The American Travelling Morrice will hold its 38th annual summer tour in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District from July 26th to August 3rd, based in Sedbergh, and will dance in 40 different locations in the surrounding area. Thjey will be joined on three of the evenings by local sides: Richmond on Swale MM at Hudswell, John O'Gaunt MM at Nether Kellet and Flag and Bone at Leyburn. It promises to be an excellent tour with some very good dancing and singing, and they have invited all interested folks to come out and enjoy the festivities!
The ATM, founded in 1976 and modelled after the Travelling Morrice, has grown into a steady Team comprising Morris men from across the United States as well as several British regulars and the exceptional person or two from Canada. The dancers are drawn primarily from 3 like-minded Teams – Binghamton Morris Men (Binghamton, NY), Newtowne Morris Men (Boston) and the Bouwerie Boys Morris Dancers (NYC). The dance repertoire, primarily from Cotswold traditions, includes dances from Bampton, Sherborne, Ducklington, Bledington and Fieldtown along with the occasional dance from further afield.
This year's tour is being organized by Cecil Laughlin (Foresters Morris Men, TM, ATM) who foolishly let himself be talked into doing so by men who were more persuasive than he was resistant to the same! Cecil's first tour was the second ATM in 1977.
In 2006, the ATM spent their week dancing in the Cotswolds (based near Longborough) enjoying fabulous but unusually hot weather and enthusiastic crowds. A particularly memorable day on that tour featured a day of dancing together with both the Chipping Campden Men and the Travelling Morrice. The 2006 tour was organized and squired by Michael Blanford (R.I.P), an ATM member since the first tour in 1976.We miss Michael deeply and his absence from this year's tour will be sorely missed.
The Tour Programme
Saturday, 27th July
10:30 Hawes - The Old Board Inn
12:00 Reeth - The Black Bull Hotel
15:15 Leyburn - Market Square
17:15 Aysgarth - Aysgarth Falls Hotel
18:15 Hardraw - Green Dragon Inn
Sunday, 28th July
10:30 Lakeside - Lakeside Pier
12:00 Bowness - The Lakeview
15:30 Bowness - Bowness Pier
16:40 Lakeside - Lakeside Pier
18:00 Cartmel - The Kings Arms
20:00 Cartmel - The Royal Oak
Monday, 29th July
14:00 Kendal - Market Place
15:30 Brock Hole Lake District Visitor Centre
17:15 Grasmere - The Red Lion Hotel
18:15 Ambleside - Borrans Park
Tuesday, 30th July
19:00 Wensley - The Three Horseshoes
(with Flag & Bone)
Wednesday, 31st July
11:30 Keighley - The Lord Rodney
13:15 Keighley - Railway station
14:30 Oxenhope - The Bay Horse
15:30 Oxenhope - Railway station
17:30 Skipton - Canal Basin
18:15 Skipton - Railway station
Thursday, 1st August
10:30 Kirby - Stephen Market Square
12:30 Tan Hill - Tan Hill Inn
15:00 Barnard Castle - The Bowes Museum
17:30 Richmond - Market Square
20:00 Hudswell - The George and Dragon
(with Richmond Morris Men)
Friday, 2nd August - Market Square
12:30 Wray - The George and Dragon
15:00 Caton - The Station Hotel
16:30 Lancaster - Market Square
20:00 Nether Kellet - The Limeburners
(with John O’Gaunt Morris Men)
Saturday, 3rd August
10:00 Penrith - Corn Market
12:00 Carlisle - Market Square
12:45 Carlisle - The Sportsman Inn
15:00 Carlisle - Scotch Street
15:45 Carlisle - Tullie House Museum
18:00 Sedbergh - Car park by TIC.
For more information on the tour, you may contact Cecil Laughlin at 0115 9663632 (land line), 07968444108 (mobile) or cecillaughlin [at] hotmail.com (e-mail). John Jenner (01763 242127), who will be on the tour, can also provide further information. The complete dancing schedule can be found at www.americantravellingmorrice.org. We hope to see many old friends and meet many new ones. Please do come out and say “Hello”!