It was fab in the best of company.

Travelled down with another Boggart about 1.30pm on the friday, and promptly got caught in roadworks between Sheffield and Derby. **** Went over the most amazing bridges by the tollgate near Essex I think. A mad curving bridge, amazing architectural architecture! We were hoping to get there by 4.30, but hah! we got to the school, which was the morris teams camping ground at 8pm. Still it was still light, and the Boggarts team chipped in to help with putting up tents, and with one Boggart running up to the other end of the campsite to catch the cruising car, that was looking for our lot!

It was really very nice to chill out and chat, and even as it got dark, I didn't have to don a coat. It was that warm, but perhaps that was due to no wind. :)

God, we were up early on saturday, I woke up at 6.30am and decided to get up, so I didn't have to queue for showers and we were due in town, twenty minutes walk away at 10.00. We also have to eat and do our boggarts make up, so you see why, I was keen to get moving. And what a campsite, black painted faces and jingling bells everywhere. My god, I'd been to Rochester on the last day, but a very long high street covered with Morris teams dancing is a great sight to be seen.

We danced at so many places, it is hard to remember, but we made lots of new friends and received so many compliments. We are Border reworked, to impressive standards, and we really enjoyed ourselves, as did our audience. We were in the opening ceremony and danced in front of the Mayor of Rochester (yes, we seem to be making a habit of dancing in front of these dignitaries!) and then I think we joined up with Motley Morris, who organise this festival http://www.motley-morris.co.uk/

We also saw the Witchmen(Kettering?) around and Maenads (Kent), http://www.witchmen.com/
http://www.atmg94.dsl.pipex.com/, Grimspound Border (Dartmoor) http://www.grimspound.org.uk/

The only problem with being in a team is hearing the teams you want to see dance like the above, including Hunters Moon (Sussex)http://www.huntersmoonmorris.co.uk/

But I was in the best of company. It was the first time I'd been out properly with a morris side to a festival, and I saw what great uns I was with. some of our members got in on the friday about 11pm and everyone came and roped in to help put up their tents and settle them down!

We also got noted for the blue faces and for dancing "playground" round the war memorial with people still sitting on it. I didn't get to see any of the Rochester Sweeps, which is a shame as Sweeps are considered lucky, but I did get to see some maypole dancing, after all these years, with two morris dancers standing on an enormous maypole, so it didn't fall over!

On the sunday, I walked past Hook Eagle Morris http://www.hookeagle.org.uk/, and gt talking with a couple of them. Was going to walk on, much as I wanted to watch, when a few more of our Boggarts went past and stopped, and I gabbled on, how wonderful this lot were. They were supposed to be dancing in the same spot, on the next turn, but something had happened. So when we got up to our spot, I hassled our squire, until she went to have a word with them. So, new mutual admiration and friends sprung up, as they came along, danced with us, then dragged us to another dance place, and then we all went to a pub (the old man of kent), on the edge of the town, and indulgently danced for each other. Brilliant!!! I inted to see them again, and I really hope we hook up with them (no pun intended, honest guv), and dance again with them at another few festivals. :)

I think the other teams must have thought we were either mad or hardcore, as we were practising the "impossible dance" on the campsite on saturday afternoon and sunday afternoon! Mind though, we did see which teams are stunning: Working on the dances and strengthening the weak bits, is what Boggarts do, but you can also see it in the teams I mentioned above.

Hope we get dance with you all again. :) :) :) Rar!!!!!!!!!!1

or a couple of May Morn on Higgor Tor, by the mad morris, and of Rochester Sweeps (see last post)!

http://boggartsbreakfast.org.uk/ee/index.php/site/pictures/

And dancing outside the old man of kent pub with our new friends, Hook Eagle Morris (yes, them in the background all in black with feathers in top hats and red braces) - damn fine individuals!

http://boggartsbreakfast.org.uk/ee/index.php/site/pictures_med/308/

and yes, if you flick to something else and come back, the photos change. Just a tip.


xxx :)

Yes, that's the one with white shirts and baldricks and bells and sticks and hankerchiefs!

Set up by a few people, on new year's day, this year, watching Sheffield City Morris

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/sheffield-city-morris-or-stamp-doing-stick-dance/340117259

(well, alright that's them in drag in their daughters' Sciorra Irish dancing clothes!), but I knew the husband of one of the people who set it up, who I met AGES ago, at the folk day a the V and A museum, which was a blast. And we share the same name!

I'd heard about "William Morris" from a friend, and we learnt two Adderbury dances today. Goddesses, I'm so pleased with myself, at telling myself, I would pick this dancing lark up again with no trouble. And we in the middle, remembered the three times, everyone forgot, to do double swings and clash sticks. I can STILL JUMP and I CAN STILL CAPER DECENTLY, wiht great leaps, when I have enough breath! This is exercise I like, even though it still gets a bit hot and agh for me. Still, there was a self defence class upstairs, with a rather handsome instructor. Who smiled at me, when he came in - and we were waiting to see who else was turning up - probably due to the makeup, I had on. Stilll...................!!!!!

So doing nicely, slowly, so far, Thank Ye!!!!!!!!! :)