There are few occasions more quintessentially English than a traditional village fete and amongst the vital components of such events: tea and cake stalls, bouncy castles, Punch and Judy shows, vintage car displays, ice cream sellers, silver band concerts, tombolas and artisan craft stalls, many would also regard a Morris dancing demonstration as a prerequisite for such occasions.

Thus it was that a small band of AVMM dancers and musicians found themselves performing for the third year in a row in the lovely village of Tingewick. Ryan, our exemplary Squire, led the side through a set of dances for the large crowd interspersed between sets by the Great Horwood Silver Band. That the threatening clouds failed to release their contents over our dancers was a mixed blessing, as we were decidedly hot and sticky by the end of our set. As usual, one of the highlights was our audience participation number during which I danced opposite Freya. As it was her birthday, I felt there could have been fewer more unusual presents than to introduce her to the joys of dancing Shepherds’ Hey. She seemed to enjoy herself enormously.

As soon as Brighton Camp brought another afternoon’s dancing to a close, we headed to the tea tent to enjoy the fantastic cakes provided for us as part of our fee. Musician Donald, who loves a photo opportunity, busied himself in juxtaposing our members amongst various quirky objects scattered around the field. Thus we ended up with a photo of our team alongside a vintage Morris car (Geddit?), the Punch and Judy stall with Raf sporting a string of sausages and a number of portraits of enormous cakes being consumed by the hungrier members of the sides. All very silly and rather lovely.

My thanks to all those who made themselves available so that we could once again field a full side of dancers and musicians. A member of another side recently complimented us on the frequency of our dance outs and our presence on social media, all this would not be possible without the wonderful people that make up the mighty Adderbury Village Morris.

We now have a fortnight’s rest before the Christopher Rawlings Primary School Fete on Saturday 4th July. We start dancing at 1pm. See you then.

John