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The e-Newsletter No.e-54 January 2008

Hi fellow Bagmen,
Thanks for your applications to attend the various meetings of the Morris Ring during 2008. It has proved difficult to satisfy everyone hence the slight delay in getting back to you I hoped to get it sorted before Christmas so I am only a couple of days late! Liverpool and Dartington have been heavily over subscribed and Long Man Morris Ring Meeting has been cancelled.

2008 Morris Ring Meetings

30th May - 1st June 75th Anniversary Thaxted Morris Ring Meeting 200+ men Cost: £65
4th - 6th July Whitchurch MM 60th Anniversary Morris Ring Meeting. 120 men Cost:£70.
11th - 13th July Liverpool Morris: the 80th anniversary Ring Meeting Full
Long Man MM 'South Downs' Morris Ring Meeting Cancelled
5th - 7th Sept Dartington MM 40th Anniversary Morris Ring Meeting Full

Thaxted. All who have applied have been accepted and there are 80 plus spaces for any late applicants or transfers for those who have been unsuccessful elsewhere.
Bagman for Meeting:

Whitchurch I have heard nothing to the contrary so conclude that all who have applied to this meeting have also been successful. (Plus Trigg & Letchworth see below)
Bagman for Meeting:

Dartington. They have agreed to accept all who put them as first choice but Ken will contact sides directly to negotiate numbers. To quote Ken directly: Having originally decided to limit the number of Sides to a maximum of 15, and having received that number exactly, we are not proposing to disappoint ANY of the 15, but to welcome them all, on the following basis!

  1. Initially, each of the 15 Sides will be limited to just 12 (Twelve) Men.
  2. We wish to contact personally those who have requested larger numbers than we are able to accommodate. If the opportunity arises, we propose to enter into a limited degree of flexibility, but on a DIRECT basis with individual Sides, during the months ahead.
  3. We shall be seeking Deposits from the individual Sides in Jan/Feb.

Liverpool (Mersey) It seems that unless some of the larger sides (Leicester 14, Chester 14, Ripley 15, Manchester 15) can lose a few men we'll have to drop Colchester besides passing Trigg and Letchworth to their second choices.
There is enough space for sleeping but it's going to be tight fitting 140+ into the Feast (we'd thought 120 was a good fit). Mersey will end up standing.
So,YES to Dartington, Chester, Hartley, Uttoxeter, Ripley, Leicester, Thelwall, Kinnerton, Manchester and Utrecht plus Leyland for the Day (but there's no room for them at the Feast).
Bagman for Meeting:

Long Man Unfortunately due to the lower than expected number of applications to this meeting Long Man MM have decided that it is not viable. Sides who applied for this meeting will be treated favourably should they wish to attend either the Thaxted or Whitchurch Morris Ring meetings (Dartington & Liverpool are already oversubscribed).

The rightmost column number(s) refers to the Sides choices, first or second, preference, underneath are the numbers of men from the particular side

30th May - 1st June Side 313 Thaxted 1
Dolphin 8
Morrisdansgroep Helmond 9
Saddleworth 14
White Rose 12
Ravensbourne Day 12
Great Yorkshire 10
Jockey 16
Colchester Day 10
Cambridge 10
Monkseaton 10
Totals: 111
Capacity: 200+ Less Day 89
4th - 6th July Side 314 Whitchurch 1 2
Leeds 7
Letchworth 6
Stafford 10
Thaxted Day only 10
Trigg 12
Winchester 8
Durham Rams 8
Etcetera 5
Harthill 10
Lincoln & Micklebarrow 7
Totals: 65 18
Less Day 55
Capacity 120 + 2nd choice 83
11th - 13th July Side 315 Mersey 1
Dartington 12
Hartley 10
Kinnerton 10
Leicester 14
Letchworth 8 x
Leyland Day Only 12
Manchester 15
Thaxted
Trigg 12 x
Uttoxeter Heart of Oak 12
Chester City 14
Utrecht 9
Thelwall 9
Ripley 15
Colchester 10 x
Totals: 162
Capacity: 120 Less Day 150
5th - 7th Sept Side 316 Dartington 1 2
East Surrey 18
Exeter 12
Green Man 10
St Albans 10
Standon 10
Thaxted 10
Wadard 10
West Somerset 10
Westminster 12
King Johns 16
Martlett 15
Mendip 20
Ravensbourne 12
North Wood 14
Bristol 15
Totals: 194 0
Capacity: 160
Un-placed due to cancellation of Long Man
Albury 11
Mayflower 8
Foresters 10
Men of Wight 10
Grand Union 10
Thames Valley 7
Chapel in le Frith ?
Totals: 56

