Ryan writes: On Saturday afternoon 16th November we had the pleasure of dancing at The Bell Beer Festival in Adderbury – a week-end long celebration with fantastic beer and food galore! Arriving late, dancing in the beer garden was already in full swing, led by John. Once I’d got my finger out (and my bells on!) we continued to dance a range from our repertoire with as many as 12 dancers at a time. We danced for about an hour with hardly any time to taste the amazing beers on offer!
Our dancing was supported by strong musical accompaniment from Donald, Mike and Sue, clearly audible along Church Lane and beyond. It was great to hear them in full swing and it made the dancing so enjoyable and with an engaging crowd joining us for a Shepherd’s Hey jig, we had a lot of fun. One lady dancing with Richard had three small children in tow and Richard arranged for an observer to hold her gin and tonic!
When Richard last did the Hook Norton brewery tour, he was told a ‘tall tale’ when the tour arrived at the stables. Apparently one of the shire horses reacted badly to Morris music and so we were imagining something of a wild west scene when a Hook Norton shire horse turned up. The man with the horse said that actually his horse liked Morris dancing though personally he wasn’t keen!
Thank you to all dancers who took part and a special mention to Hector and Freddie who danced really well and reflect our efforts to retain and develop young dancers to ensure the future of the side. Finally, a huge thank you to Rhys and Michelle at the Bell for enabling us to dance – as our ‘thank you’ we lined the corridor and sang ‘Landlord fill the Flowing Bowl’. We hope to be back next year!
Ryan Jamniuk and Richard Teare