October meeting is usually dance themed as it is the month Lincoln WI was formed (12 years ago). In the past we have had cheerleading and Bollywood dancing, this year we hosted Poacher Morris, Lincoln’s Morris team. We weren’t quite sure what to expect, and whilst going to the meeting we saw a couple of dancers in their costumes, and we were not disappointed. Graham, the Squire, and the rest of the team had their tattercoats, facepaint and bells on, and their hats threatened to destroy the bunting or it may have been the other way round.
We were given a very brief overview of Morris tradition, teams have a Squire, a Foreman and a Bagman. The instruments included a melodia, a drum and all the team had bells, and for once we made more noise than the City of Lincoln Brass Band (apologies to the Band!)
Poacher Morris dances Border Morris, the tattercoats, hats and facepaint act as a disguise, although as the squire pointed out, in a small village disguise would have been difficult. Morris has a rich tradition, but is constantly evolving, and each team will develop with its own character. Poacher Morris uses Lincolnshire colours and all the team members had yellow in their costume as a unifying theme.
After a demonstration, we got to join in, everyone was encouraged to grab a stick in order to hit their neighbours, and groups of two WI members and one Poacher Morris formed. We got to menace each other, hit each other’s sticks and tell others to “sod off”.
The best bit was there was no wrong or right, as long as we were having fun we were doing it right, after an energetic round of dancing, we stopped for tea and cake and elderflower cordial and sang “Happy Birthday” to ourselves, before another round of dancing. It was a really fun evening, the hats and the bunting survived.
If you want to join Lincoln WI our next meeting will be a talk from Mids Migrant Support, on Thursday 7 November, 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start at the Grandstand, Carholme Road.
If you’re a man unfortunately you can’t join Lincoln WI, but Poacher Morris meets at the Burton Road Methodist Church on a Thursday night.
The Lincoln WI 