FASH CHAT
It's Spring and my fancy has turned to thoughts of festivals and traditions. A bit of sunshine and blossom on the trees (and Easter eggs and hot cross buns in the shops) cheers me up and makes me start thinking about the start of the season for Morris dancers and for folk festivals.
Lady Day fell on 25 March and until 1752 it was the beginning of the legal year in England and it continues to be a Quarter Day, the day when quarterly rents and rates fall due for payment. Lady Day is also the day when the Tichborne Dole is handed out to the villagers of Tichborne, Cheriton and Lane End. This is a tradition dating back about 800 years to the time of Henry II, when the dying Lady Mabella requested her husband, Sir Roger Tichborne, to provide an annual dole of bread to the poor folk around Tichborne House on Lady Day. He was an unpleasant character and he agreed that he would provide the dole to the value of the corn that could be grown on the land that Lady Mabella could walk around whilst a lighted torch remained alight. She was weak and dying and couldn't walk, but she crawled around 23 acres and those fields are called The Crawls to this day. Now on Lady Day the local villagers gather to receive their dole, which takes the form of a gallon of flour per adult and a half gallon per child.
St George's Day, on 23 April, is a festival not celebrated nearly enough. All parish churches are expected to fly the flag of St George on that day. People are beginning to think about celebrating our own patron saint again and there are festivals and fairs and Morris dancing being organised.
Then we come on to May Day, or Walpurgis Night or Beltane Eve; whatever you call it, it is a most attractive festival. I like the sound of the old tradition of lighting the Beltane fires and all that went with it, but now we tend to think of it in terms of Morris sides dancing in the dawn. The Eastbourne International Dance Festival takes place over the weekend which includes the May Bank Holiday, but doesn't necessarily include the 1st May. It does occasionally however and Stroph and I have been out with Long Man Morris Men to dance in the dawn at the foot of the Long Man at Wilmington several times - at least, Stroph dances and I watch, Long Man Morris Men being a Ring side! In fact, if you look at their website you will see Stroph in the group with the Long Man behind them on a May morning, identifiable by his Winchester Morris Men's kit. The Eastbourne International Dance Festival is well worth trying if you haven't been before; despite its name there is more English and American than International and it's a very compact and friendly festival.
Visiting France on May Day (always 1st May there) I have been presented with sprigs of lily-of- the-valley, a more modern affirmation of its long association with May Day celebrations and of bringing good luck since the Renaissance.
Our King John's Morris Men, Wickham Morris and others usually dance in the dawn on May Day. Wickham continue their celebrations throughout the day and 2007 will be no exception, so do try to get out to see them on the Tuesday evening in Wickham Square, from 6.30pm to approx 9pm if you can't make the dawn at 5.15am.
Bursledon Village Band
The Bursledon Village Band is 30 years old this year. It's difficult to be exact about our original conception as there was a period of evolution before we "Broke on the Scene" as a fully fledged band. The starting point was a band that Dave Ingledew put together for a night at the Foc's'le in November 1976. On that evening came a booking for the 24th May 1977 to be held in the back room of a pub in Wickham Square. So despite the fact that we ended up doing a few bookings before that date we always think of May 1977 as our start.
To celebrate our 30th we have booked the Hamble Memorial Hall for the 12th May 2007 and will be holding a dance in the evening where we hope to see many band members and callers that we have worked with over the years. Sibby will be the main caller but we suspect that a few other people will get involved during the evening.
In the morning of the 12th we will be using one of the smaller rooms in the hall to hold a couple of workshops. The first will be for beginners and will be based around some of the tunes that we play but with lots of parts available for a wide variety of instruments. Some of this music has been produced already as source material for an initiative by Hampshire Music Services to promote the playing of traditional music in primary schools. We are hoping that this first session will attract lots of youngsters but will of course be open to beginners of all ages. The music will be available in advance so if you would like to come and would like to have a go at the tunes before the event you'll need to get in touch so that we can send you the music.
The second session will be for slightly more accomplished players and will be a 'play along with the band' session. We are hoping it will give lots of people the opportunity to play some of the tunes we use and to see some of the techniques we use to get the most out of the tunes. If there is a need then we will also include some information and tips about playing for dancers and setting up a successful band. We're open to suggestions on the topics to include.
In many respects we see the morning session as the most important part of the day, we're really keen to get more people, especially young people, involved. Hopefully we'll also get a chance to include some the morning participants on stage during the evening.
On a rather sad note, the 12th May will be our keyboard player Matthew Parker's last day with the Bursledon Village Band. Matt has been playing with us since he was 13, he was at Sidmouth with us when he was 14 and has very much been part of the development of the band during that time. He has played on all three CD's and prestigious events at Folk Festivals. even London's South Bank. Matt has decided on a career change that will take him away from the UK, so reluctantly he's resigned.
