On a sort of related point; I was chatting to a friend of ours who was explaining that different morris dances were for different purpose - some were intended to encourage crops to grow and some to encourage animals to be fertile. I have never heard anything quite so specific and she couldn't recall where she got this information.

She is not a folkie at all and I don't think she had read anything about morris. She is a teacher with 30+ years of teaching and learning in multicultural Manchester Classrooms. When were talked about kids dressing up and going from door to door collecting money - she said they did that in 1940/50s Hulme, Manchester - the old Hulme - which was knocked down soon after - she said it was called .........


.............. "Going out N*ggerin" ......... that word - one of the most powerfully offensive words around, but at all uncommon - an much more common then.

Intresting? I believe it has associations with 'Border Morris'? And a link to the world of Music Hall and popular entertainment that some/ many of those involved in BM seem unwilling to acknowledge or discuss.

Best wishes