Like thousands of other people I decided that I would go to hear the May being greeted at Magdalen Tower at 6am on May 1st.

Afterwards, in Radcliff Square, Mr Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Morris were performing.

This coming Saturday will be Mr Hemmings Day of Dance when 6 invited sides will join with the Mr Hemmings side in dancing at various venues, in Abingdon, starting at the Market Place. Approximate Schedule:
11am : Market Place
11:30 : Black Swan
12:00 : Punchbowl
1:45: Market Place
2:30pm : Brewery Tap
3:15pm : White Horse
4pm : British Legion

Morris Dancing is first recorded in Abingdon in 1560. A record in St Helens Church has the chamberlain buying “two dossin of Morres belles“.

This is my rather shaky video of the singing at Magdalen Tower. There were barriers preventing people jumping off the bridge. One freelance photographer bemoaned to me the lack of photo opportunities these days.

Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers feature in a music video with the group Stealing Sheep.

There is an interview about the concept behind the video with Dougal Wilson, the director, at
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2015/october/behind-the-scenes-on-dougal-wilsons-new-video-for-stealing-sheep/

The video was filmed over two days at an idyllic English village location. Cerys Matthews said of the video on BBC Radio 6 “.. makes Morris dancing super cool”.

If you want to be part of the next venture then the Morris practice season is starting soon…
Mr Hemmings practice every Monday in the British Legion on Spring Road at 8pm. First practice is Monday 19th October.
Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers practice in Trinity Church Hall on alternate Thursdays. First practice is Thursday November 5th at 8pm (Meet beforehand and afterwards in the Brewery Tap).

Anyone can turn up to practice… and you can email the respective bagman to warn them you are coming first.
Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers: bagman.atmd@gmail.com.
Mr Hemmings Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers: bagman@mrhemmings.org.uk

There are also opportunities for musicians who can play accordion, fiddle, pipe, or tabor.

On 9th May 2015, Mr Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Morris dancers hosted their annual day of dance in Abingdon.

This always takes place on a Saturday nearest the birthday of former Abingdon Morris dance legend Tom Hemmings who kept the Tradition of Abingdon Morris Dancing alive in the mid-19th century.

Mr Les Badcock, the bagman of the Mr Hemmings Dancers, brings together many varied dancing styles and colourful dancers for the day of dance.

From Ashnah who do American Tribal Style Bellydance ….

to the Hook Eagle Morris who black their faces, carry big sticks and are in the tradition of Border Morris.

Also on the list to attend were: Borderline Morris, Hazzaz, Mabel Gubbins Rapper, Old Speckled Hen, and Stroud Morris Dancers.

The groups performed on the Market Place either side of lunch, and outside the pubs of Ock Street and the town centre in the morning and afternoon. Most of the groups can be seen dancing together in this video …

Mr Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Morris dancers held their annual day of dance in Abingdon today, on the nearest Saturday to the birthday of Tom Hemmings. Tom was instrumental in reviving the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dances in the mid 20th Century.

There were four visiting sides, on a day of sun and showers. The visiting sides were:

Mayflower Morris: A Ladies side from Ash Vale in Hampshire dancing in clogs.

Kennet Morris Men: based in the Reading area.

Ashnah: Glamorous bellydancing ladies from Abingdon.

Stroud Morris: Ladies side from Stroud in Gloucestershire.

The teams danced throughout the day starting at the White Horse pub, then visiting pubs, and ex-pubs, along Ock Street, and Bath Street. After lunch, they danced on the Market Place at around 2pm, and returned along Ock Street to finish at The Royal British Legion.

(Thanks to Steve Green for the details of the sides.)

As Steve commented on yesterday’s post “On May the 6th, or the nearest Saturday, The Mr Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Morris Dancers dance along Ock Street to celebrate Tom Hemmings Birthday.” Les Badcock, the brother of the current Mayor of Abingdon, and the  bagman of the Mr Hemming’s troop, is seen in the first picture.

Tom Hemmings was important in restoring the tradition of Morris Dancing in Abingdon in the early 20th century as was Cecil Sharp and Mary Neal at a more national level.

Today was the nearest Saturday to Tom Hemmings’ birthday, and there were six dance troops in town.

They  collected at the White Horse Pub for their first set of dances, and having danced at a number of different pubs during the morning arrived at the Market Place (or Market Square as some call it) at 2pm.

One lady did ask me whether it was Abingdon’s May Day celebration. But Abingdon Dancers tend to go to Oxford for what is a very big event on May 1st. This year they got soaked for the honour.

At least we had some sunshine in Abingdon.

These are the Oxford City Morris Dancers paying a return visit from the city to one of the surrounding Market Towns. One came incognito. Goes by the name of Stan I believe.

Next big Morris event in Abingdon is the election of the Mayor of Ock Street on June 16th. The election of the next Mayor of Abingdon is this Wednesday 9th May.

Today, I visited Cecil Sharp House in Camden, off Regents Park Road.

Cecil Sharp was a collector of folk music and dances which he documented. He was instrumental in the revival of this traditional form of dancing and became the first ever Professor of Folk Music and Dance

Inside Cecil Sharp House I saw a little model of the Headington Quarry Morris Dancers who Cecil saw one Boxing Day morning when visiting an Aunt in Oxford.

A collaborator of Sharps’s called Mary Neal found her inspiration from nearby Berkshire. (Photo by Meritxell Bonas). The picture shows the recent Mary Neal celebration at Cecil Sharp House where the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers performed .

Cecil’s interest was perhaps  more academic, while Mary used the dances to teach to young working class girls in her Esperance Club.

Mary heard of some dancers from a town in Berkshire who always danced with horns mounted on a pole. That interested her greatly. So she wrote and got the reply ‘Honourable and respected Miss, I am that party which has the old dances, and I shall be proud to show them to you. Yours to command.’

She first came to Abingdon around 1910 and saw them dance at the White Horse Pub. They also went to London to dance for her. Her correspondent went by the well known Abingdon name of Hemmings.