The Morris Ring - know this organization's health?

Subject: RE: The Morris Ring - know this organization's health?
From: LesB
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 03:05 PM

My wife & I both dance, I for a ring side (sword team) her for a Fed side (N/W). We don't particularly want to dance together, neither do I particularly want my side to be mixed.
But when the team are invited to a ring, or ring type do, my feeling is that if it's not good enough for my wife to attend, then it's not good enough for me. So I wont go to weekends where wifes are excluded from 'The Feast'.
I have actually been told thet "it's o.k. for wifes to come on the weekend, but they can't come to the evening event" (feast). So I didn't go.
Cheers
Les

Subject: RE: The Morris Ring - know this organization's health?
From: The Sandman
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 01:24 PM

It doesnt appear to be fine for all concerned,.
which is why Morris sides have left the Morris ring and joined the Morris federation.
Here is a hypothetical example,two peopleof the opposit sex who cohabit together, and have also the same intersts in Morris dancing,can not dance together because of the morris rings attitude.

Subject: RE: The Morris Ring - know this organization's health?
From: greg stephens
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 01:00 PM

Well, the Morris Ring want to do things their way, and other people want to do it differently. Fine for all concerned isn't it? Where is the problem?

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: MBSLynne
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 09:49 AM

It depends, I think, on whether you are into 'glass case' folk of an evolving folk tradition. I do believe it's necessary to record and to some extent continue morris and other follk traditions as they were, but it has to allow for the evolution of folk as well. Morris may have been a ritual thing done at certain times of year for certain reasons, though no one is completely sure about what and why. However, these days though morris sides dance particularly on certain days to continue the traditions, mostly morris and other dance types are done because people enjoy them and want to dance. If women enjoy dancing morris, why shouldn't they? Ok, it may not be traditional, but why should that be a good reason for them not to do it?

This is purely academic as I have no desire at all to dance Cotswold Morris but I see no good reason why other women shouldn't if they want to. "An it harm none, do what you will"

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: greg stephens
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 09:19 AM

They can dictate all they like about anything they like, as far as I am concerned. Whether we take that dictation is another thing.

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: Baggins 360
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 08:57 AM

The Morris Ring can dictate all they like about Cotswold Morris but not NorthWest Morris. Women and boys have danced since after the First World War because most of the NW sides were decimated and the Dance Masters taught Women and Boys so the NW tradition wouldn't be lost. Mind you the bloody Morris Ring and Dear Old Mister Sharpe don't/didn't really consider NW Morris a traditional dance form basically because it didn't fit their/his Rural Picture. How many NW dances did our Cecil collect on his way up the country? NONE that's how many, he got to Cheshire, Saw the Smoke and gave Lancashire a complete bloody body swerve! So women dancing Cotswold is bound to get then hot under the Hankie!

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: Surreysinger
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 07:37 AM

""To be a Farmer's Boa"; "Come Landlord Fill the Flowing Boa"; "I'll Fathom the Boa" etc"

Martin - what's the obsession with feathery neckwear? Is it the latest Morris gear??
Slithers off in haste ....

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: The Sandman
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 05:19 AM

so a lot of Morris sides have joined the Morris federation,This might indicate The Morris Ring has lost some members,and is not in as good state of health[Mermbership wise] as it was.
looks like if the trend continues,eventually, it will become to weak to exist.

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: MBSLynne
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 05:05 AM

It's why a lot of morris sides have, in recent years, joined what was "The Women's Morris Federation" and is now, I believe "The Morris Federation".

As a female ex-garland dancer I was horrified when a couple of Ring Morris sides wouldn't even dance out with us on pub tours because we were women. If they don't want women in their Morris sides that's fair enough, but I can see no good reason for them to refuse to dance out with women's sides even though the women aren't dancing morris. Seems like carrying things too far to me.

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: Lester
Date: 29 Jul 07 - 03:38 AM

As far as I can tell it's a group of like minded blokes who want to do what they want to do. There seems to be another group of people who want to join in but don't agree with with the way the first group wants to do it, so why do they want to join in. The Ring wants to be men only the Fed and Open are happy to accept women, men, children etc, so why do people insist the Ring needs to be change?

Not that I care particularly as I no longer attend Ring events as they are too expensive. The other reasons to be members, insurance etc is a cross-organisational.

