Christmas always seems to come round so quickly, and by extension so does our Boxing Day dance out! Foggy conditions didn’t deter us as our dancers were perfectly visible to the many onlookers in the village, who were enjoying themselves despite the damp conditions. With a cohort of 13 dancers and two musicians we were soon entertaining with Sweet Jenny Jones, Old Woman Tossed up in a Blanket, the Beaux of London City and many more outside both the Coach & Horses and the Bell.

As we had such a positive audience, we invited them to join us in a Shepherds’ Hey jig that may have caused minor traffic disruption, but was greatly enjoyed by all the participants. (For any health and safety personnel reading I told them to look both ways before doing a foot down towards the road!). Among the onlookers, David and John spotted the great niece of Harry Wallin and also, Harry’s nephew – John danced the Shepherds’ Hey with him. Harry was a member of the side back in the 1900s and later killed in the First World War. Harry is memorialised at the cemetery in Arras, France. It was lovely to speak to someone who relates to Morris Dancing within the village, and show them how far dancing has come. 

Over the past year I do hope we’ve done our predecessors justice,  continuing the tradition with a strong group of dancers that have helped us put on many fun-filled events. Going into our 50th year since the revival, is an exciting prospect with many events to look forward.

Thank you to everyone who took part including our musicians Jim and Malcolm who played brilliantly during the colder weather. Our dancers also did a fantastic job despite having not danced for a few weeks – it was so encouraging to see so many young dancers out with us . We also appreciated the crowds outside the Coach & Horses, and the Bell who gave us a positive reception and as always, we would like to thank the respective landlords and staff. Finally, our grateful thanks to Hannah for fantastic action photos – see more of these on our Facebook page. We wish everyone a fun and safe festive season, and a happy New Year.

Ryan & John

Uploaded by Richard, currently in Oban, Stewart Island, New Zealand which is 11, 839 miles away from Adderbury!

Every Morris side is comprised of much more than sets of dancers and musicians: Every Morris side has an audience; an array of family members, friends, photographers, folk music fans, passing members of the public, all following their performance and occasionally, dogs too. Over the past eleven years, AVMM have sometimes been joined by a small black pug dog call Riley. His cuteness has often drawn attention away from the clashing sticks, the jingling bells and the array of Janet Blunt collected dances. In his own quiet way, Riley has been a supporter, a pet and a mascot. He accompanied us on tours of Somerset, Norfolk and France and Belgium for the centenary events related to the end of WW1, as we paid our respects to the fallen. Riley passed away on 27 November, RIP gentle boy Riley a Morris pug dog.

As is customary at this time of year, AVMM got together in good numbers to support this lovely event and to perform in front of a friendly and appreciative crowd including Father Christmas himself, who without his beard bore a striking resemblance to former Landlord of The Bell, John Bellinger. Our lunchtime slot in between the other two Adderbury sides, Sharp and Blunt and Adderbury Morris Men, suited most of the team and we were able to field no less than 12 dancers plus three musicians, Donald, Mike and Sue. It was good to meet up with old friends and to dance in such a lovely ancient building close to our brilliantly decorated tree, which drew appreciative comments from aficionados of such matters. We are particularly grateful to Sue for taking on the lead role in making our tree look so beautiful and appropriately embellished with ribbons, bells and other Morris related accoutrements. The knitted model AVMM dancer drew particular comment and there was some discussion as to which member of the side he most resembled. The majority view was that a senior member of the side allegedly originating from the county of Dorset might have been the model for Sue’s knitted doll.

As usual we navigated dancing in the rather narrow aisles of St Mary’s without major mishap and the two sets of six performed their heys most impressively, even if the logistics of three sets for Princess Royal dancing at 90 degree angles proved a challenge for some.

Someone asked me once, having played a lot of football and rugby, why I took up Morris dancing at an age when many men give up most physical activity. As I looked at the smiling faces of the team and the large crowd, I was reminded of the first line of the traditional carol, The King.

“Joy, Health, Love and Peace be all here in this place.”

See you again on Boxing Day outside the pub!

John

An annual Christmas tradition is the St Mary’s Adderbury Christmas tree festival and normally, John and David lead our AVMM Christmas tree decorating team. This year they were joined by Mike and Sue and the men stood back in awe at the creative genius of Sue Dalchau, our super-talented musician and Christmas tree creative director! John writes: The AVMM tree looks much better than it has ever done before during my 20 odd years with the side. Our particular thanks to Sue for her hard work and creativity and to Mike, John and David.

If you can, please come and join us for Morris dancing in St Mary’s church, Adderbury on Saturday 7^th December. The AVMM 45-minute slot begins promptly at 1.15pm and if you have the time, come and watch the other Adderbury sides: Sharp and Blunt who are dancing from 12.30pm and the Adderbury Morris Men from 2pm. A great festival of trees and Morris dancing!