Cuddington Fete July 2010 - always a special day

Cuddington Village in Buckinghamshire always goes "to town" with its fete. There's always a theme and all the village gets involved. This year's theme was medieval and unlike many villages, the fete starts with a procession from the Village Green to the village hall. In Cuddington's case the hall in question is The Bernard Hall, made famous in numerous episodes of the television series "Midsommer Murders."

This year was no exception and the photos show this year's band 'Balance the Straw' of Matt (whistle) Penny (fiddle) me (bouzouki) and Tim (some sort of homemade instrument!) Some of us managed more of a medieval theme in our costume than others but it was a great day and our traditional music played on these instruments seemed to be appreciated.

I have been involved in providing the music for the fete for a number of years in various forms - playing for dancing from the Appalachian Dance team The Haddenham Hoofers, playing in the procession and entertaining the visitors taking cream teas at Tirringham Hall.

King Arthur and Queen Guinevere leading the procession through the village

The May Day Weekend

The May Day weekend was very busy for me this year. In addition to the normal May Day activities, The De Kegelaar Folk Dance Group from Antwerp were guests of the Haddenham Hoofers and two were staying with me for the weekend.

The May Day weekend started for me at 5.30am on Friday 1st playing for the Towersey Morris Men at the Towersey Crossroads as day broke. I then played for them at Thame Town Hall at 8am and three schools and a Day Centre in High Wycombe at 10am, 11am, midday and 2pm.

After a short break, I met De Kegelaar with the other Hoofers at The Rose and Thistle, Haddenham at 5.30pm. An enjoyable meal and conversation was followed by a music session with the Hoofers and De Kegelaar musicians.

On Saturday morning, De Kegelaar and Haddenham Hoofers took part in the Haddenham May Day procession and danced on the Green.

Haddenham Hoofers dancing at Haddenham May Day celebrations

Hoofers musicians

After lunch, Hoofers and De Kegelaar performed outside Thame Town Hall. In the evening, De Kegelaar performed at the Haddenham Ceilidh.

On Sunday morning I played for the Towersey Village May Pole Dancing and then for the Towersey Morris Men.

Towersey Morris men at The Towersey May Day celebrations

I then rushed to Cuddington where De Kegelaar and Haddenham Hoofers were dancing outside the Bernard Hall.

De Kegelaar outside the Bernard Hall

Hoofers out side the Bernard Hall, Cuddington

The weather for Friday, Saturday and Sunday was glorious but as usual, it changed for Bank Holiday Monday, where its was rather cool for the Wheatley May Day celebrations.
I played in the procession, May Pole dancing and the barn dancing which followed. The musicians then retired to the Cricketers Arms, Littleworth for a music session.

Wheatley May Pole dancing

Musicians at the Wheatley May Pole

Straw Bear Festival at Whittlesey

A very cold Saturday morning saw the Haddenham Hoofers travelling over 80 miles to Whittlesey near Peterborough to take part in the annual Straw Bear feastival.

This festival, following Plough Monday (the 1st Monday after Twelfth Night) dates from when no one quite knows and died out at the end of the 19th century but was revived in 1980. The Straw Bear - a man dressed in a straw costume and his attendant keeper lead a procession of over 250 dancers, musicians and performers from various parts of the British Isles performing traditional 'Molly', 'Morris', 'Clog' and 'Sword'. There is also American style 'Appalachian' dancing, street performances and Mummers plays. A decorated plough pulled by a local Morris side is now a established part of the procession.

Following the procession, street dancing and entertainments take place. Some of the dancers, musicians and entertainers perform in the local halls and pubs.

At the end of the day, the Straw Bear is ceremoniously burned (minus the man inside of course.)

For more information visit http://www.strawbear.org.uk/

https://sites.google.com/site/haddenhamhoofers/

The Straw Bear Procession

The Hoofers danced in the street in the morning with other Appalachian groups. The temperature was -3!

Junior Hoofers braving the weather

How to play the banjo in -3 temperatures, accompanied on guitar by Matt Morton.

After visiting the soup kitchen laid on by the parish church for lunch, The Hoofers spent the afternoon performing in the 'Childers Hall' - slightly warmer!

It was an enjoyable day, particularly when we joined forces with other Appalachian side musicians to play for the dancers.

Adlington Morris visit Haddenham and Thame

Today, on a glorious sunny Saturday morning Haddenham Hoofers (Appalachian Step Dancers) met touring Adlington Morris Men from Cheshire (http://www.adlingtonmorrismen.ik.com/) for a morning of dance. We started at the village green, Haddenham, Bucks at 10am!

Adlington Morris with Haddenham village green in the background.

