Otley Folk Festival...

Had a fun day at the Otley Folk Festival with my oldest chum, sinking the first pint of the day at 12 noon, having watched some Morris dancers. We spent the afternoon doing a steady pub crawl, with plenty of - free - entertainment. The collection of musicians at the White Swan grew from about ten to a roomful, with fiddles, guitars, banjos, squeezeboxes, penny whistles and a woman on spoons. The music rose and swelled like waves in the ocean; it might not be the kind of music I’d choose to listen to on CD, but live it was spellbinding.

These informal groups seem very democratic; when one tune ends, someone else starts up another one, and everybody joins in… sooner or later. Democratic… except one guy on fiddle seemed to be the best musician in the room, and the music wasn’t so dynamic when he put his violin down. Saw a guy who looked - a bit - like Pete Townshend, but wasn't... and a guy who looked - a bit - like Mike Harding, who was...

We ended up with more Morris dancers: traditional Morris men - with handkerchiefs or, better, sticks; clog dancers; ageing goths (unless they were undertakers). A troupe I remember from last year, called 400 Roses, consisted of about a dozen women, various shapes and sizes, who combine belly dancing moves with Morris dancing moves (or “tribal folk fusion dances”, according to one website). Very watchable… especially as they seemed to be really enjoying themselves…

Wayzgoose Morris...

400 Roses...