First Aid Training Guidance
Following a discussion item at our 2025 AGM, our web page on First Aid have been updated – please click the button below for the latest information on our website. Many thanks to Sally Wearing.
Dealing with Councils
Alongside the current information and guidance on events planning, we have now updated our webpages to provide advice on how to deal with Councils when hosting events. To read this, along with the current guidance on collecting money, inviting other sides and planning events, please click the button below. Many thanks to Jon Brenner for providing information for our recent update.
Face Paint
In June 2026, following a couple of incidents relating to face paint, a working party of the Committee got together to update our guidance for teams using face paint. We have overhauled the webpages and Face Paint FAQ to reflect current best practice, in order to help teams using face paint as part of their kit navigate this changing world. A new page dedicated to outlining specific issues and incidents which have been raised with us has also been added, as we understand teams may struggle with knowing how to adapt or change if requested so, or how to tackle face paint issues at events should they arise. Please click the buttons below for up-to-date advice and guidance on all matters relating to face paint and disguise as a part of morris kit.
Insurance
With renewals season soon to be upon us, JMO Insurance Officer Michael Stimpson has asked us to please send the following reminder regarding insurance to our members:
DAYS OF DANCE AND OTHER EVENTS
Please note that if you are holding an event to which you are inviting other Sides then you should check that they are members of one of the three Organisations within the JMO (see above). If not, please ask them to provide proof that they hold Public Liability Insurance. If they are not able to do this then they should not attend your event as our Insurers do ask that we undertake this.
TRIPS ABROAD
Remember that if you are planning a trip outside of the UK or the Channel Islands, that you need to register this with the JMO. There is a form to fill in and return. Trips to most parts of the world are recorded free of charge except for the USA and Canada where an additional premium of £150 plus Insurance Premium Tax is payable. Some parts of the world are excluded where there is local unrest. The cover is only whilst your Side is performing and you still need to effect travel insurance for the trip.
USE OF FIRE
Our policy does not cover use of fire such as torchlight processions, bonfires, flaming sticks etc. At the time of writing these would be declined but in normal conditions you can apply for an extension by submitting a Risk Assessment three or four weeks ahead of the event. Insurers can decline or charge an additional premium to provide cover for the event. The amount charged will depend on the risks involved based on your Risk Assessment but most of the time they charge £50 plus Insurance Premium Tax.
PROOF OF COVER
Please remember that if you need proof of cover for your Public Liability, this is issued by your Morris Organisation (Morris Federation, Morris Ring or Open Morris) so any queries about your proof of Insurance document or subscription should go through your own Organisation, not to the JMO Insurance Officer.
POTENTIAL CLAIMS
If your Side is in the position of a potential claim, please obtain statements from bystanders (Side members and others) in case a claim develops. Do not accept liability or confirm that you have insurance. Advise the JMO Insurance Officer as soon as possible and forward any correspondence unanswered.
FURTHER HELP
Wider details can be found on your our website including Public Liability and Personal Accident policy wording. For further help, contact the JMO Insurance Officer, Michael Stimpson, by email at insurance@thejmo.org
New Publication - (Re)Defining British Folk Costume
We have a new publication available on our website – (Re)Defining British Folk Costume, written by Dr Chloe Middleton-Metcalfe who says –
“British folk costume is a wearable chimera. It can be designed, manufactured, touched, displayed, danced in, and photographed, and yet it remains staunchly mythical, too heterogenous and fleeting to be described in detail, too often dismissed as being nothing more than fabricated fake-lore. This dismissal comes hand in hand with the truism that there is no singular, British costume. Yet this dismissal is weak, as it conflates the concept of popular, abundant, and eclectic folk costume with a singular, homogenous state-approved national dress, of which there are only a few examples in the whole world.
In Britain, as in many other places, the label of folk is applied to many different costumes and dressing practices. This essay explores the most well-known examples of folk costumes from the constituent nations of Wales, Scotland, and England. What forms these tangible examples of British folk costume take, and how they are made manifest is, of course, dependent on the shifting socio-political climate in which they are manufactured and maintained. I hope to provide an introductory panorama of a fascinating construct (British folk costume) which has so far largely eluded serious analysis. Before commencing, I wish to issue a caveat; whilst this is an article about Britain, I draw most of my examples from my particular field of expertise, which is the situation in England. For this acknowledged bias I hope to be forgiven.”
To read or download the full publication, please click the button below
