Here’s your latest update – in particular … get your entry in for the Cliff Barstow jig competition at Whitby Folk Week, or enter the SDU Longsword Tournament, or go to the Fools & Beasts Unconvention. Or all 3. Great to see so many happy smiling morris people at Sidmouth Folk Festival and Broadstairs Folk Week. Have fun if you are going to FolkEast, or Whitby, or Shrewsbury, or Towersey or any number of other festivals over the summer.
Nearly AGM time – papers will be coming out in early September; there’s still time to sign up to join us for a day of dance and the AGM in Darlington, County Durham, on Sat 24th September. Next year … please note the change of the date of our 2023 AGM … which will now be Sat 30th Sept 2023 (was 23rd Sept).
Cliff Barstow Jig Competition – enter now
Get your entry in for the 7th Cliff Barstow Jig Competition on Tuesday 23rd August at 4:30pm in the Spa Foyer, Whitby, during Whitby Folk Week, hosted by White Rose Morris Men.
There are 2 rounds. For the first round you must select 1 of 4 jigs to perform to a White Rose musician playing. Choose from: Old Tom of Oxford (Bampton) / Princess Royal (Bledington) / None So Pretty (Field Town) / I’ll Go and Enlist (Sherborne).
From that round, a number of people are selected to go to the second round, where you perform a jig of your choice, with your own solo musician playing.
More info at: www.whiterosemorrismen.org.uk including the entry form and you can hear the recorded music for the 4 jigs listed above.
SDU Longsword Tournament
Southport Swords are hosting the Sword Dance Union (SDU) Longsword Tournament Day on Saturday 8th October 2022 in Southport, Merseyside.
Please contact them if you are interesting in competing, or just displaying, or want to find out more: southport.swords@gmail.com. Do please come along, otherwise Southport will claim all the prizes!
Fools and Beasts Unconvention
Mersey Morris are hosting the Unconvention weekend on 28th-30th October 2022, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. Based at Westbourne Community Centre, CH48 4DQ. Friday night supper, bar, music/dance workshop and singing! Saturday tour mainly in Chester. AGM and workshop on Sunday. Indoor camping, space for a few motor homes, but not caravans. Other accommodation available nearby. Cost: £75pp; including supper, two breakfasts and feast – provision for Saturday/Sunday lunches to be confirmed.
Any budding or experienced Fools, Beasts and Morris Characters are invited to the Unconvention – it is the way to become a member of The Illustrious Order of Fools and Beasts!
Contact Rob via email triggertrotter1@aol.com for more details.
Members – news
Sad news – Rachel Pinkney
Amanda Pinkney writes to tell us the sad news that her mother, Rachel Pinkney, passed away in July, 2 weeks away from her 93rd birthday. Rachel was a former Treasurer of the Morris Federation for 12 years from 1995 to 2006 inclusive Her funeral and memorial service were held in Suffolk on 10th & 11th August. Two of the four Presidents she worked alongside commented … Janet Dowling says “Rachel was extraordinary. Her passion for the dance and the morris community was very strong, and at an age when most people would think of retiring from dancing, she threw herself into both for sheer enjoyment and to leave a legacy. As Treasurer she sorted out the membership systems, chasing the late payers so that no team was left behind and not letting a problem go. Always with a solution and dependable.” Trefor Owen adds “Rachel was passionate about the whole dance world, not just a small sector or style, she saw the “whole” and not isolated elements.”
Sad news – Jack Daws
Ripley Morris writes to say that it is their sad duty to report the death of Jack Daws – a stalwart of Ripley Morris. Jack was a well-known character throughout the Morris and folk worlds, and was a former member of Sergeant Musgraves Dance. His funeral was held on 11th August – a splendid celebration of Jack’s life attended by representatives of many morris sides from across the country. If you wish to send a donation, please contact ripleymorris@hotmail.com.
See all our news at: MF News
ICYMI – Calendar Customs
In case you missed it … a recording of a previous MF online event, kindly edited by Jess Searle, is now on our YouTube stream:
Barry & Gill Goodman’s talk “Good Morning Lords & Ladies” a lighthearted look at some unusual english calendar customs, in story, song and pictures (1hr 13min)
See all our videos at: MF YouTube Channel
In the media
TV & Video
- Channel 5, Summer on the Farm Series 2 Episode 1: See Handsworth Sword Dancers from Sheffield (58 mins)
- Channel 5, Summer on the Farm Series 2 Episode 5:
See Silkstone Greens North West morris dancers from Barnsley (58 mins) - Dance Journals at Rochester Sweeps festival “Why I was afraid of morris dance”: featuring mostly border dancers, 2nd July (5 mins)
Podcast
- Fascinating People, Fascinating Places with Daniel Mainwaring: “Morris Dancing – the Peculiar British Tradition” podcast 24th June (35 mins)
Written Articles
- Tradfolk: “Blackthorn Ritualistic Folk: The Interview”
– about how Blackthorn Border Morris formed in 2019 through to launching their own folk festival - Tradfolk “Handbags and Broomsticks: Molly Dancing for the uninitiated”
- See all Tradfolk’s morris and related articles at: https://tradfolk.co/category/performance/
MF Events – in-person and online
Sept 2022
MF Day of Dance, AGM and Ceilidh – Saturday 24th Sept 2022 in Darlington, County Durham hosted by Black Diamond Mixed Cotswold Morris. 11 teams have so signed up so far. Bookings are still open.
Nov 2022 – March 2023
- Online events in Nov-March: please contact us if you are interested in hosting a talk/workshop, or helping to edit the recordings for public viewing on the MF YouTube channel.
NEXT YEAR …
April 2023
JMO Day of Dance – Saturday 15th April 2023 in Exeter hosted by Beltane Border Morris on behalf of Open Morris. Save the date for now.
Sept – Oct 2023
MF Day of Dance and AGM – Saturday 30th Sept 2023 (note change of date, was Sat 23rd) in Shropshire hosted by Shropshire Bedlams and Martha Rhoden’s Tuppenny Dish. Save the (revised) date for now.
JMO Days of Dance – Regional. Several Days of Dance in Sept/Oct 2023 to be held in the North West/Chester, the Midlands/Derby, South West/Bristol, the North East/Newcastle and South East/Norwich areas, with a finale in London/Trafalgar Square. To celebrate 20 years since the first JMO DoD in Trafalgar Square. Please contact us if you are interested in helping to organise one of these.
See all our events at: MF Events
Events from other organisations
Oct 2022
- SDU Longsword Tournament – Sat 8th October in Southport, Merseyside
- Fools & Beasts Unconvention – Fri 28th – Sun 30th October on the Wirral, Cheshire
March 2023
Anytime
- EFDSS What’s On: https://www.efdss.org/whats-on
- The Folk Forecast – a what’s on summary of folky events
- Tradfolk – news and articles about folky things
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