"...traditional English pub...a glass of mead in hand, a clog dancer by my side, and a plate of stottie and chips on the table..."

This sounds like no part of England to me. I've been in a hell of a lot of English pubs and the only pub I've ever seen Mead in is a Welsh one. The chips are the only thing that are common in my area & I'd never heard of a Stottie until your post.

Mead apparently is first mentioned in India & is found in cultures all over the world
Clog dancing is thought to have originated in Lancashire in the Industrial Revolution (not a very long tradition)
Stotties are from the North-East of England - an area whose language and culture is heavily influenced by Scotland & Scandinavia.
Chips are a French invention using a foodstuff originating in South America.

As an Englishman from Devon, if I found myself in a pub with... "...a glass of mead in hand, a clog dancer by my side, and a plate of stottie and chips on the table..." I'd feel a long way from home.


IMHO The English language & "English people" are distinctive because of their mongrel nature. Like the Borg in Star Trek we're great at assimilating and grabbing the best from the cultures that we encounter and absorbing new blood. For example, where would "English" life be without pyjamas, bitter, roast beef, cultivated strawberries, or village churches?

Back on the original subject, the origins of Morris dancing are hardly local themselves.