Paul Reece at Dartington Final Day As Squire of the Morris Ring
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October 2008 No 57 Paul Reece at Dartington Final day as Squire of The Morris Ring D a l e 3 Morris Ring Meeting Thaxted page 8 Morris Ring Meeting Whitchurch page 10 Dancing In Cornwall page 11 Obituary: Michael McNamara page 5 Editorial page 7 Winster Catenary Celebrations Paul Reece's `dancing-outVig: 'Bold Nelson's Praise' Ilmington, with musician Dave page 4 Brewster. This was preceded by an explanation of the news of Nelson's great victory and death being intercepted by the Cornish fishing fleet and announced at Madron Church Thaxted Bus Pass Tour above Penzance before it arrived at Falmouth and travelled overland through Devon to page 14 London in 1805. Photos: Marion Reece Bampton page 3 Hartley Ale page 12 From Bag of Red Stags: Contact for Celebrations & J. Gendall (Mrs): Dancing in Cornwall page 6 The Outgoing Squire's Report Out with the old ....... While the nation debates how and benefits. that weekend and I believe that to celebrate Britishness and a We have we are all considerably new British Bank Holiday and literally and stronger because of it. The Lord Coe speculates on the metaphorically Mersey Morris Ring Meeting form that the opening ceremony come through was a perfect balance of the of the 2012 London Olympics Storms and metropolitan delights of should take following the floods to arrive. Liverpool City of Culture with success of Beijing, the answer We cannot turn the rural delights of the Wirral of course is the same, '5000 back now but and the banks of the Dee at Morris Dancers'. must continue to Parkgate. The 75th weekend of push forward to dance, which was the Thaxted Lord Coe's remark says it all. achieve for all Morris Ring Meeting, which The positive take up of the of our collective starred Monkseaton, Morris with the media that endeavours a Saddleworth and Helmond runs and runs has been truly stronger and more surpassed even the previous astounding. Morris dancing is secure future. year's perfection by being pure so established in the national magic from start to finish, the consciousness that it is now My two years as best for some 20 years practically synonymous with The Squire at Dartington Squire have given according to some, again under Photo: Marion Reece me the opportunity clear air traffic free skies. sport and of course the happen and this is what we Olympics. Every effort should still need to do to make our to promote youth and the The jigs instructional at Sutton be made to build on this wave future certain by 2012. future of the Morris and of support and enthusiasm. We attempt to influence the way Bonington, hosted now for ten must, while we have a For any Olympic performance that the Morris is received, years by Dolphin, another side favourable climate, keep up and even more importantly for particularly through the media. celebrating their 40th year, has the momentum, be clear as to our own long term future, we Several sides such as Jockey gone from strength to strength, what we need to achieve and need to: and Chalice have successfully there being successfully trialed refuse to be side tracked. embraced this approach, the this year two parallel sessions 1. Train up new crack, former with 'Team Spirit' for for beginners and advanced. A In struggling to find solutions regionally based, young teams BBC Radio 4 and the Trinny must, that at least one dancer and a celebratory expression to perform, demonstrate, recruit and Susannah series 'The Great from each side but better would for the people, their traditional and deliver with energy and British Body' for ITV, and of be two, should contact Geoff games have always provided panache at important events course the JMO Big Jerram to sign up for the next that focus for fun and regionally and nationally. Birmingham Caper which they session in the new year. In the competition. The Halgavor or hosted. spirit of success and service Cornish Games near Bodmin, 2. Continue to develop Dolphin were presented with the annual Dover Games or our national and international This JMO showcase event the commemorative Jig Tyg for 'Cotswold Olympics' as image through a proper PR attracted 555 members of the their quiet and tireless service originally styled in 1612, the forum and website. Morris, including youth laden to the Morris Ring for hosting annual Wenlock Olympic sides from Bampton, Bristol, this event. Games from 1850, on which 3. Have an educational Moulton, Chipping Campden the modem French revival programme that puts traditional and especially the Crestwood Finally the amount of work that Olympic Games are based, are