris Ring Meeting

11^th -13^th July 315 Mersey MM 90^th Anniversary Morris Ring Meeting

25th - 27th July 316 Long Man MM

5^th 7^th Sept. 317 Dartington MM Morris Ring Meeting

2009THE MORRIS RINGS 75^th ANNIVERSARY

6^th 8^th March (?) ARM Hosted By TBA

29^th May ~ 31^st May 318 Thaxted Morris Ring Meeting

TBA ... 319 Harthill Morris Ring Meeting

24^th 26^th July 320 Exeter Morris Ring Meeting

2010

5^th 7^th March (?) ARM Hosted by TBA ...

4^th June ~ 6^th June Thaxted Morris Ring Meeting

2011

4^th 6^th March (?) ARM Hosted By TBA

3^rd June ~ 5^th June Thaxted Centenary Morris Ring Meeting

TBA... Bristol 60^th Anniv. Morris Ring Meeting

2012

3^rd 5^th March (?) ARM Hosted by TBA

1^st June ~ 3^rd June Thaxted Morris Ring Meeting

TBA ... Hartley 60^th Anniv. Morris Ring Meeting

Future Morris Ring Meetings

The usual plea - if your side might be interested in hosting a Morris Ring Meeting to mark an anniversary or simply for the hell of it ask me for a set of guidelines so that you have some idea of what you are letting yourself in for!