Better and Better

Another Saturday, another day of dance; this time Lincoln. A good gig for me, as it's only 16 miles from where I come from, and hence my old stamping ground.Way back in April, when we first found out about this, my distinctly non-folky family had all agreed to come and watch. So not much pressure there then. We were missing half the band, as Ian and Dave couldn't make it.So just Clive, the guitarist and me. It was going to be a long day.

We were camping the weekend, at a nice little site between Newark and Lincoln. We all arrived at various times during Friday evening, and had a pleasant gathering with wine and nibbles. The weather was kind. The birds were singing, everything was right with the world, and we had a relatively early night in order to be ready for the morning.

Arriving at Lincoln bright and early, we met up with Clive who had forsaken the camping for the lure of a b&b. The first dance spot was at the Museum of Lincolnshire Life, quite out of the way really, and hopefully a good place to limber up. There was a small crowd watching the Poachers Morris as we arrived, and began to set up. We were dancing with two other sides, Maids of the Mill, and Slapdash Appalachian. Maids of the Mill are a Dutch ladies side from from Utrecht and their squire asked me "which of these sides is Slapdash?" I couldn't resist it. "I think they probably all are."

Anyway, we started off, and we were probably as slapdash as we have ever been. The music was difficult with just guitar and drums, and during Manning Tree, I just couldn't hear Clive at all from my position at the bottom of the set. The dancing was okay, but everything felt a bit flat really. We were watched by a small crowd, which was probably just as well.

We finished that set and moved down to the cathedral area, St Pauls Yard in fact, where Grimsby Morris and Dukes Dandy were waiting, along with a fairly large crowd. We followed Dukes Dandy on, and did some quite reasonable dances in fairly quick succession; there was quite a bit of clapping and cheering and we seemed to be doing okay. It turned midday, and I started looking round for my first pint, spurred on by my rendition of John Barleycorn. I spotted The Cloud Bar, the sort of trendy sports bar place I wouldn't usually go in, but needs must. A very pleasant barmaid served me a pint of Addlestone's Cider and chatted about the dancing.

Suitably refreshed, I took my tankard out and carried on.
We did a few more dances.
I had another pint.
Suddenly I was really enjoying myself. And so were the crowd.
When we finished the set, a young couple came over and asked if we could teach them a dance. Apparently they were media studies students making some sort of travelogue.
We taught the young man an Upton Snodsbury  during which he managed to bash my wife's finger with his stick.
Thanks again to the staff of the Cloud Bar, who came to the rescue with an ice pack. They really are nice people!

After a well deserved lunch then, on to the cathedral, where we met my family. My Dear Old Mum, eighty years young, had walked up Steep Hill, and was all in. They watched us for the next set though, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our squire even dedicated a dance to my mum, who was quite embarrassed by it all! We had the biggest crowd of the day too, I reckon upwards of two hundred towards the end. We did a Brimfield and a Twiglet. Both went down a storm. By the time of the massed dance at the end, we were rockin'.

All the sides met at the end of the day for one last dance each. At the cathedral, where, conveniently, we were already. It was done in reverse alphabetical order. I knew there was some reason why we chose the name Wytchwood. On first then. Jane's Dance. The crowd went mad. We sat down and watched the other sides. There is some photographic evidence of me watching the Raving Maes, apparently. And drinking more beer. Obviously.
What a great day it was! After a fairly flat start, it just got better and better. And so did we.

Later on, we spent a very pleasant evening in the Strugglers, an old local pub under the castle walls, and probably the best pub in Lincoln. I had several pints of Bateman's. It was excellent. As was the company. What a great end to a very pleasant day of dance. Roll on the next one!