dance back into schools so that School from Dudley and I have been able to get through testimony to this long pedigree we can recover from the lost Dartington, where the boys on behalf of the Morris Ring of the people's games out of generation that have not had side stole the show, as they did could only happen through which our sports and pastimes that initial grounding in their at my dancing out at this team work and the unstinting were born. Each region has its cultural heritage. National summer's last Morris Ring support of the other officers to particular culture, forms of school competitions would Meeting at Totnes, which bring in overdue reforms to expression, games and significantly enhance this celebrated Dartington's 40th make this organisation more festivals that can be focused process as would the year. responsive and fit for purpose into a celebration of the spirit development of regional for the future. I will continue to of who we are. recruitment cluster groups to Other Morris Ring Meetings work for the wider promotion promote and teach the Morris. which stood out include of the Morris. With the nation We have come a long way in Stafford. They showed the true behind us we should once more two years, we can stare the In all these endeavours, as with 'unsinkable spirit of the Morris, be a cultural force to be future in the face and with our insurance, it must be the the Morris Ring and Captain reckoned with. confidence, purpose and Joint Morris Organisations Webb shining through at its Paul Reece imagination say that this is the (JMO) working together to best, despite all that was Chairman the Morris Ring way we should go, this is what achieve these common goals thrown at them. We all Advisory Council and Immediate Past Squire of the Morris Ring we have got in place to make it succeeded triumphantly over 2 Bampton 2008.. ...continued In the last edition of The Morris Ring Circular an article attributed to Banbury Bill was published, providing an entertaining account of The Bampton Morris Men celebrating 'the true magic of Whitsun at Bampton' in 2008. At the time we published photos from the traditional event in 2007. These photos are from 2008 celebrations and are attributable to S. J. Croft (top and bottom) and the middle two photos to Mollie Care. The left middle 'Group' photo includes 'an old dancer just celebrating his 94th birthday'- Sonny Townsend. Photos contributed by Barry Care 3 3 Winster Centenary Celebrations This is it and that is it... by David Thompson Grass Theatre Company were ...and this is Morris dancing; the piper fell and broke his neck and said it was a chancer. You don't know and I don't know what fun we had at Brampton, with roasted pig and a cuddle duck and a idea was muted of celebrating the centenary of Sharp's visit to pudding in a lantern. the village in some way. Over As part of a recruiting drive the intervening years plans over the last eight years men This rigmarole is sung before were gradually developed to Winster dance to the well re-enact the visit of 100 years know tune that is used for the ago and to involve the other procession at many Morris traditional teams that Sharp Ring Meeting. Cecil Sharp saw dance whose dances wrote in his Folk Dance Tunes, he published in the Morris "Extremely pretty and Books. picturesque to see handkerchiefs (32) waving in The idea was that Sharp's visit the air at the end of every 4 was to be re-enacted from the bars." He was also very taken details that had been discovered with the extra characters: the by Ian Russell. It was that he king, queen, witch and fool. arrived from London by train at Darley Dale Station and was Sharp went to Winster, the then taken by have been into three local pony and trap to primary schools to teach the meet Winster dances with the aid of a teaching Lead miners coming off shift at Mill Close Mine, at Stanton Lees. From there he was taken to Winster Primary School to hear The children sing and play their games. Later he visited The cheese factory for some stilton cheese, Derbyshire is lead-mining town in the one of three counties that are Derbyshire Peak District, on allowed to make this type of pack. With the support two occasions in 1908, the first cheese. In the evening he of the three local primary time to men's practice on attended the morris dancer's schools, South Darley, Winster Thursday 25th June and Wakes practice to collect the and Elton this was to form the Saturday which in that year 5 dances: processional, morris basis of a bid to the National was the 4th July, the traditional dance, reel, blue-eyed stranger, Lottery Heritage Fund and time for the appearance of the and gallope.