back
in the red:
ROUND THE POLE
Here is
another of my magnificent hobbies, Morris
Dancing!! What a joy it is to get your
knees up in the air and feel the wind
between your legs. I hope you'll enjoy
reading about my passion for this as much
as I do taking part in such a smegging
great hobby!!
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Morris
Dancing Teams can be found all
over Great Britain, you can also
find them in other, unlikely
places such as Canada, the
U.S.A., Hong Kong and Australia.
Many people would recognise this
essentially English tradition but
what exactly is it? It's origins
are vague, and many different
theories have been expounded on
it's beginning. Some believe that
the dances seen today are derived
from the French Moresque or the
Spanish Morisca dances of the
late 15th and early 16th
Centuries. The
picture on the left is the
Stockport Morrismen. I took this
on a visit to watch them perform.
I sometimes while away the small
hours flicking through my Morris
Dancer picture collection, shame
everyone else seems to fall
asleep suddenly when I get them
out for everyone to look at.
Ah,
well, they're missing a real
treat!!
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| Others
put forward the theory that the
dances are the remains of
pre-Christian fertility rites for
soil and crops. Certainly by the
end of the 16th Century Morris
dancing had become established as
a form of entertainment often
accompanying the seasonal
celebration of the coming of the
Spring and Autumn harvests. The
picture on the right is of the
Flag Crackers of Craven. You can
see me in this picture, I'm the
nearest one on the left of the
picture. Maaahvelous times,
maaahhhhhvelous!!!!. Great guys,
greats times, great meal in the
pub afterwards!
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After
these times the dances went
through many changes and at least
six regional variations
developed, each one clearly
different and each one contained
within a particular geographical
area of England. The upsurge in
the interest in the Morris today
has meant that these styles have
been taken out of their
"home" counties to be
performed all over the country
but their origins can still be
detected. On
the left is more fantastic Morris
Dancing action!! The clonk of
wood on wood, is there any
sweeter sound? other than Listers
head being repeatedly smashed on
my knee? If you can find one I'll
beg to differ!! Just look at the
Border Morrismen in action there,
it brings a tear to my eye just
remembering that day. Some
bastard hit me in the privates!!
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| I'm
sure you'll be wondering: 'How do
you recognise different Morris
Dancing teams?' well I'll give
you some tips: The
Morris of the Cotswold areas are
typified by the waving of
handkerchiefs and the wearing of
bells strapped to the dancers
legs. North-West Morris dancers
wear colourful costumes, with
clogs on their feet. Yorkshire
Longsword dances can be
recognised by their circular
formation and the swords used to
link the dancers.
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On
the left you'll see the Plum
Jerkum from Lincolnshire. I
remember that this was a very
enjoyable day and the show they
put on is absolutely fantastic.
Afterwards I got to mingle with
fellow Morris Dancing enthusiasts
in the Jolly Fisherman (pictured
behind). It was a great night, I
woke up at 3 am, chained to a
lamppost wearing a pair of pink
socks, a necklace with the name
'Cindy' on it and a note
Sellotaped to my leg that read
'Here lies Arnold Rimmer, a
complete bastard!'... those guys
know how to have fun!! |
So's
not to get into trouble these pictures
and information is from Martin's Morris
Dancing Page. Who's Martin? ....what are
you looking at me for! :)
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