Adlington Morris with The Red Lion, Haddenham in the background. Saturday morning seemed to be rather difficult for some Hoofers to make. I was the only one providing the music and a number of dances featured the junior section of the Hoofers.

Haddenham Hoofers with Haddenham village green in the background.

We then all moved on to the busy Thame High Street - Adlington Morris outside Thame Town Hall.

Haddenham Hoofers outside Thame Town Hall. We all moved on to perform outside The Abingdon Arms in Thame before lunch.

Haddas at Haddenham

I live just 3 miles from Haddenham in Buckinghamshire, a village full of traditional music and dance, mostly centred around the village green.

The Village Green, Haddenham

The Duck Pond and Church by the Village Green

The Red Lion, looking out on the green, has a traditional music session on the last Wednesday of each month.
The view from the side of the Red Lion across to the village green.

The Rose and Thistle (affectionately known locally as The RAT!) hosts an Irish music session on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month.

The St Mary's Centre, opposite the Red Lion and a stone's throw from the the Rose and Thistle (which can be seen in the background) is the home of the Appalachian step dance group, The Haddenham Hoofers, who meet every Thursday evening.

The nearest Saturday to May Day sees a procession from the village hall to the village green and displays of Maypole dancing, Haddenham Hoofers dancing and Morris Dancing by the occasional Haddenham Morris side and other local sides.

On the evening of the 3rd Friday in June, a dance around the village takes place involving Haddenham Hoofers and various members of Haddenham, Owlswick, Long Crendon and Towersey Morris sides. It starts at the Kings Head and finishes at the Red Lion, usually with a tune session after the dancing.

There's also The Haddenham Ceilidhs, held on the 1st Saturday of the month in the large village hall. The first Saturday in December becomes the Haddenham Folk Festival.

Behind the duck pond is the Manor Farm Barn, a marvellous barn which is used for barn dances and other community events. In April I played in a barn dance for a 60th birthday. Last night I did a barn dance with Haddas Band, the Haddenham based band.

Haddas Band in the Manor Farm barn, Haddenham

The Haddenham Schools pupils are included in traditional dance. Many take part in the Maypole dancing. Haddenham Hoofers have gone into the Junior School to do Appalachian dance workshops. In July, Haddas Band ran a barn dance for pupils at Haddenham St Mary's Infant School. Some former pupils now dance with the Hoofers and lasts night's barn dance had local children from 5 - 17 taking part.

Festival Time

Yesterday was the start of the festival season for Haddenham Hoofers - two festivals in a day!

We started off at the Buckingham Festival at lunchtime, performing outside the old gaol in the town centre.

The Hoofers' Band - Ed Houghton (guitar) Tim Brooks (fiddle) me (double bass) Tim Mason (5 string banjo) and Penny Heydon (fiddle)

We then went on to the Haddenham Beer Festival to perform in the afternoon. The weather stayed sunny (despite the forecast) and the Beer Festival was extremely busy.

This photo shows the Hoofers getting ready for the first dance with the beer festival crowds looking on.

The Haddenham Hoofers are performing at the Sidmouth Folk Festival 1-8 August and Towersey Village Festival 21-25 August

A busy June weekend

This weekend was the start of some busy musical weekends for me. Friday evening saw me playing double bass in a 50s band at Brill Sports and Social Club - an interesting experience!

By Saturday afternoon, I was on more familiar territory playing banjo for the Haddenham Hoofers at Bourton Meadow, Buckingham. Musicians also pictured are Ed Houghton -guitar, Penny Heydon - fiddle and Tim Mason - 5 string banjo.


Saturday evening was an open air barn dance at Ardley, Oxfordshire with the Mizen Ramblers. The sun was still shining when this photo was taken but it got a bit chilly in the darkness later on! I'm playing my 5 string acoustic/electric bass guitar. Also pictured from left to right: Tom Bell-Richards - fiddle, Jed Mugford -fiddle, Mike Gardiner - fiddle and Trevor Toms - guitar.

Haddenham Hoofers in Antwerp

The Haddenham Hoofers (Appalachian Step Dance Group) travelled to Antwerp on the weekend of May 9-11 May to take part in a folk dance festival. I played banjo for the dancing which included very hot open air performances in the square in Antwerp on Saturday and concert performances on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon.

Other groups performing were Les Joyeux Vendéens from France and De Kegelaar, the host group from Belgium.

Haddenham Hoofers meet every Thursday evening in St Mary's Church Hall, Haddenham, Buckinhamshire to rehearse Appalachian Step Dancing to live music. They perform mainly in the Summer months locally at festivals, fetes and other events. They also perform at National Folk Festivals. In 2008, performances include: The Straw Bear Festival of Dance, Whittlesea, Sidmouth Folk Festival and Towersey Village Festival.

For more information: https://sites.google.com/site/haddenhamhoofers/