60 years of dancing celebrated by Brackley’s Morris man

The traditional Boxing Day dance out in the Brackley area has taken place since 1964 and at the last event, John was handed a book of memories as a celebration of his time with the group.

Morris dancing is one of the oldest forms of English traditional dance and thought to have originated as a way of entertaining and raising money. The Brackley Morris Men are listed by the Morris Ring as one of only seven remaining ‘traditional’ Cotswold Morris sides in England, and the only one to survive in Northamptonshire. The dances performed are unique to Brackley and have four hundred years of history behind them

Boxing Day saw a tour of Turweston, Brackley Market Place and Croughton, where a collection was made for charity as the Morrris Men danced their way through history. This year the Morris Men were supporting the Brackley Town Mayor’s charity, namely Medi-dogs. One of the team, Stephen Ferneyhough is a trainer for the charity and his own dog, Logan joined in on the day.

However with the festive joviality and celebrations, there was much sadness on the day as the Brackley Morris Men learnt that one of the team, Chris Arnold an ex Magdalen College School teacher had died. Chris had been a long time member of the group.

A lot of fun can be had dancing with the Brackley Morris Men and it is a great way to meet new friends and be a little active. You can join them on a ‘taster night’ if you fancy giving it a go yourself. They meet on a Thursday at 8pm at the Town Hall in Brackley.

They have a number of annual events, such as May Day, St Georges Day, Boxing Day and the August Bank Holiday. They also perform at fete’s and other social events throughout the year.

You can find out more about joining or just to learn more about the history of Morris dancing if you visit their website or Facebook page.