What happens next? Host clubs have received this information at the same time as applicants. They will contact successful sides in their own time with further information but all host sides will require a potentially non-refundable deposit of £25 per man to be paid by the end of February to the host side. Please note that this is vital as over the past couple of years sides and individuals have dropped out at short notice and this has put the viability of individual meetings of the Morris Ring in jeopardy.

Future meetings:

2009 THE MORRIS RING'S 75th ANNIVERSARY
29th May ~ 31st May 318 Thaxted Morris Ring Meeting
24th 26th July 319 Exeter Morris Ring Meeting
21st 23rd Aug 320 Men of Wight Ring Meeting
4th 9th - September 321 Bathampton MM 75th Anniversary Morris Ring Meeting

Morris Ring ARM

The 2008 ARM will be hosted by Wadard on the weekend of 29th Feb, 1st & 2nd March 2008. The venue is Hopehill Scout Camp site: http://www.hopehill.org.uk/. Bagman for the weekend is Tony Lewis of Wadard Morris Men. or Tel: 01474 874377. All application forms, correspondence regarding accommodation, meals etc. to Tony please at: 5 Westfield, New Ash Green, Longfield, Kent DA3 8QN
An application form was included with Newsletter No 53 and can be downloaded here

Elections:

We have received three nominations for our next Squire of the Morris Ring:
Paul Beaumont Nominated by Stafford Morrismen
Steve Parker Nominated by East Surrey Morrismen
Brian Tasker Nominated by Broadwood Morrismen
There being no other nominations for the post of Morris Ring Treasurer, Steve Adamson BFB is prepared to stand again for a further 2 years.

Other elections: Area Reps

West Midlands Kevin Downham (existing Rep)
North West Vacancy (Duncan Broomhead is standing down)
South West & Wales. £ Vacancy Alan Chappell (Exeter) Nominated by Dartington.

Application to Join the Morris Ring

We have received an application from Great Yorkshire Morris to convert their Morris Ring Associated status to that of Member. Application supported by Gloucestershire MM & Uttoxeter MM

New Morris Ring Associates:

We welcome Uplyme Morris Men (Devon) and Porthleven Morris Men (Cornwall) to Morris Ring.

Formal notice of proposed changes to the Constitution of the Morris Ring:

One of the advantages of our existing Constitution is that it is clear enough to serve the purpose of providing the fabric that holds us together without binding us so tightly that we are suffocated either by rules and regulations or those who might seek to circumvent such rules.

The proposed changes are simply intended to provide a slightly sharper focus upon the role of our Area Reps as we grapple with the issues such as the rising average age of our membership and falling recruitment.

The Morris Ring Officers have considered the function of area reps as currently perceived and would like to add to this a regional development perspective.

We are hoping that these people will use their drive, professionalism and communication skills and time to continue to liaise with sides in their area but expand their remit to work with other agencies in the promotion, recruitment, training, performanceand development of Morris dancing in their regional context. This will allow us, the Morris Ring, to grasp the opportunities such as the regional events to be staged as part of the Cultural Olympiad for which regional Creative Programmers have just been appointed. They could also have a role in liaising with counterpartsin other areas where appropriate for the promotion and performance of joint events where it was to everyone's advantage.

To mirror this change in focus we are proposing that their title be changed from that of Area Representative to Regional Development Officers (RDO's).

