Squire John Ekers gave a talk on The History of AVMM to an enthusiastic (well not actively hostile!) audience of Banbury Rotarians on Friday 12 May. The talk was in fact well received and a lively debate ensued after John’s talk.

On Saturday 22 April, the sun shone all day on Adderbury for the annual Day of Dance.

Squire John Ekers writes: Thanks to all who contributed to making Saturday’s Day of Dance such an enjoyable celebration of Morris Dancing during which AVMM danced on 55 occasions. I was really proud of our four new recruits who have been such receptive and enthusiastic students of our unique style of Cotswold Morris since joining us at our Taster session just nine weeks ago. Thanks also to our wonderful musicians and more experienced dancers who helped so much, both during practice sessions and on the big day. Some personal thanks from me to those who helped with calling the dances and to Bryan, our fool, who always keeps the audience entertained. We were blessed with perfect weather for dancing and large, friendly crowds helped us to keep going from 10.30am when we started the day in the churchyard until 7pm in the evening outside The Bell. Unfortunately, Charlie, our horse, had to retire early as Dave Lovick, his jockey, took a tumble and injured a hamstring. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back in the saddle later in the season. Finally, a special mention to our youngest member, Alfie Newman, only nine years old, but already a seasoned veteran of this annual highlight of the Adderbury calendar. As well as performing the Shepherds’ Hey jig with his grandpa, Chris Garrett, four times during the day, he extended his repertoire, tackling many dances which were new to him. Here’s to a successful and enjoyable season ahead!

Note for the statisticians: Frequently performed dances were: Brighton Camp (7); Beaux of London City (5) Sweet Jenny Jones, Constant Billy, Flasher and Shepherds’ Hey Jig (4)

Squire John Ekers reports: AVMM were happy to provide a team of dancers to help entertain new residents, staff and visiting dignitaries at the opening ceremony of Gracewell House in Twyford on Thursday 30 March. Six experienced dancers, including founder members, Bryan and Jim, performed five dances interspersed with tunes led by regular team musicians, Donald McCombie and John Wright. A well known local fiddle player augmented the AVMM sound after witnessing his mother-in-law cutting the celebratory cake to mark the official opening of the new luxury care home. The event was blessed with glorious sunshine!

AVMM recently hosted a Taster session for anyone interested in our unique tradition and we’re delighted to welcome a group of young new recruits, now learning the dances in preparation for the Annual Day of Dance in Adderbury on 22 April.  Pictured below, Giles (left) and James  try out top hats for size from the AVMM collection at the  Wednesday evening practice session. AVMM is appealing for large size top hats for other new recruits, if you can assist, please contact John via the Contact Us section at the website.

In preparation for the 2017 season, AVMM hosted a ‘Taster day’, on 18 February. The event was a great success: attended this year by seven young men who danced with much energy and enthusiasm during the three-hour morning session. It’s a real bonus to have two sets of dancers for what was effectively, a pre-season practice and we shall aim to make this an annual event.

Thanks to our wonderful musicians for keeping us in time and to our team of instructors for the day, facilitated by John and Dave. We should also like to thank the Banbury Guardian for running a story about the Taster day and for arranging for a reporter/photographer to attend the event.

Regular Wednesday practices for the Day of Dance start on Wednesday, 1st March at 8pm in the Tythe Barn, Adderbury.

Do you know anyone who would like to try Morris dancing?

The Adderbury Village Morris men are hosting a free, open Taster session on Saturday 18 February at the Adderbury Institute, The Green, Adderbury, OX17 3NE. The event is from 9.30am until 12.30pm and refreshments will be provided.

The aim is to enable anyone who is interested in this unique tradition and its long association with the Banbury area, to find out more and to give Morris dancing a try! No prior dancing experience is needed and expert tuition and live music will be provided. If you’d like to know more about the event, please do get in touch via the Contact Us page at the AVMM website.

A beautiful sunny winter’s day saw a good crowd gathering outside The Coach and Horses pub in Adderbury to witness the start of our Christmas celebration of Cotswold Morris. Donald and Malcolm provided a very solid musical accompaniment, whilst our splendid Fool amused the spectators and Charlie the horse enjoyed a canter in the crisp air.

The six-man side gave a strong performance, dancing six times outside the pub. We then proceeded to The Bell to join Sharp and Blunt, who were finishing their set. An enthusiastic crowd in excess of a hundred enjoyed six further dances from our side. Our final dance was, as tradition demands, Brighton Camp. For this we featured 12 dancers including three youngsters. Thanks to all who took part – it was a most enjoyable occasion which bodes well for the season ahead. Our next event will be a Taster session for potential recruits and Donald will send details nearer the time. Please encourage anyone whom you think might enjoy it to come along with you.

