tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-287179582011-12-14T03:54:01.773ZMorris dancing as seen by a morris dancer. I have been morris dancing for nearly 40 years and will pass on dancing comments, songs, music and other morris dancing views from my dancer perspective. If you have views or comments on any aspect of dance, song or music related to morris dancing or about morris dancers please log in and add your comments.Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-13515153576650669102008-06-23T11:49:00.001+01:002008-06-23T12:07:57.352+01:00

Give it a try.If you enjoy life, want to try something new, meet new friends, or even if you are on the shy side, no matter what, come along and have a go at Morris Dancing.It's been around for a long time and has a lot going for it. It will change your life and you will be pleased about it.Sure I joined when I was single and in my early 20's but these days many in their 30's and 40's join and

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-78358692977629312052008-06-19T11:46:00.001+01:002008-06-19T11:48:18.386+01:00

Girlfriend did itSexual equality has a lot to answer for, but sometimes we guys do benefit.George joined the Morris after being chatted up by a lady dancer.He was idly drinking his beer and admiring their 'f'eet' bouncing nicely to the music when one of them chatted him up!Well being at a loose end as far as girlfriends went one thing led to another and a few months later he found himself

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-62184677574788383012008-06-14T11:43:00.001+01:002008-06-14T11:46:30.484+01:00

Chat up womenLads, if you are single and under 30 the Morris Dancers kit is great for chatting up the ladies.You will be amazed at the liberties you can take whilst wearing the kit. The biggest thing you need to be aware of is trying it on with the galls after you have changed back into civvies.You've probably seen the men going around giving away programmes and collecting cash, well when I was

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-82278104840098491842008-06-11T11:38:00.001+01:002008-06-11T11:38:01.533+01:00

To get fitAs I mentioned in the last note getting fit is in vogue at the moment. And yes dancing will make you fitter.As a dancer, you will probably find when walking up a street that most people are walking slower than you, you will be able to run for a bus and not be too puffed, though most reading this probably never see a bus that's worth running for!Being fit helps you live longer one of our

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-62120064821940965102008-06-08T11:33:00.000+01:002008-06-08T11:33:00.724+01:00

OverweightNow there is no way I can be considered overweight but look around most morris teams and you will probably see one or two rotund bodies.Yet men still join us with the intention of using morris to loose weight.Yes you will loose weight and yes you will most certainly get a lot fitter. If you lay off the beer as well then you may even become slim, but don't bank on it.When Harry joined us

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-89293476657965343832008-06-06T09:39:00.000+01:002008-06-06T19:05:01.460+01:00

Done it at school but lost contact.Quite a few morris dancers are also school teachers and some of the more enterprising amongst them persuade the school to include country dancing and morris dancing in the curriculum. As far as the boys are concerned at best it's a drag.However later in life they see morris dancing and it all floods back to them so they chat with us and decide to have another go

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-21387473127335125202008-05-31T09:36:00.000+01:002008-05-31T09:36:01.329+01:00

Mate dragged me along then second week cleared off.This happens so often, group of lads see us dance, one is all for it the rest could take it or leave it.Anyway he will persuade his palls to come along with him and have a go. Quite often the ringleader never even makes it to the first night. Even if he does then after one session he's never seen again.No matter the rest keep going and find to

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-91790117879053814572008-05-26T09:34:00.000+01:002008-05-26T09:34:00.401+01:00

Saw them on holiday wife set me up.Tom was on holiday with his wife and some friends, they came across some morris men dancing and having fun. The wives took a bit of a shine to these virile (?) young men and made a few comments that the husbands thought needed a response.So on the quiet they spoke to one of the dancers and asked if there was a group near to where they lived. Well of course there

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-86894498720494405832008-05-23T09:25:00.000+01:002008-05-23T09:29:13.369+01:00

Ask a hundred morris men and you will get 100 different answers. In the series that follows I will try and give you a flavour of what a dozen or so have said to me over the years.You will be amazed at some of them, others will strike a chord with you. Yep, the very reasons you think you could or could not become a morris dancer are in these very articles!I have done morris dancing all over the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-15743607381426430632007-02-07T09:18:00.000Z2007-02-07T09:48:13.718Z

The original and true Morris Dance stepsIt was interesting talking to a fellow Morris Dancer that learnt his dance steps elsewhere.We we going over the side step in Fieldtown. Now quite clearly to all of us that had been taught it by the same person over the last 40 years knew beyond doubt that our way of dancing this specific step was not only the right way but the only way and exactly how Cecil

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-79684755809373826962007-02-04T12:03:00.000Z2007-02-04T12:10:19.965Z

