Saturday 14th was a day of terrific dancing and joyful celebration for AVMM. At lunchtime we were joined by the men of Adlington Morris at The Bell, who were on their annual tour in the Cotswolds. Squire Duncan had seen us in action at the Day of Dance previously and had wanted to give his friendly and vibrant side a chance to dance alongside a traditional side from a village about which they had heard much. The home side fielded a strong side with a wide age range and were joined by fool Bryan Sheppard, looking resplendent in his bright green outfit (as seen in the photo below). Both sides gave excellent displays from their respective repertoires before Adlington adjourned for lunch in the pub.
Adlington Morris Men from Cheshire with AVMM
The home side reconvened in the evening at The Institute in Adderbury for an Ale to celebrate Bryan’s magnificent contribution to the Morris revival in the 1970s. Guests included Barry Care MBE, former Squire of the Morris Ring and a brace of Moulton’s fine young team, Sunrising Morris and various friends, relations and original members of AVMM. Fellow founder of the side Jim Plester read out tributes from Chris Leslie and Tim Radford who were unable to attend, Barry Care spoke about Bryan’s contribution and Jim invited Phil Taylor to present Bryan with an engraved tankard to honour all he has done for AVMM. As well as country dancing with callers and musicians provided by both hosts and guest sides, Moulton, Sunrising and AVMM gave excellent demonstrations from their respective range of dances, showing the broad range of styles that are included in the term Cotswold Morris. A fine feast and plenty of Hooky were provided by staff from The Reindeer public house and dancing and merriment continued late into the evening. Special thanks must be given to the organising committee of Jim Plester, Phil Taylor and Chris Garrett who had worked so hard to make this event such a success and of course to our guests who made this such an enjoyable and memorable evening. Above all we must thank Bryan Sheppard, who has done so much to bring back the Morris to Adderbury and to ensure the continuing success of AVMM.
We had a wonderful time at the Banbury Folk Festival and Hobby Horse Festival. Appearing at five venues throughout the day in front of large, knowledgeable and enthusiastic crowds, we performed in excess of 20 of our dances. We met plenty of old friends and made some new ones including many strange hobby horses and beasts. We particularly enjoyed meeting folklorists, Fred Mead and his son Josh, who had come over from Essex to learn more about Cotswold Morris. (The photo below shows them joining John, Troy, Richard and David dancing Brighton Camp in front of The Reindeer.)
An action-packed afternoon ended at the Bandstand where we performed Black Joke in front of the other dance sides. After the final procession of beasts we danced Constant Billy and were joined by four of the splendid Broadstairs Hooden Horses (as seen in the photo below).
The weather was kind to us and this was the most enjoyable day I have had in Banbury for a very long time. Thanks as ever to our musicians: Malcolm, who combined whistle playing with riding Charlie the ‘Oss and of course to Donald. Congratulations to Troy, who has assimilated the AVMM dances in an amazingly short time and has quickly established himself as an essential component of the side.
On Saturday 23 September, AVMM members Donald, David and Richard sang, played and demonstrated the Morris tradition at the Apple Day, Tudor re-enactment, Mary’s Arden’s farm at Wilmcote, near Stratford-upon-Avon. Built by Mary’s father, Robert Arden around 1514, Mary Arden’s House has been significantly altered over time. Today, visitors to Mary Arden’s Farm can peek inside the chimney and the walls, discover how the house was built and imagine what life must have been like for Mary when she lived here with her seven sisters. Add to this, the Apple Day events with many demonstrations of traditional crafts, song and dance. As ever at this event, there were a lot of children who enjoyed interacting with Charlie our hobby horse (ridden by Liz, a visitor from the USA) and many of them joined David and Richard by participating in the Shepherd’s Hey. Our thanks to Donald for organizing an excellent day.
Dancing the Adderbury tradition as recorded by Janet Blunt
