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We have a wealth of musically talented Home Counties members so we always have a live and lively band for our barn dances. If you play an instrument, you are welcome to join in. |
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We always have at least one barn dance at our meets, with all dances
walked through first by one of many experienced callers before we dance
it. We dance a wide variety of dances, mainly English, from elegant Playford style to raucous barn dances! Actually, some of the Playford dances are quite raucous too! |
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Our evening dances always include entertainment spots - musical items, readings, songs, dancing, ... Each spot takes up to 5 minutes roughly... If you are a visitor, you are especially welcome to contribute to the entertainment - just speak to the MC before the dance to get on his/her list. |
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Here are a few photos from our fantastic five night New Year meet 2010-2011 at Yieldon village hall with 24 camping units and many day visitors. We had hot meals morning, noon and night every day, which we ate at small tables. Evening entertainment varied widely and wildly, and included a cabaret evening, a pantomime and of course, a barn dance. |
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The hall was open all day every day with the opportunity to play musical instruments, take along your own activity or join in with others - perhaps doing jigsaws, playing cards or one of many crafts.
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Arts and crafts this year were many and varied
- from watercolour painting, making armchair arm caddies, hand painted
plaques with mottoes on and cake boxes. |
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Old and young, individuals, couples, families and even three generations of one family all enjoyed spening time together away from their usual surroundings with the quietness and comfort of their own caravan/motorhome just a few paces away. |
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Whilst many of us were enjoying the Home Counties New Year meet, a number of us went to the meet organised by our friends from North Central Area in Shropshire. We usually do a spot for the New Years Eve concert. This year we made up a song and kind of sang it. Singing while holding a song sheet, a prop and changing places proved a doddle for all but one person who made it all the more entertaining! |
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We often run group workshops at our weekends. Sometimes these are planned ahead or form part of one of our Special Meets, but sometimes they just happen when someone offers to run one. In each of the last couple of years we have run Special Meets on Craft, Music, Ritual Dance and Callers/Dancers. |
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Several of our members enjoy a good walk
so there's usually a 4 to 6 mile walk on Saturday morning to enjoy,
but be warned some
of the more experienced walkers tell you it's four miles
when they mean six! Mention no names... |
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 Anyone know where the chairman is? |
We sometimes go out as a group to a local place of interest, like
a dovecote, a brewery or for a local town tour.  |
We have danced at St Ives Carnivals and Wisbech
Rose Fairs  |
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We sometimes get involved in local events. At Lower Brailes each
year we dance at the May Fair. We do some country dancing, and
for the last few have done some Border morris and rapper sword dancing
too. |
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 Plant 'em |
For the last few years we have run a springtime conservation meet at Burleigh Hill Farm near St Ives where we volunteer to do some conservation work. This has involved lots of tree work - planting them, tending them and chopping them down! |
 Tend 'em |
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Each autumn we hold our annual Conker Championship. There's a fabulous trophy awarded to the winner to hold for the year. |
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 Click photo to see Easter 2010 photos and videos of dance activities |
In the Folk Dance and Song Group we organise an Easter Meet - a five day extravaganza of daytime music, dance, song and craft workshops with several different barn dances and concerts each evening. Click on either of the photos on this row to see lots more photos and videos from the 2010 Easter Meet at Sawston, Cambridgeshire. It was a GREAT meet with over 300 units. There are usually around 500-600 people
from all over the country at the |
 Click photo to see Easter 2010 photos of craft activities |
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We have several members interested in morris
dancing. At our annual Ritual Dance Meet we've held a "Make
Your Own Morris Hat" competition
twice now with ferociously fair judges... |
The Winning Hat 2008 which only just stood up
to the "Performance" test.  |
 One not-so-winning hat after having been put through it's paces! |
Morris hat with a difference - one little lad
saw the potential
for danger so wore a helmet!  |
| Many of our members enjoy crafts - from embroidery, painting,
embossing, canal painting, beading, lace-making, quilling, glass painting,
making violins, tiffany glass making, lashing, ... if you'll show us
the craft you like, we'll have who people already do it or want to
learn!
We hold an annual craft meet - a weekend packed with workshops for men, women and children as well as our usual ceilidh - with extra spinning and weaving in the dances to keep the craft theme going! |
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We enjoy sharing each others skills and hobbies
- here is Mark demonstrating his amazing fire-juggling skills - while
we all stand a safe distance away. |
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Halloween brought out a host of campers we had
never seen before and have never seen since... though
some did look a bit familiar... |
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It does rain sometimes. It doesn't usually stop us having
fun as you can see. If the weather forecast is bad, or it has rained
a lot recently you are well advised to phone BEFORE arriving at a meet
to check the field is still usable. We have had to cancel a few meets
the last two years due to waterlogged sites. Contact telephone numbers
for each meet are published with our meets information. |
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Young and old, across all generations, we tend
to be a friendly lot and spontaneous gatherings are a regular feature
of our meets. |
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We celebrate the happy times together - christmas,
special birthdays, anniversaries and new arrivals too! |
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We had a Medieval night for Mary and Peter's Golden Wedding anniversary |
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At our annual Music Meet - where
we have loads of music and singing workshops - we had a Sixties theme.
The many of us who dressed up made it a colourful occasion - with
guest appearances by Elvis and several Twiggy's, hippies and people
wearing
the actual
clothes they wore then. Quite a few of us hadn't even been born then,
but that didn't stop us dressing up in style! |
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We're all ages, all shapes and sizes, all different,
and all wonderful in our own ways. |
 We camp in all sorts of units: tents, motor caravans, trailer tents and caravans... |
Some of us are shy... |
... some of us are less shy!!  |
We are always open to visitors who we hope
will become friends, so do come along and share with us ...
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