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: Rowan
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 11:09 PM

You can still find live coelacanths, BTW.

Today is market day in Armidale and I was fascinated to see one of the local (Northeastern Asian) martial arts clubs doing a display of their activities. By the look of their swords (long and short but all wooden) they were Japanese but they used long staff techniques as well. At various points they lined up (three facing three) and, to the calls of their leader (mostly "Hai!" but there were other utterances too) they performed what must be described as Japanese Morris. They had no hobby horse and, unfortunately, no music or musician; thankfully there were no bells of any sort. I felt inspired to write some haiku and pull out the concertina (which I'd left at home) but was too slow. I suspect they wouldn't have understood the cultural reference anyway.

And, do you know? Their best performer was a woman! So I guess they could never be part of the Morris Ring.

Cheers, Rowan

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: GUEST,martin ellison
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 08:16 PM

Les
We usually have a stand-up chameleon for a warm up and, after a few pints of snakebite, experience has tortoise that a few songs go down well - "To be a Farmer's Boa"; "Come Landlord Fill the Flowing Boa"; "I'll Fathom the Boa" etc.
We usually book a good sceilidh (say it out loud) band and finish off with the conga.
martin

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: LesB
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 07:30 PM

Martin, when you have you day of dance ceilidh, do you have "The Geckos" or "The Gloworms" to play?
Cheers
Les

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: GUEST,martin ellison
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 06:59 PM

Greg
I believe that "The Morris Ring" scorn any sort of contact with green lizards or indeed any other reptiles. My own team (The Bonny Green Garter-Snakes) was refused entry on these grounds. One of our dancers is a slow-worm, which as you will know is actually a legless lizard, indeed most of the other dancers often appeared legless. The Lord of the Ring voted against our application citing the obvious kinship to newts after exposure to beer.
At the moment we are keeping a close eye on the Ring - we have appointed a "monitor lizard" who is having a close gecko at their activities. I find it turtley unacceptable.

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: greg stephens
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 05:09 PM

You raise an interesting, and quite conventional point, Cap'n(or may I call you Dick?). But is it necessarily a fair point?
My partner(who is female) runs a women's community choir. Does that, of itself, make her and her colleagues men-haters? The fact that Morris Ring types have reasons, whether personal or historical(erroneous or not), to dance in male groups surely doesn't actually prove they hate women doesa it|?
(I grind no axe here, I've never danced the morris with men, ladies or green lizards).

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: The Sandman
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 05:01 PM

they appear to hate women morris dancers,and women morris musicians.

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: Surreysinger
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 04:55 PM

And Ralphie means Coelacanth - just got the first two letters round the wrong way!!!
But Lynne .. for all we know Les might have been right ... a misogamist is a hater of marriage ... who's to say that members of the Ring are not also misogamists ???

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: LesB
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 04:40 PM

Lynne, "You mean misogynists not misogamists Les", That's microsoft spell checker for you.
Cheers
Les

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: GUEST,Ralphie
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 04:34 PM

Blimey, I thought that, like the dinosaurs, they had been wiped out years ago.
A bit like finding a real live Ceolacanth.

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 04:12 PM

Indeed they are!

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: Leadfingers
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 03:28 PM

The proliferation of 'Mere Females' dancing morris must be causing them a lot of concern ! The saddest thing is that a lot of the girls are better dancers than a lot of the blokes !

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: MBSLynne
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 03:24 PM

You mean misogynists not misogamists Les

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: LesB
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 02:53 PM

Apart from the fact that it's the last haven for misogamists, it's ticking along O.K. I think. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Last year Brian Tasker (who has a more liberal viewpoint)unfortunately failed in his attemt to get elected Squire. But it's only a matter of time before the enevitable happens & they have to moderise. (At present we cannot dance at a ring meeting owing to the fact that we have a female musician). Not that I personally would want to (they are very expensive weekends).
Cheers
Les

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: gnomad
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 02:50 PM

I no longer dance myself, but their Website looks to be being kept current.

Do you have something making you uncertain, Captain?

Subject: RE: THE MORRIS RING
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 02:47 PM

I found them to be a highly biggoted organisation indeed.

Subject: The Morris Ring
From: The Sandman
Date: 28 Jul 07 - 02:33 PM

does anyone know, the present health of this organisation.