CONTENTS THE SWIFT FAMILY MORRIS ON SEVEN STARS RISING ANSTEY ROYAL CHALFONT’S 40TH PAUL WHITE’S DIARY CARNKIE CLOGGER’S 35TH SUSSEX BY THE SEA RAMPANT ROOSTER’S 21ST WHEN EAST MEETS WEST THE MAKING OF MAKENEY MORRIS DANCING ON ICE? TWELVE NORTH WEST CLOGGIES LITERARY CORNER © THE MORRIS FEDERATION 2014 Morris Federation Committee President Notation Of cer Melanie Barber Jerry West 72 Freedom Road 23 Avondale Road, Walkley Shef eld Fleet, Hants, S6 2XD GU51 3BH Tel: 0114 232 4840 tel: 01252 628190 [email protected] or 07754 435170 email: [email protected] Secretary Fee Lock Newsletter Editor 28 Fairstone Close Colin Andrews HASTINGS Bonny Green, TN35 5EZ Morchard Bishop, 01424-436052 Crediton, [email protected] EX17 6PG 01363 877216 [email protected] Treasurer Jenny Everett Co-opted members: Willow Cottage 20 High Street Web Site Editor Sutton on Trent Kevin Taylor Newark Notts [email protected] NG23 6QA www.morrisfed.org.uk Tel 01636 821672 [email protected] John Bacon – Licensing Bill Archive Of cer [email protected] Mike Everett Willow Cottage Adrian Williams – Dommett Collection and 20 High Street Wantage [email protected] Sutton on Trent Newark Notts To contact all email-able Federation members: NG23 6QA [email protected] Tel 01636 821672 To notify us of a change of contact details: [email protected] [email protected] NEWSLETTER COPY DATES 15th November 15th February 2015 15th May 2015 15th August 2015 Contributions for the Autumn edition to the Newsletter Editor by Friday 15th November [email protected] www.morrisfed.org.uk CONTENTS EDITORIAL : Autumn 2014 As we approach the start of another practice season, it’s evident from items in this Newsletter and from various Committee Contacts 2 Federation Shop 4 conversations that recruitment of new members is crucial President’s Prologue 5 to the survival of many teams - and not only for those The Swift Family Morris On 6 sides with a high percentage of senior citizens! There’s Snippets 10 probably no one single approach that guarantees success Seven Stars Rising 11 but talking and engaging with the audience during the Anniversaries: summer certainly helps. It’s useful also to take a name & Anstey Royal Chalfont’s 40th 12 contact number at this point from any potential recruit. Morris Federation’s 40th 13 Carnkie Cloggers 35th 14 It is encouraging, however, that there seems to be an Rampant Roosters 21st 18 increased interest in morris among the younger generation. Sussex By The Sea 16 Indeed, involvement of young people in one way or another Paul White’s Diary 19 Letters To The Editor 20 is the focus of several articles in this issue. When East Meets West 21 Dancing On Ice? 22 The question of morris etiquette is once more raised in a Twelve North West Cloggies 23 letter to the editor. We would ask all sides to show due Literary Corner - book reviews 24 consideration both to members of the general public and The Making of Makeney Morris 26 to other teams. Colin Andrews NEWSLETTER ADVERTISING The Newsletter is the quarterly publication of The Morris Federation does not necessarily endorse any product the Morris Federation. The aim is to provide a or service advertised in or with the Newsletter. Enclosures, other platform for news, views and announcements circulars, and items of advertising relevant to commercial products can relating to the world of traditional dance and be distributed with the Newsletter. A fee is charged to the advertiser associated activities. The Newsletter goes out for this service. Enquiries concerning any form of advertising through to each member group and individual member the MF should be addressed to the Newsletter Editor. of the Morris Federation. Additional copies can be ordered by group members at an additional NEW ADVERTISING RATES (from Dec. 2011) cost per copy of £10 for one year’s issues. To Non-member MF Member Side or Individual be a living publication the Newsletter must be commercial business event/recruit read so PLEASE make sure that your copy Colour B&W Colour B&W gets circulated as widely as possible. The on- Full page £75 £60 £45 £35 £25 line version will be available shortly after the (portrait) printed copies have been distributed. Half page £45 £35 £25 £20 £15 (landscape) MEMBERS’ MANUAL All members of the MF should have a copy of Quarter £25 £20 £18 £12 £ 8 the Members’ Manual. This contains a lot of (portrait) material that members may need to refer to from Eighth n/a £12 n/a £ 8 £ 5 time to time. If you have misplaced the free copy sent to you when you joined, a replacement (or Limited space for colour adverts available. All adverts will appear on additional copies) can be purchased from the Web edition of Newsletter as well as paper copy. Prices are for art- MF Secretary at the cost of £6.50 (inc. p&p) work ready. Jpg or pdf format preferred for any illustrations. MS Word each. Please make cheques payable to ‘The docs may require some reformatting. Cheques payable to ‘The Morris Morris Federation’. Federation” . Discount for multiple insertions - please enquire. All copy & payment to the Newsletter Editor. Front cover photograph: Rampant Rooster dancing Old Dan Roberts at the Broadstairs Folk Festival Printed by: Hedgerow Print Ltd, Crediton, Devon. 