The St George Flag flew above the County Hall in Abingdon.
The Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers went first to the Kings Head and Bell …
then they paraded to the Punchbowl,
where St George & the Dragon was the guest beer,
to perform Morris Dancing on St George’s Day.
Very happy to see The St George’s Cross flying above the County Hall Museum. It was very gracious for the Union Flag to fly at half-mast as well for Baroness Thatcher’s funeral.
My favourite is still seeing The Abingdon Flag flying on special/ceremonial occasions.
Two great english past times Drinking real ale and drinking real ale whilst morris dancing. Alot of people think morris dancing is all just a bit silly but hey, it is what it is, an english tradition no more embarising than any other national dance. Infact when you look at the many variations around the country its quite a bit more interesting than others, in my opinion anyway…
Why are the flags flying at the end of Ock Street?
An evocative English tradition. As a young lad, I used to watch them jingling their way along Broad Street, Oxford on May mornings and wondering how many knuckles were damaged in practice. Good to see the sides are so well supported. However, it’s a bit alarming to see the participants looking so young these days ! (that’s just a personal problem for this OAP)
which famous person once stated ‘one should try everything in life once, except for incest and morris dancing’ ?
Well whoever he was he sure didnt come from Abingdon…
How wonderful to see English tradition. All is not lost yet. More people should take up Morris dancing. It looks like a good way of keeping fit to me.
I forgot to give due credit to the associated musicians. Squeeze box and fiddle – the cheerful sound of native Folk music, played with skill and ‘va-va-voom’. Well done lads (and lassies)
My suspicion is the fitness gains may be somewhat offset by the beer consumption 🙂
Anyone know how to get involved? I’d love to do morris dancing.
You have a choice of two sides in Abingdon both do pretty much the same thing.
bagman@mrhemmings.org.uk or 520812
bagman.atmd.gmail.com or 534404
They both have weekly practice nights through the winter and weekly local tours through the summer so now is a good time of year to get involved.
Dance, drink and be merry…
Kennys hat… If you are serious about getting involved, then email bagman.atmd@gmail.com or bagman@mrhemmings.org.uk
Or… just come and talk to us when we are out dancing. Future events in or near to Abingdon include:
29th April : Prince of Wales Shippon 7:30pm
1st May: Guildhall Abingdon, 2pm (and in Oxford from 6am!)
2nd May: Prince of Wales, Shippon, 7:30pm
8th May: Outside Guild hall for town council Mayor Making, 6pm.
11th May: Mr. Hemmings Day of Dance all around town from 10am at White Horse, Market Place 1:30pm.
21st May: Kings Head & Bell / Punch Bowl 7:30pm
1st June: Party in the Park
22nd June: Ock Street Mayor elections, all over town from 10am.
For balance, the above this includes events from both Abingdon sides:
Abingdon Tradition Morris Dancers: http://abingdonmorris.org.uk
Mr. Hemmings Traditional Abingdon Morris Dancers: http://mrhemmings.org.uk
I agree with Iain, again 😉
In fact I suspect it’s really just an excuse to spend more time in the pub.
A lot of them seem to live to a ripe old age though….