Summary: Series 29 Issue 4

Published: Nov 2022

Table of contents

• SDU Longsword tournament returns after 3-year gap
• Editorial
• Almost an AGM
• Sword Dance Union Longsword Tournament October 8 2022
• SDU LONGSWORD COMPETITION 2023
• Bert Cleaver
• Midwinter Dancing
• These Swords were made for Dancing
• Thoughts on Developing A Calling On Song Thoughts
• What else happened this autumn?

Editorial

As Vince Rutland says in his article, it is great that the Longsword Tournament happened after the last couple of years.

Southport were lucky with the weather and it added to the pleasure of seeing lots of sword dance on the day. Next year’s event is being hosted by Handsworth and they have already started preparations. I urge you to give feedback via the link on page 6, I’m not hot on technology and even I managed to make it work!

The SDU had a meeting rather than an AGM. Interestingly there was no mention of the next Longsword tournament, although other than the accounts there wasn’t a lot of detail. The proposal is to hold an online meeting to launch an updated and refreshed version of the SDU. If I find out any plans I’ll publish an update.

Thanks go to Phil Heaton for providing more from the Ivor Allsop archive. Norman Peacock was always interested in the mechanics of the sword lock, he wrote an article for Rattle Up back in 1998, The Uri Geller thing: the Mechanics of Sword Locks (RUMB Series 7 Issue3).

I hope that Dave Robert’s article inspires lots of people to compose new calling on songs and that for the good of the rest of us they don’t also adopt his style of delivery!

At the end of another year of publishing Rattle Up, I’d like to thank all the people who have written articles, provided news and sent me photographs. All contributions are very welcome, so if you think your team is under-represented, or that an area of longsword is being neglected do send something in.