 DVD & CD: WAY OF THE MORRIS
A heartfelt ode to his agrarian roots, WAY OF THE MORRIS follows filmmaker Tim Plester on a deeply personal journey from the barleyfields of his childhood to the killing fields of The Somme, in search of a connection with these much-maligned native dances that run deep in his bloodline. Featuring contributions from iconic singer/songwriter Billy Bragg and Fairport Convention s Chris Leslie.
 As quintessentially homegrown as a game of cricket or a plate of fish-and-chips, Morris dancing is one of Englands most ancient roots traditions. And yet to your average man on the street, its seen as little more than a national joke. And a bad national joke at that. Something to ridicule. Something to be embarrassed about.Things have always been a little different for actor and filmmaker Tim Plester. Tim hails from a family of Morris dancers, and was raised in the quiet North Oxfordshire village of Adderbury; a community with a proud and fertile dancing history stretching back through the centuries. The tinkling of the shin-bells is part of his heritage. Part of his legacy. Part of his very folklore. And yet, despite the connections, Tim doesn't dance. Never hasA heartfelt docu-ballad in praise of birthplace, bloodline and rural brotherhood, WAY OF THE MORRIS follows Tim on a deeply personal journey from the barleyfields of his childhood to the killing fields of The Somme, as he traces the poignant link between the spirited folk revival of the mid-1970s and the true story of the young Adderbury Morris side so decimated by the carnage of the First World War. ...Way of the Morris.
DVD £10.00, CD £10.00 or both for £18.00
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DVD & CD: M ORRIS A Life with Bells on!
A man eager to take English folk dancing to new and exciting places ends up in the last place he expected - America - in this mockumentary comedy. Derecq Twist (Charles Thomas Oldham) is a passionate enthusiast of Morris Dancing, a style of folk dancing that's been performed in Great Britain for centuries. Most devotees of Morris are committed to keeping the traditions of the dance alive, and Quentin Neely (Derek Jacobi), head of the Morris Circle that oversees competitive Morris dancing, intends to keep it that way, or else. But while Twist loves the classic Morris style and has devoted years to his dream of perfecting the most challenging of all Morris moves, the Treeple Hammer Damson, he also wants to bring fresh innovations to the dance in a variation he calls 'New Morris'. Neely is appalled by Twist's desire to bring Morris into the Twentieth Century (if not the Twenty-First), and bans Twist and his group from competition. A film producer (Aidan McArdle) making a documentary about Twist realizes he has no happy ending for his film, so he steps in and arranges for Twist to fly to California, where Miloslav Villandry (Greg Wise), a multi-billionaire software magnate, has developed a passion for Morris and bankrolls a West Coast Morris troupe, the OCM's. Twist is happy to find his new partners in California welcome his innovative spirit, and he also meets a beautiful woman, Sonja (Naomie Harris), with whom he finds love. But can a true Morris devotee be happy so far away from the dance's ancestral home?
DVD £10.00, CD 10.00 or both for £18.00
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 DVD: Time Gentlemen Please
The DVD has absolutly nothing to do with Morris! This is pure 1950s nostalgia that will doubtless be appreciated by all of us that are tad familiare with the its filming location of Thaxted (AKA: Little Hayhoe). Sid James, with dark hair!, is the landlord of the Swan Hotel. Also staring are Dora Brian, Thora Hird and Raymond Lovell.
The Prime Minister is due a celebration visit to the idyllic village of Little Hayhoe, where a Utopian state of employment exists on account of its very productive factory. However, there is one fly in the ointment, the local tramp, Dan Dance. A free spirited man, Dan likes to sleep out in the fields and booze in his ample free time. This is something of an embarrassment to the village dignitaries, who quickly hatch a plan that sees him become the sole resident of the antiquated almshouse. But when the old Reverend suddenly passes away, a new and more radical one takes his place. And thru his reading of the ancient almshouse rule book he finds that Dan is entitled to considerable financial gain. Financial gain that will turn Little Hayhoe (AKA Thaxted) upside down.
Price: £8.00
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