Go on...You know you want to!

Ever wanted to try

Morris Dancing?

Now’s your chance!

It’s fun!

It’s friendly!

It’s a great way to help get fit!

Join Chalford Stick  Company

 At their taster session on

Thursday  3rd October at 8.00pm 

(if you can’t make it, we’re there most Thursdays)

At Woodchester Village Hall (next to the Royal Oak)

Men/Women/Old/Young/Beginners/Musicians/

 Jaded Old Dancers all welcome!

Next chance to see us

Look, I'm sorry, I haven't posted a blog for yonks!

Then, when I do, I want something!

Please, please, please come and see us, (look I'm grovelling now, if you could see me, you'd see a fool on his knees!)

Wednesday 17th July 2013

The Three Horseshoes, Frampton on Severn

8.00pm Morris Time

It's such a great pub with amazing beer.  Might be my favourite.

Meet the side

Ray

or..as we like to call him...

Ray

Ray has now been a professional Morris Dancer for over fifty years now.  His expert knowledge on all things "Morris" is vital to our traditions.

He came to us a couple of years ago, having danced many traditional styles over the years and we have gradually brought him over to our style, and actually he's rather good.

Favourite Colour:                 Blue
Favourite 80s Rock Band:    Saxon
Favourite Dance:                  Unsquare Dance
Favourite Beer:                     Timothy Taylor

When not dancing for us, Ray can also be seen dancing with a proper Morris side Icknield Way Morris Men  they do an awful lot of dancing and I really do recommend going to see them.  One day, I will!

The Ship Inn, Brimscombe

Blimey!

What a great pub.  A really good size pub with some decent beer (Uley, Doom and Bob).  Good size restaurant and nice chirpy landlady.

Also some great punters, some of which we persuaded to join in the mass Princess Royal.

We also had a couple of lost border dancers turn up to join in and finish the evening with a good beer and a shanty.

Nice!

To have a look at all of our pics - have a look at our photobucket account.

Click Here

Next chance to see us

Wednesday 29th May

The Star Inn, Whiteshill, Stroud

8.00pm Morris Time

Those cool dudes of Lassington Oak Morris Men dared to ask us to dance out with them!

Expect Morris.
Expect Mayhem
Expect Beer

It's an immense pub too!

Meet the side

Dave

Dave is quiet.

Dave has a secret crush on Jane.

Dave avoided dancing for many years.

We broke Dave down.

We won!

Dave dances.

Well.

Next chance to see us

OK, back to more comfortable teritory for us!

A Pub, and what a fine pub.

Rose and Crown, Nympsfield.

Thursday 23rd May

8.00pm Morris time.

It's going to be a good one!

Next Chance to see Us!

OK Zider fans

Woodchester Cider Festival is here!

Cider, Sausages and Us.

What better way to spend a Saturday?

French for "Help Me"

Rodborough Common

5.30am

Chalford Stick Company and The Police.

No, we weren't with Sting et al in some bizarre reunion concert.  We arrived at 5.15, belled-up and ready to dance.

We danced, and waited, danced a bit more and lo and behold!

The sun rose in the most beautiful way.

A stunning, morning.

We danced some more and then started to leave to all go our separate ways.

Then Mike arrived.  Something about his alarm not working.

Hmmm...

Don't know what he's looking so pleased about!

JMO Day of Dance - Exeter

What a fantastic day!

A great side amongst great sides!  Lovely weather and a warm welcome from our hosts Great Western Morris.

Notice the new baldricks!

This is the new side of 2013 and we're ready to go for the year!

To me, the high points were getting through Valakeinen in one piece, dragging Beltane Border into a Princess Royal and the mass dance at the end.

Oh...and the Beer!

See you all at Upton!

Next chance to see us.

Joint Morris Organisations' Day of Dance 2013 Saturday 20 April 2013 This year's JMO day of dance is being hosted by  Great Western! There will be will hundreds of dancers from all over the country doing their stuff in and around the city centre and quay, and an hour's free Morris Taster Session  for the public at the Phoenix Arts Centre from 3pm. There'll be Clog and Rapper and North-West and Sword and Cotswold and goodness knows what.  The 40-odd sides will be grouped into threes and fours and make their way around a circuit of  city centre spots, swapping groups as they go so that things are as different and confusing as possible.  All of the tour will be inside the city's Roman walls:
So we'll all be quite near each other all the time, and travel between spots will be a doddle.  We'll end up at the Cathedral's west front processional way for a mass stand at 4pm. This table shows the day's programme from the point of view of the sides (teams). But please bear in mind that we're still getting requests to take part and occasional news that others can't make it any more. So check back again soon! We'll keep this as up to date as we can. And this one from the point of view of the dance spots: The Golden Gondola Awards The Great Western Academy will be awarding several  Golden Gondola Awards for conspicuous  contributions to the cause of Morris during the day.  Amongst a number of exciting categories will be awards for the Most Memorable Performance, the Most Entertaining Moment, and the Most Embarrassing Gaff. Members of the Academy will be watching out for memorable moments and taking nominations throughout the day, and are the only people with a vote. Bribery is perfectly acceptable. There will also be a public access workshop in the afternoon. The Phoenix will also host a Morris shop, and has a bar.
For more information: 01626 354705 or email great western morris
Parking on the day: Click here for information about Exeter city centre parking Click here for information about the Exeter park and ride service Weather: Exeter is the home of the Met Office! Of course there'll be weather.
The map below shows where the different sides taking part come from. Click here for more details
View JMO Sides 28-02-2013 in a larger map

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Blackbird

Well, it seems that during the Practice Season our musician, Doug has been a bit busy.  He came out to us a few months ago at the post practice pub session.

"I'm a thespian!"  He proudly announced.

Since then, every week he has been hard at work getting ready for quite a production.

Blackbird

Presented by Hexagon Theatre Company on 25th to 27th April 2013 at 7.30 pm.
Winner of the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award (Best New Play)

A tense, edge-of-your-seat drama. A man has an unexpected meeting with a woman from his past, and their earlier relationship comes under close scrutiny. Where will your sympathies lie? Will it be a clear-cut, straightforward choice for you?  What will it lead to?

No interval, but stay to enjoy a drink and discussion after the show.
Not suitable for children
Tickets £12

If you're around, it's at the Cotswold Playhouse in Stroud.  Knowing Doug as I do, it'll be absolutely brilliant.  Here's a link to the website to buy tickets, and I recommend you do.

Cotswold Playhouse - Blackbird

Jigs

The brave, apprentice fool decided in the spirit of things to go and learn the dark art of Jigs.

Jigs, basically are either solo or duo dances is the Cotswold Morris tradition.  In their very loneliness they are usually only done by the better dancers as they are also a very competitive part of the tradition.

So I took Old Pete with me for company and it was a brilliant day!

It was run by the famous Knights of King Ina www.koki.org.uk and we learned a great deal, plus there were some mighty fine ales on offer!  We even tried other styles!  Bledington and Field Town being the most, and were relieved to get back to our favorite, Ducklington.

Have a look at some fine Jigs as done by the Knights.