Subject: RE: All the Best for St Georges Day
From:
The Shambles
Date: 23 Apr 03 - 06:55 AM
The folowing from Ric on The Action for Music Yahoo email list.
I've spent most of the weekend at Gosport and played in sessions
without a problem, most of them in premises with an entertainment
licence although we had 2 mega pub sessions without any hassle, both
advertised in the programme.Perhaps the fact that the bloke who
organises it is also on the town council was an influence.
A friend did approach a local pub before the festival started
about having a session on the premises, the licencee was keen but
when musicians turned up they were told the "two in a bar" rule
applied.
The Victory Morris dance programme 2003 contains the following
message;
Licentious Acts and Other Pleasures
The demonstration of Morris you see before you is provide by
Victory Morris, a licenced member of the Morris Re-enactment Society,
The RING.
The RING was established shortly after the final phasing out of
the Morris from English tradition in 2003 ( following the Music
Licence Act 2003 which made it impossible to perform in any venue
without a licence ).The following year, 2004,the term "English" was
also phased out and the area became Europe (Nord), "Tradition" now
officially dates from 1957 and is primarily based around Elvis
Presley and Les Beatles.
The RING was convened to provide examples of Morris Dancing to
the general public, to demonstrate the dangers inherent in allowing a
native culture or tradition to survive unregulated.
Points To Note in this Demonstation
1, The participants imbibe alcohol: This does not meet with Health
and Safety guidelines laid down by European statutes relating to
consumpion of liquids in vessels measured in archaic units of pints
and quarts.
2, The dancers inbibe alcohol and wave heavy wooden sticks around,
thus endangering themselves and hapless members of the public.This
contravenes European legislation regarding the conservancy of timber
and also breaks length-of-stick guidelines, the length being in
illegal feet and inches rather than the Euro-metre.
3, The dancers inbibe alcohol, wave heavy sticks around and then
sing.They do not sing songs recommended in the European Guidelines
Volume 3 appendices viii ( Ode to Joy, Marseillaise or Deutscheland.
Deutscheland Uber Alles ), but instead insist on Frog-bashing This
contravenes the Amphibians Conservation Act 2002.
4, The dancers are enjoying themselves.
Note: These dancers are licenced Re-enactors NOT real Morris- men (
as Morris dancing is now illegal) They will not therefore, under any
circumstances, under threat of losing their entertainment licence,
dance " Wreck of the Victory ", as this dance is still banned under
the Geneva Convention as being too much fun.
Other Re-enactment groups of interest are:
"The Happy Birthday Band" , The Society of Spontanious Song.
"You Ain't Singing Anymore" , The Society of Football Crowd Re-
enactments.
excerpt from FOLK ENGLAND: An alternative Universe
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sj