Morris Dancing Fieldtown stepsI will be preparing a series of video clips on each part of Fieldtown, Pauls master class last Wednesday reaped a fine harvest of raw clips.So over the next few weeks I will convert them into usable YouTube clips covering, sidesteps, galleys, capers and so on, let me know as they develop just how useful they are to you.The index can be found at

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-39778884771378217092007-01-26T12:24:00.000Z2007-01-26T12:41:33.180Z

Music to the fore, dancing to the rear.Have uploaded some more clips for our beginners to study, anyone else can study them as well, of course.The index of all that have been uploaded can still be found atwww.quality-solutions.co.uk/dancer.htmWhilst I can find low cost hosting services I cannot find any more free ones, so I have just tacked it onto the end of my main web site (will be updating

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-60167833359509342922007-01-04T21:36:00.000Z2007-01-04T21:51:39.138Z

This Saturday 6th Jan at 6.00pm - don't be late we start promptly.Just like last year the weather forecast is grim, but lets hope that as last year the forecast is all wrong.We will be meeting in the same place as last year, but to encourage you to look at our redesigned web site, I will leave off the location. On the web site www.crmm.org.uk there is also a map showing the exact location and

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1167577269492337912006-12-31T14:41:00.000Z2006-12-31T15:01:09.503Z

We have updated our web site, it is a major overhaul and includes a lot of new features. We even give a clue as to the location of the Pubs we visit. Most Morris Dancing teams in Sussex are named, plus a lot of the original information. If you want to know where we are dancing, or want pictures of Morris Dancers then have a look. You comments would very much be appreciated.More video clips of

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1167418689875519572006-12-29T18:44:00.000Z2006-12-29T18:59:15.300Z

The Mummers play and two more Morris dances have now been added to YouTube, the mummers clip is so long I have cut it into two. If you were not there then at least these clips will help give a flavour of the great event.Whilst going round with our collecting trug I started chatting to a lady and it seems she is very keen to help save the Saiga Antelope. Now all this was very new to me having

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1167164587141907892006-12-26T20:04:00.000Z2006-12-26T20:23:07.153Z

Boxing day is very significant to Morris Men, (keep reading over the next few blogs to get the details), so it was with some trepidation that we moved from Steyning to Washington for our Boxing say dancing extravagances.We need not have worried for as we approached the village there were cars galore parked all over the place and even better they were there to see us.As you will know from previous

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1166614715181971432006-12-20T11:12:00.000Z2006-12-20T11:41:47.920Z

A completely different light on some famous sayings.Came across an interesting little article the other day, which is quite relevant to this time of year, i.e. the birth of Jesus.Most religious people and their religions are considered by outsiders to be a bit on the dour side and lacking in humour, especially other people having fun at their expense.So it came as an interesting insight that

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1166529018105669482006-12-19T11:24:00.000Z2006-12-19T11:50:18.116Z

Morris men voted with their feet. This week instead of our normal turnout for a practice night of about 12 we had over 20, had two sets up for most dances. Last week with video conferencing we had 5 dancers and 3 musicians.Problem with video conferencing was the difficulty in keeping lines straight, stopping halfway through for a rest and one to one tuition. So it is back to normal with men

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1165591053495161392006-12-08T15:05:00.000Z2006-12-08T15:41:11.713Z

With wild and wet winter nights not all Morris Men want to venture out to the hall and practice dancing.So what better than to set up video conferencing dancing tuition, those without broadband need to turn up in person and the rest can log in from the comfort of their own home.Wednesday was a bit of an experiment and feedback from all those who were not out in person will be very interesting.Did

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1164985722155276292006-12-01T15:05:00.000Z2006-12-01T15:12:01.760Z

Whilst I was bagman all the team acquired email addresses which was great for communication. Now that I am doing these video clips on YouTube I find that quite a few still have a dial up connection. Well here is a couple pf suggestions.When you go to the YouTube clip let it start playing then click on Pause and wait until it is fully loaded then click on play. That way you should see all the clip

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1164883552747415292006-11-30T10:39:00.000Z2006-11-30T11:03:27.423Z

50 YEARS OF TRADITION TO BE BROKENA Boxing Day tradition in Steyning is to be broken after more than 50 years as the Chanctonbury Ring Morris Men move their annual performance of the Steyning Tipteerers Play out of the town. Performing the play requires a combination of a decent size car park to accommodate the audience and an enthusiastic licensee who is willing and has enough space to support

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1164546625891987492006-11-26T13:03:00.000Z2006-11-26T13:10:25.903Z

The Clog Dancing practice night went well. It was good to see the progress of all our new men.Have a look at some of the video clips, look first at the stepping instuctional and then look at the complete dance. When you see the dancing there is at least one that prior to the night had done no Clog Dancing at all and several that had never done these particular dances.So well done to them for

