Who are the Lancre Morris Men?

Well the group were brought together under the original name of Otterbourne. Apart from sharing a common interest in folk music and dance it wasn't long before a lot of the members discovered they were also avid fans of Terry Pratchett and his Discworld books. It didn't take a genius to then link some of the members' names with their professions. For example we had Plummer the electrician, a Cooke the joiner, and Saddler the Civil Servant). Too much of a coincidence and friends soon began to refer to us as the Lancre Morris Men (if you're still unsure about what we're talking about, read Lords and Ladies).

You can't miss our crest at the top of the page.

Did you wonder how we came up with the design?

Well here is a brief explanation... The central shield has six horseshoes and a hammer to commemorate the shoeing of an ant by Jason Ogg. The Helm and twiddly bits over the top are in honour of Verence, King of Lancre. The supporters are two hedgehogs (rampant), added because we would hate to insult a witch, and besides she knows a pretty good song about them. The Motto means "Shake after Tinkling" and is very good advice for any dancer. Dust thrown up by your feet can eventually stop the little round thing in your bells from moving and you then perform in silence..

Oh come on! What did you think I meant?

The colours used by the side are black, red and silver/white.

The black represents the coal mining history of the county although sadly, today there are no working mines in the area. The red reflects the bloody history of the area with many encounters between English and Scottish armies. The silver/white is a throwback to the ancient lead and silver mining industries, which are also long disused.

The outfits comprise of black brogue type shoes, white knee socks, black breeches, white shirt, black waistcoat with the six horseshoes and hammer crest on the back and a black neckerchief. The bell pads have black and white ribbons and hats are adorned with black, red and white/silver ribbons.

So what is a Morris side?

A morris side comprises of the following people...

The Squire. It is his job to lead the men in the dance and be their chief spokesman. He has ultimate say in everything.

The Fool, or in our case, The Chief Bladder is the link between the side and the public. He adds the humorous interruptions to some of the dances (which are very well rehearsed so as to look natural) and tries his best to relieve the watching audience of their money during charity appeals.

The Bagman, or as we call him, The Cutpurse is basically the accountant/secretary, but our term is more honest. He is responsible for the bookings and money raised by the group.

The Musician(s) are unique, they are held in high esteem amongst themselves and many late musicians have speed cameras named after them in their honour. A good musician will never take his eyes off the squire, so if he decides to quicken or lessen the pace, the musician will adapt his playing speed to suit.. This works well as long as the other dancers take the trouble to listen to the music.

The Side do the hard work of performing. A pint (0.7 ltr) of ale, with the promise of a further 10 gallons (450 ltr.) will normally suffice as incentive to turn up

In the past we have had support from some of the many students who attend Durham University, but this has meant long periods when studies and holidays have prevented the Otterbourne side from performing. This in turn has meant we have been very close to organizing Discworld events for Northern fans during the summer months but have had to abandon plans due to lack of supporters.. So, if there are any people out there who have an interest in folk music or dance, live within easy reach of Durham and would like to help preserve our traditions, please get in touch. If you can also play fiddle, squeeze box or pipes you will be more than welcome.

Although the group perform the traditional male Cotswold style of dances, we do not intend to be sexist about our membership.  There are some groups who will not consider mixed sides and I feel that this attitude has alienated them from 50% of the recruitment pool.  Other groups have welcomed the opportunity to use both male and female dancers and their membership is growing steadily.  After all it is an activity that is ideally suited to couples and it is a lot easier to organize weekend trips around the country if both parties can attend.

Even if you haven't danced a step in your life, we will give you the basic training, although we would prefer if musicians did have the ability to sight read simple pieces.