Briggate Morris - Wonderful Nutters

Subject: Briggate Morris - Wonderful Nutters
From: GUEST,Steve
Date: 22 Nov 06 - 07:46 AM

I found myself - much against my better judgement - on Saturday struggling up Ingleborough, in the Yorkshire Dales, in some unseasonally harsh wintery conditions - it was blizzarding and hailing with plenty of snow underfoot and gale force winds threatening to hurl me off the mountain at every opportunity, and what do I find when I finally reach the Top? A Morris team, complete with musicians wielding melodeons, dancing at the summit cairn. They turned out to be called Briggate Morris and hail from Leeds.

Ladies, you fair made my day. Shine on you crazy diamonds!

Subject: RE: Briggate Morris - Wonderful Nutters
From: GUEST,guest
Date: 22 Nov 06 - 03:55 PM

These crazy North West Morris girls are dancing all the way to Edinburgh on a charity charter train on Saturday......should be a piece of cake after the gales of Ingleborough..

Subject: RE: Briggate Morris - Wonderful Nutters
From: folk_radio_uk
Date: 22 Nov 06 - 04:11 PM

Sounds great, have you read "The Magic Spring" by Richard Lewis. If not I highly recommend it. He goes in search of English roots and folklore traditions. There's a good part spent on morris dancing and it's history. It's really informative and hilarious in places. Had me giggling anyway.

Subject: RE: Briggate Morris - Wonderful Nutters
From: GUEST,Wayne
Date: 28 Nov 06 - 01:52 PM

Briggate were dancing to celebrate the 40th birthday of one of their members, my wife Jane. It was a truly spectacular occasion - almost whiteout on the summit - and very inclement but the Briggateers rose to the challenge magnificently. Hopefully sometime soon photographic evidence will appear on Briggate's website. Many thanks to all the dancers, musicians and groupies who braved the Arctic conditions and made Jane's birthday completely unforgettable! Suffice it to say we thawed out well enough to go to the pub in the evening!

Briggate are a ladies Northwest team who meet every Monday at Brownberrie Lane pre-school, Horsforth (Leeds 18, not far from the Old Ball roundabout) at 7:30pm and are very welcoming to anybody of a female persuasion who'd like to dance and musicians of any gender!

Diolch

Wayne