Are you going to Strawberry Fair? (UK-June 8)

Subject: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 09:09 AM

Strawberry Fair, Midsummer Common, Cambridge (England), that is, this Saturday, June 8th.

Just hope the rain holds off.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Snuffy
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 09:19 AM

Buttercups and daisies

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: treewind
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 09:33 AM

Would that be tomorrow, Saturday June 5th ?
No, I'll be following one of the Thaxted morris tours.

From what I've heard, Strawberry Fair has become over-run with loud techno-dance-rock music and hard commercialism, and folk music of any but the most generous description doesn't get much of a look in.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 09:47 AM

"Are you going to Strawberry Fair?"
"NO!"

Well, that shortened THAT song!

Robin

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: harlowpoet
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 01:15 PM

Yeah, I'm going to pop up there for the afternoon. Its the last of the free festivals in this area still going strong.

Not really going for the music, though it will be a bonus to find something good. I know there's an acoustic stage

Maybe bump into you up there Mcgrath.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Blackcatter
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 01:22 PM

Y'all missed it: Strawberry Festival

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: open mike
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 01:23 PM

no i went to Strawberry Music Festival California

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 01:50 PM

I wouldn't go there primarily for the music, though most times there's something reasonable in between the noise. (Not on the main stages, true enough.) But the stalls and the people make it worth going for me.

Here's a link to the Thaxted Morris Ring programme. Might get along to some of that too. The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is rather scarey...One of the few times you get Morris Dancing and nobody is smiling, not even the lookers on.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Once Famous
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 02:12 PM

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, & Thyme?

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: GUEST,Lindswidder
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 02:14 PM

Trifle, trifle
Stick it up your rifle

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Once Famous
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 03:14 PM

Gee, Guest, Lindswidder

I don't own a rifle. Do you?

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: GUEST,Lindswidder
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 06:13 PM

as a matter of fact, yes.....! I don't actually know from where the origin of that particular parody comes but I was once told it by a dear fellow who was in R.E.M.E. - and if there are further lyrics I am in blissful ignorance...!

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Jun 04 - 06:18 PM

The late Tony Newley did it in the early sixties.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 05 Jun 04 - 02:35 AM

Shan't be round tomorrow,
The donkey's pissed on the strawberrys

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: GUEST,Lindswidder
Date: 05 Jun 04 - 04:32 AM

well! that's always what I thought he was saying, but in reality I think it was "pinched all the strawberries" - LOL

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Compton
Date: 05 Jun 04 - 08:28 PM

The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance isn't in the least bit scarey...(I live 10 miles from Abbots Bromley)..Some of the Druids, Goths and Witches that sometimes follow the dancers around are a bit". But it's really just another drinking day!..And the dance is something everyone should see...for at least 10 minutes!!

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 06 Jun 04 - 01:26 PM

Well, it's scary when they do it in Thaxted at night.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Compton
Date: 06 Jun 04 - 04:47 PM

McGrath...what they do in Thaxted is thier business (and not the real thing)...The Real thing is the 1st Monday after the first Sunday after September the 4th. Staffordshire...God's Country!!

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Mr Red
Date: 07 Jun 04 - 07:57 AM

Usually!!!!!

You would know if you turned-up on the one year in 20 when the formula has hit a time warp worm hole.

If in doubt ring the TIC in Stafford.

Mr Red (from Wednesbury - the dead center of civilisation - the very dead centre)

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: Grab
Date: 07 Jun 04 - 05:32 PM

MG, it's some rather different herbs that they're on at Strawberry Fair... ;-)

It's come and gone now. McGrath, were the loos in their usual sorry state? Last time I went there, the gents was an inch deep in piss.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Jun 04 - 07:05 PM

You must remember that Thaxted preserve the "proper" horn dance, as of course they preserve the "proper" versions of the Bampton dances. They have no truck with this "folk process" crap.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair?
From: treewind
Date: 08 Jun 04 - 03:51 AM

Yeah, I went to the Bampton day of dance which was only the previous Monday, and it's obvious they haven't a clue how to dance Bampton. Watch all those Morris Ring teams and see how it should be done. There's far more of them so they must be right.

And as for the horn dance - well, Abbotts Bromley haven't even got proper horns - they're imported reindeeer antlers and about 1000 years old - isn't it time they got some proper ones? And they don't use the right tune either.

---
Re scary...
Of course, in Abbotts Bromley it would be far more scary if they didn't do the dance. The crops wouldn't grow, for a start.
It'll be on the 6th this year.
It's always between Sep 6 and Sep 12 (inclusive) and on a Monday. Forget this "first Monday after 1st Sunday after 4th" nonsense - that's just to confuse the innumerate (i.e. most people) so they don't bother to turn up.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair? (UK-June 8)
From: Compton
Date: 08 Jun 04 - 02:43 PM

Treewind...they don't do the "Proper Tune"..because these are real people (probably who can't play the "REAL" tune...and probably don't want to!!)..and do what they enjoy, not giving a bugger how old the antlers are. To a degree, like a lot of indigenous folk traditions, there is a case for Thaxted not doing the dance. It is rather like Blackpool stating a Padstow May Day Day (Unlikely!)

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair? (UK-June 8)
From: Once Famous
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 12:39 PM

Who in America would have a clue what this is about?

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair? (UK-June 8)
From: treewind
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 02:02 PM

Or even here in the UK.
I'm losing track of how many levels of double irony are going on here myself, and I posted some of it...

Compton, as far as I know the Thaxted dancers and the Abbots Bromley dancers are all real people and enjoy what they are doing.

By the way, I have heard that Thaxted do the ABHD with the full knowledge and approval of the AB people, so any view that they shouldn't do it at all should be qualified as purely subjective opinion.

Anyway whichever parts of my posting and previous GUEST's you chose to take seriously and which (more wisely) with a large pinch of salt, I recommend anyone who only knows the Thaxted version to see the Abbotts Bromley version. And vice versa. They are very different but both great events in quite different ways.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair? (UK-June 8)
From: Once Famous
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 02:32 PM

I will make sure that I see the LLoyd Thaxton version instead of the Bromo Seltzer version.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair? (UK-June 8)
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 05:18 PM

I think Thaxted Morris have the franchise from Abbots Bromley. Or maybe it involves the laying on of hands.

Subject: RE: Are you going to Strawberry Fair? (UK-June 8)
From: Compton
Date: 09 Jun 04 - 06:43 PM

Amen to all this...Did Thaxted pay anything to Abbots Bromley for this franchise??