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Tidbits! |
Adelaide Morris expose themselves! The combined Adelaide Morris are banding together for a first time to create an exhibition of a history of Morris as we know it. John Stirling, the Adelaide Men's registered fool, is coordinating a display at Adelaide's Migration and Settlement Museum to show the public the origins of morris from the UK, its migration to Adelaide and how it stands in the 21st century. Each of the six Adelaide sides - Adelaide Men, Glorishears, Hedgemonkey, Hills Morris, Hot For Joe and the Lancashire Witches, will have a team history and profile along with video, music and bits of morris paraphernalia to demonstrate what the morris is all about and how each side interprets the dance. The opening will be on the first day of spring (September 1st) with each side showing off their style of morris for the VIPs and general public. The exhibition runs till the 29th November 2002. More from Adderbury: Anyone strolling through the fine Oxfordshire village of Adderbury on certain nights in March or April would find the morris seemingly all around them. In The Bell, pictures of both village sides adorn the walls. Last year the Hook Norton Brewery calendar featured the Adderbury Village Men performing their trademark drinking dance, with a row of pints lined up at the feet of the musicians. The evening stroller passing the ancient tithe barn of a Wednesday night would hear the jaunty sound of the Adderbury Village Morris Men drifting out from within. A few yards down the road, slower versions of the same time-worn tunes would declare the Adderbury Morris Men to be at home in the library - though they've now moved up to The Institute by the village green, after someone smashed one of the fancy new light shades with a high leap in a stick dance. The bill was well over 150 pounds, and with several other shades poised equally temptingly over the dancing area, it was decided that it was time to move on. Strangely, the two teams seldom communicate, though a certain melodeon player might occasionally be seen sneaking from the tithe barn to the library. And then, at nine o'clock precisely, one of the old morris favourites rings out across the entire village, as it does every Wednesday without fail. Bluebells Of Scotland is one of the seven tunes on the carillon, installed in the church tower a century or so ago. Another of the tunes hammered out on the church bells by this outsized musical box is The Minstrel Boy, which has been adopted by the Adderbury Morris Men for a modern dance, called, in honour of both church and pub, The Bell. The morris influence reaches even into the very fabric of the fine parish church: last year the village marked the Millennium by setting a Time Capsule into the church wall, containing a set of Adderbury Morris kit. And once a year, of course, the whole village comes alive with the ancient tradition: Adderbury Day of Dance takes place each year on the last Saturday in April. The Village men start off outside the cottage of Binx Walton, the last leader of the 19th century, tucked down an alley behind The Bell. The Adderbury Morris Men launch into Sweet Jenny Jones outside the old Wheatsheaf pub on the village green - Binx was once its landlord. Through the morning, the two rivals sides work opposite ends of the village and meet up - though without dancing together - at The Bell, right in the centre. Then the two swap over and work the same ground again. Last year, on the 25th day of dance, there was talk of six dancers from the original set performing together once more for old time's sake, but it didn't happen - the split at the end of the first year of the village revival in 1975 was acrimonious, and a quarter of a century on, one of the six dancers refused to go along with a temporary reconciliation. The side founders, Bryan Sheppard and Tim Radford, subsequent leaders of the rivals sets, did share a jig together later in the day. An innovation last year was a brief dance spot in late afternoon on the lawn of Le Halle Place, the oldest house in Adderbury and the former home of Janet Blunt, the amateur folklorist who collected much of the tradition and alerted Cecil Sharp to its riches. Binx Walton gave morris lessons on the same lawn around the time of the Great War. Come early evening, both Adderbury sides share a stand outside The White Hart in the west of the village, along with various guest teams - including, this year, Mr Hemmings from Abingdon. Few teams have exploited the full wealth of the Adderbury tradition, outside the classic dances. The Day of Dance provides the best chance to see the full repertoire performed - in the vastly different interpretations of the two sides. The clap-songs, in which the dancers sing throughout, are a distinctive feature. The Village men follow the original practice of standing still in set formation, and sticking while singing the chorus; the other side actually dances and sings simultaneously. If the thought of Adderbury's five pubs isn't enough of a draw, however, seekers after enlightenment can now experience a small part of the flavour of the tradition via the wonders of modern technology. Steve Wass, one of the side's leading musicians, has recorded all the tunes (bar one jig) and stored them on the Internet, to be downloaded by anyone who understands these things better than Banbury Bill does. Steve also does the singing - he assures us that his cold can't be transmitted electronically. www.kickback.btinternet.co.uk/Adderbury.Morris/Tunes/Atunes.html ...From Shave the Donkey Two in a Bar? It seem the poms have a problem with dancing and playing in pubs and it's about to get worse, according to what the EFDSS website says... The Department for Culture, Media and Sport issued the licensing White Paper "Time for Reform" in 2000 ~ It passed mainly unnoticed by the media, save for bits about casinos and pub opening hours. At present it is a criminal offence anyone to dance or more than two people perform on premises licensed to sell alcohol (pubs, clubs etc.) unless the premises hold a Public Entertainment Licence. Only 5% of British pubs hold such a licence. The White Paper indicates that the government's intended reform is to ban all entertainment in pubs etc unless the pub is licensed ~ the cost of which would be prohibitive to most pubs. The current penalty to the unlicensed landlord, who kindly lets "folkies" perform, is unlikely to change ~ up to £20,000 fine AND six months in jail ~ whatever the outcome of the changes of law and it will be enforced. Landlords faced with hefty expenses to obtain a licence or a hefty fine will probably tell performers to go ~ Clubs, sessions, sing-arounds & dance outs could all come to an end. David Heath MP for Somerton and Frome, has put down an Early Day Motion (EDM Ref: 1182) stressing the cultural and economic value of a thriving grass roots entertainment sector, emphasising the absurdity of the two in a bar rule, and calling on the Government to introduce a new licensing Bill in the next Queen's Speech. This is not a Government debate, but a published statement MPs can support by adding their name any time during this Parliamentary session. 150 MPs have now signed, which puts EDM 1182 in the top 60 of 1682 EDMs currently open for signature. EFDSS, the Musicians Union and the Morris Ring, Open Morris and The Morris Federation are urging people to write to their M.Ps and The Minister for Culture, Media & Sport to register their concern over these proposals. Pressure from constituents is a key factor in alerting MPs to an issue like this so letters, fax or e-mail will make a difference. It helps two in a bar press coverage, and encourages the Government to introduce licensing reform in November's Queen's Speech. ...from the EFDSS website Fluffy Morris... No it's not a women's (or a men's) side jumping about in jarmies and slippers, it's a tradition all of its own. Flippantly dubbed Glam Morris by one Shave the Donkey reporter, the Carnival Morris (nicknamed Fluffy) hails from the North of England and Wales and has been about for at least seventy years, and some of the teams consist of forty members and more ...and that's a small team! So what is it? Think majorettes or cheerleaders and you've got a vague image, though it's been around long before the Yanks and it's as English as your "regular" morris. The all-female teams dance in dead straight lines, use high stepping, precision moves and big pom poms (that's the fluffy bit) and they travel over the country side to compete against other teams. It's serious stuff. Not many of the hankie wavers and stick bashers know much of it and it's co-existed without much crossing of paths. The troupes are not just kids either - they consist of women of all ages and their competitions have strict standards to follow. ...and going by the website the older girls have tough drinking standards to boot! Of course the regular morris say it's not traditional but traditions have to start somewhere. Seventy years is getting on, though that's just a spring chicken by Cotswold standards. North West isn't that old ...is it? Don't believe me? Have a squiz for yourself:
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