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1164036643587071562006-11-20T15:26:00.000Z2006-11-20T15:30:43.606Z

Found this whilst idly surfing the net. It is by Rich Holmes's, should stir up a little bit of interest.The first thing to remember about this subject is, simply: DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING. There is a lot of hogwash being circulated on the subject of the "origins" of morris dancing -- especially by morris dancers (such as me :-) ). Enormous amounts of speculation based on little or no data, faulty

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1163785942199260152006-11-17T17:42:00.000Z2006-11-17T17:55:08.846Z

Well the Cotswold Morris Dancing practice went well on Wednesday, at least as far as the video clips were concerned. Some of the dance steps were proving to be a little tricky so I have separated out the side step in Bampton and the corner movement in Litchfield and also added a little slow motion.Let me know what you think.The web index/library has been updated and you can click straight from

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1163583800703345572006-11-15T09:30:00.000Z2006-11-15T09:43:20.716Z

Morris dancing is proving quite a challenge to dear old google ads. Have you clicked on any of them? Don't know what ones you are seeing, but when I was writing this, the belly dancer was there, anyone followed it up? What about buying a troupe of Morris Dancers? Well who knows where that might lead, like to see some feedback from you guys and gals as to what mischief you can get into with some

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1163413319144684092006-11-13T10:05:00.000Z2006-11-13T10:21:59.156Z

Morris Dancing as it has never been seen before.It is one thing to see the polished dancing of Morris as a performance, but what about when we are all learning.We may spend all of one evening (but usually only 30 to 60 mins) on a dance then that's it till next week.I am planning to record all our practice sessions and within a day or so of doing it, get them onto youtube, so that those who are

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1162997431028273712006-11-08T14:43:00.000Z2006-11-08T14:50:31.050Z

I have had requests to add some bells and whistles so that the real techo's can link more easily and get automatic notification every time I update the blog. Well this is it, I hope all the little buttons mean something to someone, I just punted around until I found the right site and followed instructions.If they are not doing what they should can you let me know and even better tell me what to

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1162899081576104922006-11-07T11:13:00.000Z2006-11-07T11:33:21.953Z

Well all of you that turned up at Lewes on the 4th know that we celebrated Bonfire night on the Saturday, those that turned up on Sunday possibly found it a bit quiet.Over 50,000 watched the Grand Procession (that's the one we dance in). We took a strange route, it was almost as if those at the front were looking for a route that had not been blocked off by a super efficient police force, the

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1162466549654707252006-11-02T11:17:00.000Z2006-11-02T11:22:29.663Z

Have had a lot of requests for the exact location of Anna's Bar, so I have added a Multimap link to the picture title (go to picture link).

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1162463668781265712006-11-02T10:27:00.000Z2006-11-02T10:34:28.790Z

Don't forget the celebrations are on Saturday night and our Clog team will be in the big parade as per usual. We are not meeting in the usual pub, (change of landlord) not interested in us. Instead we will meet at the Brewers Arms 7.00pm.With any luck there will be a follow-up report with pictures, but as last years picture was so good then maybe not.

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1160839751749547222006-10-14T16:20:00.000+01:002006-10-14T16:29:11.750+01:00

We get invited to a whole range of festivals and events but the Silk Road Festival did capture our imaginations. So we said yes please.Unfortunately as this was based in Syria, World events got in the way. We were still game to go, but other countries dancers were refused exit permissions by their governments. So with only three visiting foreign teams the Syrians reluctantly cancelled.The sad

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1160839203965793042006-10-14T16:17:00.000+01:002006-10-14T16:20:03.976+01:00

Well at last, the first few pictures are up and are fairly easy to view.Cant say the same for the tunes though.I have out some tunes and songs up but they take an awful long time to download. Does anyone know of a better way of placing them?

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1160390960429271172006-10-09T11:21:00.000+01:002006-10-09T11:49:20.440+01:00

Well the first Saturday in October brought forth a fine morning, perfect weather for a bit of Morris Dancing. What better than to do it in the Brewery yard of one of England's finest Breweries.Yes it was time for us to test out Harveys new winter ale. Each year they very generously invite a selected band of dancers to join with the good hearted folk of Lewes and sample the new brew of Old Ale. We

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1160315935083574822006-10-08T14:15:00.000+01:002006-10-08T15:13:24.976+01:00

All trial tribulations and excuses are over now and at last I am getting round to my exploits at Saddleworth.Sonia and I took the easy route and stayed in B&B at least we had a comfy bed and a decent breakfast, the walk to the town was a brisk 20 mins, and in clogs not too bad.For any of you that have not seen the rush cart I must tell you it's very impressive and is very heavy but with a few

