Havocs senior squad dance Jenny Lind!

A great evening of song, beer, food, good company and of course dancing!

OK, so it’s not exactly The Times, but we’ve made a front page. The Buckinghamshire Advertiser wrote up the recent All Saints Beer Festival and there are pictures to go with it. You can read their coverage and see the photos on their website. The story and pictures took up the top half of page 4 in the print edition. And featured on the front page!

Well, Pete and Mick manage an inset photo.

There was a larger writeup with some different pictures in the local parish magazine too.

Beer festival coverage with Havoc pics.

Last week, we handed over a donation to the Oxfordshire Association for the Blind. Today, we received a very nice letter of thanks!

Letter of thanks from Oxfordshire Association for the Blind.

One of the people we met on our trip to Gerrards Cross was Douglas Gray. Douglas is a photographer, and is currently working on a photographic book entitled “Other People’s Trades”. He’s chosen two pictures from that day that he’d like to include in the book.

I think they’re both rather good. I’ve scaled them down slightly for the website, but I have the full versions if anyone wants them. Click on the small pictures below for my intermediate larger version.

Pete, Barbara and Mick play. Dancers out of shot!

A study of Mick and his fiddle.

Jim’s Mum is one of those people who Organises at her local church, All Saints in Gerrards Cross. The Church Committee heard somewhere that running a small beer festival was the latest natty fundraising idea, so they decided to try. And booked Havoc as entertainment.

Mercifully, we got a sunny September Saturday. We were given free beer – always the way to attract a Morris side – and lunch too! We also got distracted while dancing Jenny Lind by a Spitfire and a Hurricane circling overhead.

All Saints Beer Festival attracts Havocs – a bunch of ‘Vandals’

We had an unexpected guest from Chippenham Town Morris – try and spot which one he is!

And a ‘guest’ from Foxwhelp – less easy!’

We even managed to capture a video of ‘Hunt the Squirrel’.

Tuesday September 2nd, and a last evening dance out for the season at The Swan, Faringdon, as guests of Eynsham Morris, along with Oxford Border Morris Armaleggan.

Eynsham Morris at The Swan, Faringdon.

As you can see, the evenings are starting to draw in, my phone camera isn’t good in low light, and I didn’t remember to ask other Havocs to take pictures.

Armaleggan musicians at Eynsham.

A jolly evening nevertheless, with much singing during the session in the pub afterwards. Armaleggan know some, umm, unusual songs.

A glorious sunny day on 6th September saw the Havocs at an annual event on their home territory in North Hinksey/Botley – a street party – with beer and cake – what else do you need to attract a Morris side?

Audience participation!

There were just enough Havocs floating around Towersey Folk Festival on Saturday August 23rd to make up a scratch side for a few dances outside the Three Horseshoes in response to an invitation from Owlswick Morris. Owswick and Havoc are both have their origins in Towersey Morris.

We did three dances, notably chiefly for Jim going horribly the wrong way when pressed into doing Sidesteps. Luckily further sides arrived and we retired thankfully.

It was all hands to the pump, and we didn’t get any pictures. So here instead is one of the other sides present, the recently formed Makeney Morris from around Belper, Derbyshire. They were rather good, especially considering most of them have been dancing for under a year.

Makeney Morris from Belper, Derbyshire, at the Three Horseshoes during Towersey Festival.

And did you catch Nigel and Oliver on BBC Radio Oxford from the Festival on the morning of Sunday 24th?

Two days after dancing at the Kite, we were back in action at the inauguration of the new Old Woodstock Mock Mayor.

We did a half hour dance spot at the Black Prince as part of the partying, and followed the Mock Mayor and Corporation leading the procession up the hill to the Town Hall.

Once at the Town Hall, we did some further dances, including one in which the Mayor and Mock Mayor took part!

Cry Havoc have participated in the ceremony before, but not for quite a few years, and we couldn’t quite remember what was supposed to happen. So some of the requests took us a bit by surprise. But it was great fun, and we’ll hope to do it again soon.

It was a hectic afternoon, and none of us had time to take pictures. We’re hoping the committee will supply some.

The worryingly good summer of 2014 produced another fine evening for our last regular dance out of the season on the last day of July. We were close to home ground at the Kite in Mill Street, Oxford. Not quite Botley, but just off the Botley Road.

Another fine summer evening at the Kite, Mill Street.

It was a significant day for several reasons. It was Isobel’s birthday. It was the day Mick the Drummer retired – from work, not Havoc, he was quick to point out. And, sadly, it was Clare’s last dance out with us. She’s been a stalwart of the side for the last 8 years, but she and her husband are relocating to the Lake District. Which is a bit of the long way to come for practice. She joined Havoc at the same time as your humble scribe, and we’ve spent many many dances lurking together at the back of the set.

Clare offers Charlotte her overhead during Lads Aʼ Buncham at the Kite.

Clare is a fine dancer, and we’ll all have to practice like mad over the winter to make up for her absence.

Outgoing Squire Pete must have decided to make the most of his remaining outings as Squire. He worked us hard all evening, and we ended up doing 16 dances, several of which we hadn’t danced since practice in March. We were rather rusty, and had to concentrate hard.

Clare, Steve and Pete all concentrating hard. When did we last do this dance?