The Cheerful Insanity of Me

Time to swomp you all with dance posts again.

Firstly Thrales are dancing out in KilburnBrixton on Friday, following a route similar to the following

• 8pm - The Prince
• 8.20pm - Rest is Noise (tbc)
• The Ritzy Cinema Bar (tbc)
• 8.40pm - Prince Albert (tbc)
• 9.00pm - Dogstar
• 9.20pm - Effra
• 9.45pm - Hootananny (tbc)
• 10.00pm - Mango Landin' (tbc)
• 10.30pm - White Horse (tbc)

As if last weekend was not enough. Thrales are out again on Friday. This time on the Isle of Dogs.

We're meeting at the Henry Addington, MacKenzie Walk at 7.30 for an 8pm start. Then going on to:

City Pride, Westferry Road
The Rogue Trader, Westferry Road
The Fine Line, Fishermans Walk
1802 Museum of Docklands

...and whereever else we can find

Also on facebook, although there's not any more detail there.

Just when you thought I might be having a day off from Morris Dancing...

Blackheath will be dancing out around Greenwich on Sunday, nearish to the Picturehouse Cinema meeting 2.30pm at the The Mitre, Greenwich High Road (Dacre are apparently going to be around abouts those parts at the same time... must be something luring Morris Dancers to the cinema).

I won't start on the long rant about the film-makers decision that they would hold back the London showings of the film until after everywhere else, because films tend to be shown in London first, except they then showed it in Leicester Square (which obviously isn't in London apparently!).

The other major thing happening this weekend is the clock's change, which means more dancing as I've been invited to dance with Tylers Men on their clocks tour on Sunday.

Never even seen them, let alone danced with them before, so this could be interesting...

We're (I say we, but I've no idea who we are apart from a few blackheath people and a couple of familiar recipiant names on the emails) starting dancing at The Duke of Hamilton, New End at around 12.30


Is dancing with 6 sides in one year excessive?

It does means that I will have managed to double the maximum number of sides I've danced with in previous years. How'd that happen?

Don't think I'll try doubling it again. Even I'm not stupid enough to try for 12!

Then again... it could be fun!

The summer may be over and there may not be festival after festival every weekend anymore, but it does mean all the ceilidh series start up again :-)

I know I said I'd let a few of you know which ceilidhs I'm planning to head to this Autumn. As the first one's tonight, I'd best get around to it, so here they are:

10 October - Stömp (Meltdown Ceilidhs - Clare Hall, Haywards Heath)
20 November - Ran Tan Band (Knees Up Cecil Sharp, Cecil Sharp House, Camden)
21 November - Cock and Bull (Meltdown Ceilidhs - Clare Hall, Haywards Heath)
12 December - Fiddlegang (London Barndance (contra), Cecil Sharp House, Camden)

Have a post that's not about Morris dancing... it's about Rapper instead! :-)

Thrales are out again touring on Friday in Wood Green/Muswell Hill area if anyone is around and wants to catch us dancing.

We'll be at the following starting at around 8pm

• Jolly Anglers


• Monaghans Tavern


• Lord Nelson


• Wood Green High Road


• BRB at The Gate


• The Duke of Edinburgh

Then over to Muswell Hill for

• Victoria Stakes


• Three Compasses

So, Wallingford was the last of the festivals I had lined up to dance at this summer, so I suppose that means summer is now over :-(

Lots of other dance outs to come over the next couple of months though, all the ceilidhs will start up again soon and from this week it's back to dance practices 3 nights a week (although that said one of them is actually a dance out this week, so that's not technically true) and then there's freaky things happening a couple of weeks time in the peak district.

Invites are already coming in for next summer though, which means next year looks like it may include Golowan with Thrales, Ely (hopefully for the whole weekend if those of us who seemed keen on the idea this weekend can persuade enough of the others to make a side) and Whitby with Gogs (which by my calculations would lead to a high probability of having a Thrales set at the latter too for an evening tour or two) as definite invites, Chepstow have said they'll be inviting Wild Hunt back again next year and Blackheath seem to have a standing invite to Saddleworth Rushcart.

Next year should be fun.

It's a bank holiday weekend, which can mean only one things... Morris Dancing!

Therefore, so you can all get your Morris fix, I'll just mention in passing that Blackheath are dancing out at the Pelton Arms in Greenwich tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon/early evening from around 4.30 pm.

A few weeks ago I went along to a practice with one of the local Cotswold sides, Blackheath Morris Men, and I can assure you all that they are, in fact, as mad as their website suggests.

Anyway they're dancing out tonight at Ashburnham Arms from around 8pm.

They've told me to bring an approximation to kit, so tonight may see my, albeit brief (given I've only ever been to 2 practices and therefore only know a grand total of 3 dances), Cotswold debut.

hmmm... need a Cotswold icon...

The Shortwave cinema, which has recently opened in Bermondsey Square, is showing 3 films on Climate Change (and related topics) this week as part of the London Bridge Festival.

Tonight - Age of Stupid

Tomorrow - 11th Hour

Wednesday - End of the Line

All at 7.30 pm.

Conveniently they've put the one I've already seen to clash with Thrales Practice tonigh (Age of Stupid is an excellent film though - review here), but I'm aiming to go to 11th Hour and End of the Line.

Tickets available here - although there currently seems to be loads of them.