A couple of weeks ago in a Soho junk shop, I found two books of comic strips of
The Cloggies, the classic Private Eye comic-strip clog dancing dating from the 1960s. A favourite strip is on the left. After practice, we noticed a couple of things about it
- Bells on the arms
- No musician in sight
- A recurring theme of disciplinary panels and authority
All three things are also true of last year's
Life With Bells On movie. So I wonder if there's a reason Morris (or clog) has to always be that way in any comedy production, regardless of what medium, whether strip or film.
Certainly bells on the arms look good visually (even if they don't add much to the sound) and in any fantasy where you don't actually have to perform, a musician can be a needless complication. And Morris is an anarchic activity which shows up well when set against authority figures
One other thing I found on the Cloggies'
Wikipedia page, is that there was actually a real side called the Cloggies, formed in tribute to the Bill Tidy cartoon. Their finest hour, bringing to a close a student performance of
John Milton's Comus, got a snotty review from the Guardian theatre critic, which the lads quite rightly regarded as "a complete vindication of all they had stood for".
Comus, of course, is the perfect vehicle for any celebrity Morris, as it was performed in Cambridge in 1908 by a team (left) including the poet Rupert Brooke and the mountaineer George Mallory (
more details here).
[Peter J adds:] A lovely afternoon. Here is Allan appraising the livestock....
... and Myrtle on a long lead, while Peter checks out the gherkins
It was British Folk's finest hour on May 2, as Folk Against Fascism celebrated on the South Bank, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. 
Another nice May Day following Fowler's Troop
They find nice beer in good pubs
And a pleasant amble
What could be nicer? 
A couple of weeks ago in a Soho junk shop, I found two books of comic strips of The Cloggies, the classic Private Eye comic-strip clog dancing dating from the 1960s. A favourite strip is on the left. After practice, we noticed a couple of things about it
All three things are also true of last year's Life With Bells On movie. So I wonder if there's a reason Morris (or clog) has to always be that way in any comedy production, regardless of what medium, whether strip or film.
One other thing I found on the Cloggies' Wikipedia page, is that there was actually a real side called the Cloggies, formed in tribute to the Bill Tidy cartoon. Their finest hour, bringing to a close a student performance of John Milton's Comus, got a snotty review from the Guardian theatre critic, which the lads quite rightly regarded as "a complete vindication of all they had stood for".
Comus, of course, is the perfect vehicle for any celebrity Morris, as it was performed in Cambridge in 1908 by a team (left) including the poet Rupert Brooke and the mountaineer George Mallory (more details here).
Hays Galleria, by London Bridge, has a 3 storey high vaulted ceiling that resonated brilliantly when we tapped our sticks on the stone floor.
