Getting to the Top Of Google (and Other IT Issues)

Brian Kelly is probably best known in the Morris and Rapper world for his performances as a comic character with the Newcastle Kingsmen, having won many DERT prizes with Chris Pitt and the Kingsmen over 30 years of performing together, not only at DERT events and festivals including Broadstairs, Whitby and Sidmouth. Brian has also taken part in overseas trips to folk festivals in places including Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Syria. 

In addition to dancing with the Newcastle Kingsmen, Brian has also danced with a number of other rapper and sword teams including Sallyport Sword, Black Cap, Northgate Rapper and Haymarket Rapper, whom he currently dances with (they’re the experienced and mature dancers and musicians from the Newcastle Kingsmen who are difficult to find, restricting their performances normally to three weekends a year in towns and cities will good pubs with wooden floors!)  Brian has also danced Cotswold for Green Ginger Morris and, more recently, with Wyld Morris – although he is happy to confess that he dances Cotswold like an aging rapper dancer (although his hocklebacks may be embarrassing to watch, he did publish a total of 40 weekly YouTube shows for Wyld Morris during Wyld Morris’ 10th anniversary year)!  

During his working life, Brian worked in IT and became known for setting up probably the first university website in the UK (in 1992, when fewer than 100 companies have published details of their website!). In 1996 he was employed at UKOLN, University of Bath as UK Web Focus, a national adviser about the web for UK universities. Brian gave over 400 talks during his time at UKOLN throughout the UK and at conferences around the world.  He particularly remembers attending a conference in Brisbane, Australia when the technical infrastructure (the ‘page ranking) for a new search engine developed at Stanford University – yes, it was Google! 

Brian is now enjoying using his IT and web skills and experiences to support the Morris Federation, Morris Federation team members and the wider Morris community.