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Sunday 10 June 2012

Strange Goings-On

There were strange goings-on in the maket place of the little town of St Neots today. Oddly-attired men and women were leaping about to the sound of deeply unfashionable instruments playing ancient and almost forgotten tunes. Morris sides were in town as part of the 30th St Neots Folk Festival. First off - Hoxon Hundred....


these dancers from Norfolk perform a wide variety of dance styles; traditional Cotswold Morris is the one that most people are likely to be acquainted with (if they're acquainted with any, that is!)....


....but the ladies also perform the beautiful Garland Dances...






....they also had some fine squeezeboxers accompanying them...



Next to dance are St Neots Sweeps And Milkmaids who perform dances of their own invention but very much in the tradition of rural English dance.....







Lovely dancing! Next Rockingham Rapper Sword Dancers.....


....they perform using what they call "swords" but are best described as strips of flexible steel with a handle on either end. They hold onto these throughout the dance and weave intricate patterns - very difficult to do and very difficult to photograph!....


....at the end of the dance the swords form an interwoven "knot"....


.....they also did some traditional stepping...



And finally (for now) Fenstanton Morris....





Everyone had a great time, including some rather bemused onlookers....


....little did they know what was coming next! And you'll have to wait till the next post to find out.....


Take care
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12 comments:

  1. Carole M.10 June 2012 at 09:39

    Isn't that just the best outcome - everyone having a good time. Some photo-fodder for you John on the day and no doubt some lively music to accompany.

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  2. jennyfreckles10 June 2012 at 09:57

    I love Morris dance and am thankful there are some folks keeping tradition going, even if they do look a bit eccentric by today's standards! And it didn't rain on them by the looks of it.

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  3. Dianne10 June 2012 at 10:51

    Strange going on indeed John ... Looks like the whole town's a dancing.

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  4. Wayfarin' Stranger10 June 2012 at 13:44

    Wish I could have been there! Looks to be great fun.

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  5. The Weaver of Grass10 June 2012 at 15:08

    What strikes me is that most of these ladies are what could be called on the buxom side - even with all that exercise. But then I suppose the exercise makes them hungry - it is a vicious circle.

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  6. Pam10 June 2012 at 15:57

    How lovely! Good to see everyone enjoying themselves!

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  7. Anonymous11 June 2012 at 00:53

    Wonderful!

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  8. Randy11 June 2012 at 03:32

    Looks like a fun event.

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  9. Rowan11 June 2012 at 06:58

    What fun! I confess that I had the same thought as Weaver about the ladies:)

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  10. Louise11 June 2012 at 19:41

    I wish we saw more of this sort of thing but I so glad these dances and events are still around. Some of these old traditions are still celebrated or acted out or whatever in counties around here, but we aren't always able to go along to see them, unfortunately. You got some great photos.

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  11. Jack12 June 2012 at 03:00

    John, this looks like an immense amount of fun. I would have enjoyed it thoroughly. Your photos are a terrific capture of an unusual event.

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