John Ekers

On Friday 9^th December, AVMM performed The Story of the Dancer at St Mary’s Church, Adderbury as a fund raiser for SingingforSyrians (Helping the most vulnerable people in and around Syria) See: www.singingforsyrians.com/

The Story of the Dancer is a fictitious tale based on a factual 1^st World War event – the Christmas truce that took place in December, 1914. The story is dedicated to those who died and in that context, it recalls the fact that many Morris dancers perished and this nearly led to the end of the tradition. The story focuses on how singing briefly stopped a war and united soldiers from both sides in a shared vision of peace. It is also about a love of Morris dancing and the final part of the story describes the revival of the tradition by a new generation of young dancers in the 1970s.

The Story of the Dancer is a unique blend of Morris dancing, music and storytelling, written by AVMM musician Donald McCombie and performed by AVMM. It continues our respectful connection with the dancers who died during  the 1^st World War as portrayed in the film The Way of the Morris.

Pictured below, AVMM dancers and musicians with Victoria Prentice MP

Our last two dancing engagements before the AGM (see date below) provided an interesting contrast in context and but both went very well. In the morning we assembled at St Mary’s, Adderbury where we danced for 30 minutes, in honour of our dear friend and great supporter of AVMM, Barbara Minter. We then joined in the very moving memorial service which celebrated her life. We joined the rest of the congregation for refreshments afterwards, before heading off to Blenheim Palace to dance two sets (13 dances) at the Literature and Film Festival. Once again the weather was very kind to us and the large crowds relishing the sunshine seemed to enjoy our performances. As usual there was a healthy mix of Morris aficionados and mystified tourists. Best wishes to all and thanks for supporting this wonderful tradition throughout the season,
John (Bagman)

The AVMM Annual General Meeting with be held at the Bell, Adderbury on Wednesday 23 November, commencing at 7.30pm

The battle of the Somme

July 1, 1916 – November 18, 1916L The battle of the Somme   fought in Northern France, was one of the bloodiest of World War One – in total there were one million casualties. The war of 1914 – 1918 claimed the lives of thirty men from Adderbury. Each of these men is being commemorated throughout 2014 – 2018 by the bellringers of St. Mary’s Church by ringing a Quarter Peal on the centenary of each death. Of these thirty men, four were known to be members of Charlie Coleman’s Edwardian boys Morris side.

The first of the Morris dancers to be lost was Private Percy Wallace Pargeter of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry 60 Brigade, who was killed in action on 7 October 1916 during the Battle of Transloy Ridges on the Somme. The pouring rain turned the battlefield into a barely negotiable morass. He was 20, and given the battle conditions it’s no surprise that his body was never recovered.

The Adderbury Village Morris Men honoured these four men, none of them having a known grave, by visiting their memorials in 2008, the 90th anniversary of the ending of WW1. Percy’s name is engraved on pier 10 of the Thiepval Memorial. He was the son of Harry and Sarah Pargeter, Mill House, Adderbury.

We are again paying tribute to these past dancers by adding our own ceremony to the occasion of the bellringing. The Quarter Peal was being rung at 6:30pm on Friday 7 October 2016, so we gathered at the lych-gate in Morris kit at 7pm while the ringing was still in progress, to remember Percy Pargeter killed 100 years ago.

The sound of the half-muffled bells was a sombre accompaniment to our pause in the churchyard while Edd Frost planted a poppy cross in the Garden of Remembrance.

Moving into church we then performed a modified repeat of the ceremony we held at Thiepval. The proceedings were led by the Squire, who is indebted to Bryan Sheppard for the use of the text from 2008. Jim Plester read a poem The Soldier by Rupert Brooke. The wreath provided by Edd was laid by Chris Holmes below the war memorial in the South wall, followed by a pause for silent remembrance. Donald sang his own composition Never Dance Again, we all joining in the chorus. Chris Garrett read a poem For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon. The ceremony concluded with a celebration of the return of the Morris to the village through the efforts of Bryan Sheppard and Jim Plester amongst others, by us all singing The Happy Man. By this time the bellringers had come down from the tower to observe our tribute.

Spirits were then lifted by a performance of the Shepherd’s Hey double jig. This was preceded by the music once through on the instrument of the Trenches, the harmonica played by the Squire. The main musicians, Donald, Jim and Malcolm took over for the dance by Chris Holmes and Edd Frost.

Men present were Edd Frost, Chris Garrett, Chris Holmes, Pete Jordon, Donald McCombie, Jim Plester, David Reed, David Snell, Malcolm Wood and John Wright.

Also in attendance were Mesdames Garrett, Jordon and Plester. It was lovely to have the support of the ladies as we did in France and Belgium in 2008. It being well after dark and no street dancing possible a few of us repaired to the Coach & Horses for a drink and a natter.

Dave Reed