For me the run up to the festive season really gets started with the Mendip Ale, not least because the weather is usually seasonally cold, and it sometimes snows! It is one of the events I get home from to deepest Devon after the feast. This year numbers were down a little, and whilst a few familiar faces were missing, the increased room for feasting and dancing was appreciated, and made for a most enjoyable evening. The meal, a cold buffet with traditional ham and chicken pie, cheese, pickles, salad, bread, fruit and mince pies, was very filling, and ale from a local brewer was far too plentiful for those driving home. It’s fair to say that a good time was had by all and my thanks as ever go to Mendip for their hospitality and organisation.
My own side used to team up with a choral society and put on a Christmas event in the church of a local village to raise money for charity, but a couple of years ago snow and ice forced a cancellation and we have never resurrected it. This year our carols and stories gig in December was held in the pub that we go to after practice and whilst we received a warm welcome from the landlord, we need as a side to give more thought to our performance. The public who had braved some pretty awful weather to turn up did not see one of our better performances. My predecessor was very keen on quality of performance, and I intend to retain that theme; of course, it goes for everything we do in front of the public, not just dancing, and I ask you all to think about it.
Boxing Day was a complete wash out; torrential rain and lashing winds across the “Plains” in Totnes drove us and a reasonably large crowd, including children and wet dogs, into the Dartmouth Arms, which boasts a large upstairs room, where dancing singing and the Traditional Dartington Mummers Play, “The Christmas Boys” ensured a successful afternoon. The landlord sold quite a few more meals in the carvery, and we had quite a good collection, so everyone was happy.
By way of contrast, New Year’s Day at Hope Cove on the south Devon coast boasted glorious sunshine and blue sky, that couldn’t be dimmed by paying £3 to park! My rendition of the Prince of Morocco must have been truly awesome, as we collected just shy of £200 for our chosen charity; thanks of course to JR our Fool, who took no prisoners when it came to collecting.
Morris (or in this case Maurice) is ubiquitous, and a visit to the Bodmin and Wenford Railway for a much anticipated ride on the GWR Society’s Steam Railmotor, led to a chance meeting with one of the south west’s oldest dancers, Maurice Dart, who ended up sitting opposite me on the trip. Maurice dances regularly with Trigg and is in his 80th year is a volunteer on the railway; I enjoyed his company and was delighted to wish him a Happy and Peaceful New Year. He is pictured in front of the Railmotor.
To set the seal on getting 2013 off to a good start, I went up the M4/M5/M6 in the company of 2 friends, for the annual Stafford Feast held in the regal splendour of Church Eaton Village Hall. This is feast of gourmet quality and gargantuan proportions, as never have I seen each table of about 8 served a whole joint of beef; as we had 3 vegies, there was certainly a lot for the meat eaters! It did not end there, as the desserts made by John Edward’s wife Carol were amazing in choice and calories! Somehow, after all that went before, I still managed to force down a morsel or two of cheese and dance afterwards. It is my loss that I lived and worked for nearly 7 years of my adult life in Stafford without getting to know the Stafford Morris Men!! After the feast, it was but a short stagger to John’s house, where he and Carol were hosting 9 people in some style, including a full English to send us on our way in the morning! Thanks everyone, what a cracking way to start the New Year!
Robin Springett