This obviously leaves us without a rhythm section so may I also use this notice to appeal for musicians who would like to audition for a position within the band. Ideally another keyboard/piano player but we're open to suggestions, guitar, banjo, drums/percussion whatever.
If you want more information about our 30th birthday event or playing in the band then please contact Dave Ingledew on dave@westcomp.co.uk or 023 80 457964
Winchester MayFest Children's Ceilidh
Over three hundred primary school children will be dancing their socks off to a band of folk musicians at a MAYfest Primary Schools' Ceilidh in Winchester. This event will be at the Guildhall on the afternoon of Friday 18th May. Local infant and junior school children are rehearsing traditional dances under the guidance of Carolyn Robson and Graham Taylor. Carolyn is a consultant on the BBC's Folk Dance series and is familiar to many as leader of Alton Community Choir and singer with harmony trio Craig:Morgan: Robson. Graham is a folk dancer and caller who has been involved with the festival for many years.
The schools from Winchester and surrounding villages include All Saints, St Bedes, John Keble, Cheriton, Scantabout, Owslebury, Micheldever, Upham and more are expected to join the project. Teachers from these schools have been learning the steps and passing them on to their pupils.
This dance project has been made possible through sponsorship from the Folk Camp Society and Folk Association of South Hampshire (FASH) and, of course, the enthusiasm of the teachers and other MAYfest organisers.
The aim is to use dance workshops to help stimulate involvement and interest in the folk tradition among younger members of our local community. In addition, there are many other events planned for the festival which runs from 11th to 20th May 2007. (For full details see www.winmayfest.co.uk)
Carolyn Robson says, "The benefits of traditional dancing for children are almost too numerous to mention. The most obvious is that they have a lot of fun! But they also gain self-confidence and develop a better sense of music and movement".
The art of the dosey-doh, grand chains and honouring partners is the pretext for careful listening, counting and teamwork. Dances with evocative names like The Horse's Bransle, The Swan, The Oxo Reel, and Boston Tea Party have been specially chosen because they are enjoyable, easy to learn and create a grand spectacle. Said one teacher, "When the music is playing and the children are all dancing together, it's a joy to watch and be part of".
The Primary Schools' Ceilidh is free for the children attending and their families, carers and friends. Clive Burgess
Come and Sing Rutter
Following the success of the Come and Sing Choral Classics last year, Wickham Church are planning another choral event on Saturday, 21st April 2007 called "Come & Sing John Rutter". We will be singing his folksong settings "The Sprig of Thyme".
See www.stnicholaswickham.org.uk for more details, but it starts at 3.30pm with rehearsals and then a public performance at 7pm. Singers £6, Audience £4, Scores available for hire at £1.
Sue FitzGerald fitzgted@aol.com
Song Workshops
Those of you who didn't come to the West Gallery workshop missed an absolute treat of music and choral singing. Over 60 people took part, coming from far and wide. The kettle was on four times through the day and lunch was a luxurious spread and very sociable. This is a workshop that will have to be repeated and Mike Bailey has kindly agreed to assist again some time in the future.
Meanwhile, we are planning another musical workshop led by Sarah Morgan on Sunday 24th February 2008.
Elizabeth Haigh
More Motley
I have recently moved down from Kent where I was involved with Motley Morris who are a Border Morris Team located in Dartford. For those who have visited the Sweeps Festival in Rochester Motley are the Custodians Of the Jack. They wake the Jack in a ceremony on Bluebell Hill every May Day morning at dawn.
I am hoping to set up a team "More Motley" in Hampshire, with the same costumes as our friends in Dartford. This would allow the teams to dance on their own and at festivals or events join together for a large set, which would be a great spectacle in itself.
The dancing is more of a stomp but stomping with flare and energy: this along with the large heavy sticks clashing normally brings the audience either to a panic or pure enjoyment.
The emphasis here would be to enjoy the events and of course the social side would be up most in the design of the side - why should this be a pain?
Anyone interested? I would like to start practice later this year and dance out possibly on New Years Day and hopefully Rochester next year.
Further details please contact Martin Camp on martin.camp@hotmail.co.uk.
Wanted – a new Secretary
Lin Rayner has busy work commitments and would like to pass on the FASH Secretary position. Please could anyone who is willing to take a few Minutes and act as a Secretary see if they could squeeze a little time to take on this role. An experienced person would be most welcome, but how about someone who has never done anything like this, taking the opportunity to learn new skills such as word processing and impress the grandchildren (or is this too 'ageist')?
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