Why not try Morris yourself?

At Cry Havoc we believe firmly that Morris is for everyone. And that it’s fun!

Havocs range in age from 6 to, well, three score plus, and hail from all over Oxfordshire.

Approaching 2020, which will be our 27th year, we have about 20 active members, but we’re always looking for new dancers or musicians. So why not join us? Even if you’re never danced before, and are secretly (or not so secretly) convinced that you have two left feet, come along and say hello at the next event on our calendar. We’ll teach you a little dance so you can try it out. If you start coming to practice any time between September and January, we promise we can teach you a couple of dances properly and have you dancing in public with bells and everything for the summer. You don’t have to commit to coming every week – just come when you can. And while we do have an annual membership fee, we don’t charge
people until they’ve been coming for some time, so come and try us out, risk-free. Email info@cryhavoc.org.uk or telephone 01865 980647 and make contact. If you’d like a reminder when the practice season is coming up, please click on the links on this page to follow our Facebook or Twitter posts.

Morris with Havoc is a great way to get a little gentle exercise, make new friends and do something slightly batty. And did we mention that it’s FUN? There’s a serious side too. Each year we choose a local charity and during the year we fund-raise for it, collecting from onlookers at our public appearances. Fees from paid appearances also go to the charity, as does a portion of the membership fees paid by established members. Over the year we expect to raise over £900.

The Havoc year

Practice season

From that start of September to the end of April, we practice every Thursday evening at the Women’s Institute Hall, North Hinksey Lane, Botley. Practice is from 8:00 to 9:30pm. There’s plenty of car parking at the hall.

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After practice many of us adjourn to a local pub, where the musicians will play a little, but it’s not compulsory.

Dance out season

At the end of April practice finishes, and we begin the summer dance out season. Over the winter, our dedicated Bagman (Morris-speak for organiser) prepares a calendar of events. Typically we will be dancing on a weekday evening, usually Thursday, at a pub with a guest side, or as guests of another side. We also make appearances at a couple of local folk festivals.

Every year we get some bookings from organisers of various sorts of events. We’ve appeared at a boat show, various village fetes, weddings and parties. We’ve even run a dance workshop for a Hen Party! We charge for these appearances, with the money going to our nominated charity.