Second. Currently the membership of the Morris Ring is divided into NINE sections based upon geographical area. There has been an immense amount of discussion in past times concerning where these boundaries should or should not be drawn. The last revision tried to take into account local government boundaries to facilitate the application of funds (from Arts Council / Sports Council/ etc) that were at the time allocated by and though these areas, as well as issues such as the number of clubs in and area, ease of transport and the like.

Each of these nine areas elects an individual to represent them on the Morris Ring Advisory Council. Beyond the general remit of the Advisory Council which is to consider how best to further the objects of the Morris Ring and to take action in an emergency the precise role of these nine area representatives has never been defined but they have become to be seen as the eyes and ears of the serving Squire across the country and have responded to various calls for assistance, advice etc. as requested.

To optimise the effectiveness of the re-designated RDOs their areas should as close as possibly match those of the regional Creative Programmers that is Arts and Culture regions: East, East Midlands, North East, North West, South East, South West, Yorkshire, West Midlands and London Area. The following table shows how these might morph:

Current Area Proposed Area
East No change but some transfers to London
North East No change
North West North West & North Wales
South West & Wales South West & Wales
South East South East
North Yorkshire
? London
West Midlands West Midlands & Mid Wales
North Midlands East Midlands
South Midlands Re-allocate to appropriate areas
Proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Morris Ring:
These will be Proposed by Paul Reece (Squire) & Seconded by Charlie Corcoran (Bagman)
  1. That all references to Area Reps be changed to read Regional Development Officers.
  2. Should proposed amendment number one be accepted that the areas covered by the RDO's be realigned to match the Arts and Culture regions. Where a member side's dancing patch takes in more than one such area they elect one area in consultation with the Officers of the Morris Ring for the ease of administration.
  3. Incumbent Area Reps shall be encouraged to remain in post until due for re-election when those are naturally eligible for re-election. It is hoped that they would, in the meantime, actively embrace their enhanced role within the structure of the Morris Ring.

TREASURER'S RAMBLINGS

At the time of this newsletter hitting the eather (Sunday 30/12/2007) the members and associates subscription figures to-date are as follows:

Members: 146 paid + 14 overdue = 160 Members

Associates: 43 paid + 7 overdue = 50 Associates

Totals: 189 paid (Well done) + 21 overdue (Pay Up!) = 210 Total Mem & Assoc

Many thanks to all those sides who have made donations to the Morris Ring Archive Group. You have, so far collectively donated £849.51 towards this groups invaluable work but they can always use more.

Reminder from the Squire about the Cultural Olympiad.

Has your side contacted the Squire with ideas of how we can contribute towards this great initiative? These Creative Programmers for the regions are waiting for us (The Morris Ring) to approach them with regional proposals and a timetable of events from 24th August 2008 through to August 2012. So those area reps, members and, or representatives of sides in the regions who are enthusiastic in the Morris being involved in these high profile events, or have ideas and contributions to make please contact Paul Reece initially so that a plan can be put together for their inclusion in the Cultural Olympiad programme of events.

The Creative Programmers are:

Roger's jig

Mendip Ale

A wonderful event thanks for the invitation chaps - Mendip's Show Dance (vaguely Kirtington with a dash of Adderbury).
Also at the Ale: Roger the Fool and his coconut dance

Mendip's jig

 

MORRIS RING PUBLICATIONS

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

David Thompson: Editor of The Morris Dancer
13 Lark Close,
Littleover,
DERBY,
DE23 2TE
Tel: 01332 770578
or

CONCLUSION

The end of a very busy year and there are a lot of business issues dealt with in this final Newsletter of 2007. As usual please share it with the members of your side along with my good wishes for 2008.

On behalf of my fellow Officers of the Morris Ring I again would like to thank you for your friendship and support over the past year and wish you joy in all that you do in 2008 especially if it involves you supporting the ARM and/or one of the four Morris Ring Meetings.

sig Bagman of the Morris Ring