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1158940168362732202006-09-22T16:21:00.000+01:002006-09-22T16:49:28.376+01:00

Yes Train not rain.I live near the Bluebell railway and a passing train got caught up in the trees and pulled down the telephone line. At least that's what I've been told. The train was on a transporter being driven down to the railway, I don't live THAT close to the railway line!!However all that stopped me telling you about the excellent Hurstpierpoint Arts Festival, it finishes this weekend,

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1158316969135734912006-09-15T10:41:00.000+01:002006-09-15T11:42:49.183+01:00

It seems a long time ago since we went to Poland but with my hazy memory and the aid of lots of photos I will bring you up to date. Some of us went out on the Wednesday (26/7) the rest followed on the Friday. We had pre-booked into a hostel in Krakow and were met at the airport, great saved a lot of hassle. After dumping our bags we naturally took a tour round the marvellous city. We turned left

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1157624417282856352006-09-07T11:10:00.000+01:002006-09-11T07:10:58.813+01:00

Well I may be a Morris Dancer but I don't seem to have a good memory. However after loosing my log in and password details it has taken me months to track down all the details and get back on line.To follow will be my exploits in Saddleworth and Poland, will also bring you up to date on what happened to the Silk Road Festival.But for now, if you want to take up Morris Dancing, then get along to

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1151610482052031482006-06-29T20:35:00.000+01:002006-06-29T20:48:02.146+01:00

Guess what, there was a large crowd of people out at the pub this Wednesday. The Sun was shining, no football to keep the audience glued to the TV so we all had a great time.The Sloop did us proud, they always enjoy us coming along.We had a great song and music session after a very extended Morris dancing session.A great time was had by all.September is getting closer and we will be running a

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1151061624986667482006-06-23T12:09:00.000+01:002006-06-23T12:20:25.036+01:00

Well the world cup may be great for some but its effect on audience watching Morris Dancing is dramatic, (what is the singular of audience?).Last week we danced with another local team making with camp followers a group of about 40, non related audience 2 and people in the pub watching the big screen 6.The landlady was new and overwhelmed by the number of men wanting to buy her basic product, I'm

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1150109127620217222006-06-12T11:45:00.000+01:002006-06-12T11:49:56.420+01:00

Take a bronze ingot, cast it to a desired shape then get another piece of bronze and vigorously hit the two together for over 5 million times. What happens, well read on.We were Morris Dancing at Alfriston's 600 anniversary of being granted a market charter on Sunday, a glorious hot and sunny day. Before we started dancing I wandered around the various market stalls and went into the small info

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1149777132698023062006-06-08T13:00:00.000+01:002006-06-08T15:40:59.770+01:00

We danced in the City Centre of Brighton last night, quite a contrast to the sleepy villages we normally dance at. Parking, wow I am glad we don't have to do it every week.Still we had a large and interested audience and who knows, some of them may wish to come along and join us.While I was going round with our collecting trug I was accosted by an ex reporter who thought it may be a great idea to

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1149065139079898852006-05-31T09:06:00.000+01:002006-05-31T09:45:39.103+01:00

Well we had a great time, as expected. We didn't get rained on and Sunday especially was a very sunny day.We arrived at various times on the Friday evening and had a few beers then our musicians played a few tunes. I tried out my MP3 again, but still not got the instructions quite right so nothing was recorded, oh well.Saturday we started off very well at our first stand, nice big crowd fine

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1148643319743802712006-05-26T12:25:00.000+01:002006-05-26T12:35:19.750+01:00

When Whitsun was a public holiday we would go down to Dorset on the Friday night stay in some village hall and dance away the weekend, traveling back on the Monday afternoon. Well we still do that and we still call it the Whit tour despite our representatives in parliament doing their best to confuse us. But now of course we do it at the oddly named spring bank holiday weekend, how it can still

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1148556606487139862006-05-25T12:19:00.000+01:002006-05-25T12:30:06.496+01:00

Well last night (Wednesday) is our normal dancing day, so despite it poring hard, we dutifully turned up at the Red Lion, Shoreham. Fortunately none of the potential audience wanted to get soaked by coming out to watch us, so we kept them company inside and quite near to the bar.The landlord very generously gave us a free pint even though we didn't do any dancing. So we played a few tunes and

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28717958.post-1148555865532264392006-05-25T12:15:00.000+01:002006-05-25T12:17:45.533+01:00

The start of a new venture, recording the everyday activities of a Morris Dancer.Well it will be interesting to see what happens as time goes by.

Johnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15549748765711709163noreply@blogger.com0