Last Updated 23rd February 2001
[p168]
Birmingham Instructor’s Meeting, on Saturday, the 31st October, and the morning of Sunday 1st November, 1959.
This meeting arranged by Norman Peacock (then Bagman-Elect), and the Jockey Men’s Morris Club, took place at the Mosley Secondary Modern School, Birmingham. It was attended by 30 men representing the following 20 clubs; Bedford, Cambridge, Chanctonbury Ring, Colchester, Green Man’s Morris, Greensleeves, Jockey, Letchworth, Lichfield, Luton, Northants, Ravensbourne, Stafford, Standon, Stockton, Thames Valley, White Rose (Leeds), Winchester, Woodside; and Norman Peacock of Leeds.
The Jockey Men who had all the sleeping and feeding arrangements to make, displayed all their usual flair for sleeping and feeding men more then adequately; detailed attention included transportation to city railway stations after Sunday lunch.
Those men arriving in time for Friday evening joined in the Jockey Men’s usual practice; and drank ale from the large jars with raised letters spelling "POISON."
The business of the weekend began at
[Typescript of Ring Circular containing minutes of the Instructors' Meeting pasted between p169 and 170]
[p169]
10.10 a.m. on the Saturday morning with the showing of the E.F.D.S.S. film of the Bampton Rose Tree. With Geoffrey Metcalf as chairman, there was discussion on this before 11o’clock coffee break. Latter with Russell Wortley in the chair, the meeting discussed club organisation. In the afternoon Russell Wortley spoke on the Historical Background of the Morris.
After a substantial tea at flower-bedecked tables, an hour's dancing took place in the school hall.
The Feast, at the Elmond Airport Hotel, was eaten by 32 men; it is memorable for the singing of 21 songs largely listed below; - Bert Cleaver "Lilian": Lionel Bacon, "Miss Bailey" "Tom Lara’s Hunting Song" "When I was a bachelor", and "Robin Hood": Russell Wortley "Cymrid’s Garden", and "Female Smuggler": Peter Rollason "Magpie", "Barley Mow", Admiral Benbow", "As Dew Flies Over The Green Barley": Norman Peacock "Blaydon Races": Geoffrey Metcalf "Haul Away": Arthur Blake "Man at the Nore": Brian Heaton "Lolly Toodum"; Peter Stevens "The Logger": Bert Cleaver again "The Gay Young Farmer" and "The Suicide Arms": Stan Belfield "Green Grow The Rushes O"; and all of us" The Foggy Foggy Dew."
[p170]
The Sunday’s discussion, with Stan Belfield as chairman, was upon "Presenting the Morris" and "Characters."
The weekend’s proceedings concluded with a further fine meal by the schools meal service. A loss of three guineas on this meeting was due to some clubs having failed to confirm or cancel their preliminary bookings; and the organising club thereby having to pay for most of the meals ordered in the first place.
This meeting, where all-talking, no dancing was the order of the day, is summarised on the sheet affixed hereto; and in more detail in the Ring’s Archives.
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