It was a busy weekend. Fresh from Cuddesdon Church Fete on Saturday, a set of intrepid Havocs plus support from three stalward dancers from Wolvercote ventured out to south Buckinghamshire. Mission: entertain a small church beer festival organised in part by My Mum. So we’d better be on good dancing form.

We had a few moments when we discovered that Wolvercote and Havoc don’t quite do some dances the same, but it all worked out in the end.

Balance The Straw – Havoc and Wolvercote work out what we have in common

Havoc and Wolvercote sticks at the ready.

Highland Mary finished without too much incident.

Young Collins in full flight.

Havoc and the banner.

Havoc, Wolvercote and the banner.

All the above photos courtesy David Moore Photography.

And one more of our own.

Constant Billy about to start.

All in all, a busy weekend. But a good one, not least for our charity for 2017, Abingdon RDA.

The Bell in Aldworth is a pub that appears to have stepped out of a historic novel (in the best sense). Unchanged and unspoilt interior, local cricket team meeting after practice, and morris happening outside.

We were there with Rockhopper Morris on a glorious early summer evening. Or that’s what it felt like. Quite brilliantly I managed to forget to take any pictures of Havoc, so here’s a few of Rockhopper doing what they. And they do it very well.

Rockhopper in action

Pipe and tabor. These sounded brilliant, and (I am told) are very difficult to learn to play.

A dance which includes throwing sticks to each other

I can imagine the carnage if Havoc were to try this

Yes, it really was that time in the morning. More pictures from May Morning.

By ‘eck lad, it’s early.

The start of dawn on May Morning

Emma does a solo.

Emma dances a jig, the Nutting Girl

The choir start to appear.

The choir appear at the top of Magdelen Tower

In Broad Street outside the White Horse.

Dancing Banbury Bill in Broad Street

Breakfast time.

Everyone at Morris Breakfast on May Morning

And off to the Ashmolean Steps.

Steve warns the crowd that we’re about to Constant Billy

Dancing Young Collins on the steps of the Ashmolean after breakfast

And after that, North Parade at midday.

A joint side of Summertown and Willington in North Parade at lunchtime on May Morning

North Parade at midday on May Morning

It wasn’t quite on Twelfth Night, but the closest Saturday at least. And once more we’re back at Hogacre Common Eco Park to assist in Wassailing their nascent orchard.

Wassailing happens mostly in the dark, so my phone camera struggled bit.

About to dance Constant Billy in the gloaming at the Hogacre Wassail.

After some public dancing and a mass participation Shepherd’s Hey, it’s off to the tree. The Hogacre orchard isn’t many years old, so the trees are still rather stick-like.

The Wassail Tree (to the left of the lamp – they’re still young.

Luckily there was a reporter from the Oxford Mail, and he not only got a much better picture of us but also wrote a rather better description of the afternoon’s events.

Back on November 14th, we paid a return visit to our charity for 2016, KEEN Oxford.

We went with two aims. The first was to provide a major part of the evening’s activity for the young people of KEEN, by getting them dancing. After warming them up with a performance on Banbury Bill, we took them through a Shepherd’s Hey and then had a go at teaching them Constant Billy.

Cry Havoc and KEEN try a stickless Constant Billy together.

We were successful enough at that to have a go at a massed Constant Billy, a joint KEEN and Cry Havoc production.

The second purpose of our visit was another cheerful occasion. We presented them KEEN with the results of our 2016 fundraising, £750. And a very worthwhile destination it is too.

Cry Havoc and KEEN

It was a pity that KEEN volunteer and Havoc dancer and musician Nerys couldn’t be there, but she’s away at university in Germany.

I’m catching up here…

The last Thursday in July saw our last Thursday evening dance out of the season. Together with guests Old Specklen Hen we were at the Seven Stars in Marsh Baldon. It’s an attractive location by the green, and after some trials and tribulations the pub is now a community owned venture and appears to be thriving.

We decided to occupy part of the car park, and had a small contingent of watchers. Who then found themselves press-ganged into a Shepherd’s Hey. It’s a risky business, watching Havoc.

The eagle-eyed reader of these pages may have noticed that we have had occasion to put in the odd little grumble about one or two evenings where the weather was a little damp. Our trip to Wolvercote on Saturday lunchtime, to join Wolvercote Morris at the Wolvercote Fete 2016 started well, with a free beer by the green in Lower Wolvercote. The sun shone brightly, and several of us had to see the shade.

We started dancing just off the green, and after a few dances from each side joined forces for Constant Billy. One set from Wolvercote, one from Cry Havoc.

A couple of drops of rain fell as we started.

By the time we got to the first chorus it was raining steadily.

By the time the second chorus arrived, the rain was belting down, and mixing in a bit of hail. By this stage both sides were completely drenched, but nobody wanted to be the first to break for cover. The dance was duly danced to completion.

Drowning at Wolvercote.

Mercifully, after a little added thunder and lightning, the rain stopped and we were able to dry out a bit for a few more dances, and then the procession up to the church. During which the rain started again. Squire and Foreman were thoroughly bedraggled by the time we got to the church; the rest had procured a board to hide under.

We passed a dry and warm night forgetting all about the day’s referendum with the very excellent Summertown Morris. Our young Nerys dances with them as well as us; the one picture I have from the evening has her in full motion, and considerably blurred.

Summertown Morris at the Perch in Binsey.

After the cold and drizzle the previous week, the evening was a huge improvement, despite very limited space for dancing and a pothole awaiting the unwary.

From the ridiculous to the sublime. After a very chilly evening last week – the log fire the pub was so very very welcome – we jumped this week to a perfect midsummer evening at the Plough in Great Haseley with our old friends Owlswick Morris.

There’s one rather unusual thing about Owlswick, as Morris sides go. They frequently appear accompanied by their very own owl, and this week was one of those occasions.

Isobel holds the Owlswick owl.

With the weather so balmy, we carried on dancing until the light started to fade, and then enjoyed the rest of a near-perfect evening with some music and chat.

Oh well. English weather being what it is, that might just have been summer.