At the end of last month I suddenly decided I wanted to watch the Marlboro Morris Ale which took place over the long weekend. The Binghamton Men were not going so I would be on my own as an audience slash groupie. Not even bothering with looking at hotels or B&Bs, I went to the Vermont state parks website in search of a tent site. Molly Stark Park, nearest to Marlboro, was full, but Woodford, about 20 miles west of the college, had three, count them three, sites still available. I drove there and set up my tent Friday, hung around during the day with the morris dancers on Saturday and Sunday, and drove back today.

Many musicians and dancers from various teams processing to the dance site

Winster Processional

The Binghamton Men don’t do ales much. We used to go to the Suds every year, until its demise in 2019. We went to Marlboro in 2018, Toronto in 2015, and before that I think was both Marlboro and Toronto in 2004! As a result I hardly ever see any other teams except Binghamton, our Gilbertsville guests the Toronto Morris Men, Newtowne, and Bouwerie, and the Binghamton women’s team, the B. F. Harridans. A pretty constricted circle. I felt it was time to get beyond it again.

Shadows on pavement of two morris dancers in mid caper

Morris shadows

Not that I strayed far from my comfort zone — on Saturday I followed the tour Bouwerie was on (with the Harbour Steel sword dance team and Rock Creek Morris) and on Sunday, Newtowne’s tour (with Ten Hill Morris, which includes several ATM friends, and Half Moon Sword).

Women in whites with yellow vests, dancing and clashing short sticks

Rock Creek Morris

What can I say but that it was a fine weekend? You can’t go wrong touring with Rock Creek. I’d never seen Ten Hill before, they’re very good. And while they mostly do Oddington, they also did a Wheatley dance (“just to mess with people’s heads,” Greg told me) — I don’t think I’ve seen anyone do Wheatley since 1999, which was the last time I did it. I really like Wheatley — it’s pretty much the diametric opposite of the Stowe traditions (Bledington, Oddington, Sherborne, etc.), and while I have nothing against Stowe, I love how Wheatley is a compelling and fun tradition that has next to nothing in common with those. Pure, simple, direct energy as opposed to showy, spectacular athletics. Great stuff.

Dancers in whites with gold sash, one of them leapfrogging another who is standing more or less entirely upright

Ten Hill's Oddington leaper

Was Half Moon there in 2018? I don’t remember, but if they were, we must not have toured with them. Anyway, longsword and rapper are not my favorite dancing to watch… but Half Moon does them very well, making them more compelling than many teams do. They had an apparently new dance with two fools — one of them on strike —that was really well done.

Dancers in red shirts and stockings, black breeches, holding rapper 'swords' overhead; there is also one fool in the set, wearing a visibility vest and a hard hat, while another in a red and white checked jacket stands in front

Half Moon's fools

There were two sides from England, Windsor Morris and Berkshire Bedlam. They did a lot of stuff in non traditional set forms but for me one of their best was Berkshire’s stick dance in a 2 by 3 set… in 5/4 time.

Two teams, men lined up on the left and women on the right; the women are doing something involving some high kicks

Windsor and Bedlams

Bouwerie was Bouwerie.

Dancers in whites with black vests (waistcoats), in a tight cluster, all in the air and shouting

Bouwerie bees

I am not one for mass dances, but happy feet won out at the end and I got into the last Bonnie Green Garters at Newfane.

I’d like to go back again some year with my team. I don’t know if that will ever happen or not. Either way I expect I’ll go back again, sooner this time.

More pictures (in larger sizes) here .

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