- 2009 Meetings:
- JMO Nottingham
- Thaxted
- Hartley
- Exeter
- Men of Wight
- Bathampton
Morris Ring Meetings for 2009
2009 IS THE MORRIS RINGS 75th ANNIVERSARY
IMPORTANT: See updated information in Newsletter No 59
28th March Nottingham Revels - JMO event Hosted by the Open Morris.
In 2009 the event is being organised by the home side, the Lady Bay Revellers Morris
These events are organised in rotation by each of the three Morris Organisations. Originally bi-annually they are now going to an annual event in the run-up to the London Olympics in 2012. They are planned to raise the profile of the Morris both to the local schools and wider community, and the local and national media. The Nottingham event is building upon successful events in London, Newcastle and last year in Birmingham. We will be looking for sides to fly the flag for the Morris Ring with our usual appeals for youth as well sides to represent the whole spectrum of the Morris.
29th May - 31st May 317 Thaxted Morris Ring Meeting
Thaxted is the home of the Morris Ring and its founding, so for its 75th anniversary we are planning a special Thaxted meeting with invited traditional sides, our founder clubs and those sides that we feel have made a significant contribution to the great success of our meeting over the years. This we are told is still the ‘classic and most magical of all the Morris Ring meetings with its processions down into the Town Street arena for the massed dancing and the haunting climax of the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance.
Refined and improved year
on year, our 75th weekend of dance this year proved to be such a
success that many sides have already committed themselves to return for the big
one in 2009. We are therefore
expecting a very full response and are planning several surprises to make the
Morris Rings 75th birthday bash in Thaxted as memorable as we can
make it.
If you haven't been for a while, come as a side or as an individual and experience the difference, at what is the annual gathering of the Morris clans; a family welcome back to the spiritual home of the Morris. If you have never been then youve never really lived and are in for a great surprise. We will be adding extra tours, including at least one of the hop on hop off bus pass variety and are planning to use the church for the Saturday mid show feast if the numbers as expected are likely to be large.
The church will also be the venue for a larger than usual exhibition to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Morris Ring and sides coming to Thaxted. Please if you have any special photographs of your side at Thaxted over the last 75 years please email us your digital copies or get in touch so that we can consider them for inclusion and even possible inclusion in a forthcoming book being planned for a century of dancing at Thaxted.
Remember this is likely to be the largest, most important and most northerly Morris Ring meeting being planned so representatives from the North West, Border, Molly, Longsword and Rapper will be especially welcome. The Thaxted Cutlers Guildhall particularly will welcome sword sides to perform Papa Stour or what they will, including their most memorable plays and Mumming.
Cost for the 75th Morris Ring Anniversary Meeting is expected to be around £75 for the whole weekend with scaled reductions for day men and children.
Numbers capable of being accommodated at this special meeting will be in the region of 300.
12th - 14th June 318 Hartley Morris Ring Meeting Wrotham in West Kent
We have decided to expand the Hartley Ale into a Morris Ring meeting to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Stansted Morris Men, the club which, in 1952, gave rise to the Hartley Morris Men. The format will remain basically the same as our usual annual Ale but we hope to increase the number of men we can accommodate to about 120.
The weekend will be based in the village of Wrotham in West Kent. We want to offer a flexible pricing structure and the number of men we can accommodate will depend partly on the options selected by those applying. We will be providing a full package of Friday evening meal, Saturday and Sunday cooked breakfasts, Saturday tour including lunch, the Feast, Sunday tour and lunch, plus free beer all weekend in the hall for an inclusive price of £50. Indoor camping will be available in the hall but there will be an outdoor camping alternative with showers available to all. Outdoor camping comes with the cheaper option of self catering. The exact cost will depend on the options chosen, but anyone opting for just outdoor camping, Saturday tour with lunch, Feast and free beer will receive a substantial discount. Similarly there will also be a special day rate for those who wish to come for the Saturday tour and Feast only or join us just on the Sunday tour and be included in the massed displays.
The tours will be by vintage coaches taking in visits to local breweries, a steam railway and village pubs. Local National Trust properties and other similar attractions will be included during the afternoon. The tours will meet up at a home brew pub in the late afternoon for the first mass display of the weekend. There will not be a church service on the Sunday morning. Instead, all the men will be taken to visit Ightham Mote, the beautiful National Trust property not far from Wrotham. The second mass display of the weekend will take place here. For those who wish, there will be time to visit the gardens and the house. The weekend will finish in Wrotham Village Square where the third mass display will take place. By holding three mass displays we will be able to keep each one relatively short but still include sufficient massed dances to keep everyone happy.
We also intend to make our Morris Ring meeting attractive to sides who dance North West Morris, sword and the other traditions. In our planning we will take special note of the dancing requirements of the sides on each tour.
We hope to see many of our old friends as well sides who have not visited us before.
24th - 26th July 319 Exeter Morris Ring Meeting
Our meeting will be based in Topsham, the historic port area of Exeter at the head of the Exe estuary. Sleeping and feast accommodation will be available for up to 175 men.
Topsham has many good pubs including the Bridge Inn, the only one where the Queen has stopped for a drink.
A modern primary school will be used for accommodation- mostly indoor camping but with plenty of room for tents and Campervans for those who want a more peaceful night.
The Saturday tours will either include a trip to the seaside will go to the edge of Dartmoor with a river stop.
An outdoor heated swimming pool will be available when you return, to be followed by a Hog Roast feast. It is planned that this will not last too long so that you can walk into the town and enjoy the 10 nearby hostelries or just relax/dance at the school. Good local real ale will be available at the school during your stay for £1.75 a pint.
The massed show will be in two parts, the first in Topsham before the tours depart on the Saturday, and the second in front of Exeter Cathedral on Sunday morning. This will be followed by the Church Service in the Cathedral with alternative arrangements for those not wishing to attend (but it is a wonderful building so think twice before going elsewhere)
The cost will be £60 per man, and we hope to see as many of our good friends as possible.
21st - 23rdAug. 320 Men of Wight Morris Ring Meeting Based in Cowes
I am still awaiting final details but this meeting is planned to be based in Cowes. Further information will be distributed via the Morris Ring Google Group and the Morris Ring Website
4th - 6th Sept 321 Bathampton MM "Double Diamond Anniversary" Morris Ring Meeting
2009 is the 75th (diamond) anniversary of both The Morris Ring and Bathampton Morris Men. As the culmination of a summer of events to celebrate both anniversaries, Bathampton Morris Men are hosting a Morris Ring Meeting based in the beautiful Georgian city of Bath.
The Ring Meeting will be limited to 100 men with accommodation close to Bath city centre. Indoor camping is available, including hot showers. We even provide mattresses if you don't want to bring your own bed. There is some space for caravans or motor homes but you must inform us in advance if you intend to bring one. The venue is not suitable for tents.
Dance tours are arranged to visit many of the historic venues in the city, following in the footsteps of its famous inhabitants such as Jane Austen, Beau Nash, William Herschel and Ralph Allen. Naturally, we shall also visit some of Bath's fine traditional hostelries to enjoy the local ales and Zummerzet zider.
Cost: £69 per man
Details for the 2009 events as of September 2008 from Charlie's No 58 Newsletter, October 2008, For up-to-date information see No 59 Newsletter here