01363 777595 3 Please note Treasurer’s new address on page 2 4 Sherry waltz, which now traditionally closes the Clogfest showcase. Sidmouth celebrated it’s 60th year, and although I wasn’t able to get there it was great to see all the updates on Facebook, and especially the John Gasson Jig Competition, another event that has been instrumental in improving the standard of dance; congratulations to all the winners. Hello, Whitby’s really a working holiday for me, though I’m sitting in Whitby writing this a little too close most of the work is completed beforehand, so as to the deadline for comfort, but as always it’s I’m not in a booked team this year I’m looking been a busy few months and time just ies! forward to more spectating, and hoping to make a few workshops to test the grey cells! It’s another lovely sunny day, which has made me re ect on what a fantastic summer we’ve Our next big event is the AGM in Keswick on 27th had – there aren’t many years you hear people September, which I’m looking forward to and saying it’s too hot to dance from June through hope to see lots of you there. to August! Unusually for me, although I’ve done lots of dancing, I’ve been a spectator at all the Happy Dancing, festivals I’ve been to so far. It puts a completely Melanie different perspective on a dance tour being a hanger on; generally a really good experience except when teams seem to take forever to organise themselves between dances, or nish dancing and promptly stand directly in front of the audience! There have also been occasions when the band has stood in front of the bulk of the audience, which makes me wonder if those teams have thought about the space they have and how best to use it? It has however been great seeing so many teams out in force – at Warwick, Mortimers had two sets up most of the time and Chinewrde processed with at least 18 dancers – I lost count! - and a large band. I also spotted a lot more younger members, which is always good to see as they’re our future. Earlier in the summer I had the privilege of opening the 13th Clogfest in Skipton. I’ve attended 11 out of the 13 and watched the festival grow from two or three teams dancing for a day to 20 teams dancing for a whole weekend. Clogfest was also the inspiration for Jenny Everett Hadrian Clog organising their Dance the Wall, Willow Cottage, 20, High Street, which brought together eight teams dancing Sutton on Trent, Newark, to raise money to support the continuation of Notts, NG23 6QA Clogfest. And long may it continue as it’s become 01636 821672 07931 514510 to clog dancers what DERT is to rapper with [email protected] the standard of dancing improving each year and even more dancers joining the mass Sam 5 The Swift Family Morris On Colin Andrews interviewed at Belton House, Belvoir John, Sue, and Laurel Swift Castle and numerous other high pro le tourist attractions during the 2014 Sidmouth and events. Folk Week. Sue: I was also involved When did you rst take up morris with the setting up of Boston dancing? Morris. It had a most unlikely start - I was approached by John: It was when we moved a group of young sporty-type to Lincolnshire from London in men to teach them morris after 1976. On the recommendation they had seen morris dancers of our friend, Alex Szyszkowski, with tankards being able to who was a member of Angel jump the queue at a very busy Morris, we joined the recently festival bar. formed Kesteven Morris. Presumably you continued I’d been involved with folk music dancing when you moved to since the 1960s when I was at Leicester? the City University in London The Swifts - Sidmouth 2001 Sue - Moris Advisor John - Processions John: I joined Leicester Morris Sue: And I’d been part of the Doug - Bulverton MC Men, and served as Squire from folk scene around the Berkshire/ Lauren - Shooting Roots 1989 - 1991. I carried on dancing Hampshire borders.