The Greenwich Phantom: May Morris Morning

Thursday, 1 May 2008

May Morris Morning

Greenwich Morris Men have sent me a link to photos of their May Dawn Dance on the heath this morning. While we were all tucked up in our beds, these stout fellows were jingling bells, bashing sticks and waving hankies to see-in May Day in the traditional fashion.

Ged tells me it was cold but not actually raining at the time and the sunrise was glorious. Apparently the dance straddles the sunrise by about 15 minutes each side. Dawn was at 5.32 this morning - so these guys started around 5.17am. I hope they all had a nice cup 'a tea at the 'ut afterwards.

I don't know - it makes me feel all rustic. A little bit of the countryside in London. I have no idea what the donkeys made of it...

Labels: morris, Secret Greenwich, Traditional, Weird Greenwich

3 Comments:

Benedict said...: Good for them!
Looks like you wer'nt the only one to miss it Phantom.
Do they drink Ale and Cider at that time in the morning, I thought it was lore to be a bit tipsy while "a'bangin' your stick"?; 01 May 2008 17:26
The Greenwich Phantom said...: You know what, Benedict? I really like the fact that these guys had no spectators. They did it for themselves, for tradition, and for the sheer joy of it. I really like that they didn't feel they needed an audience. It was their private salutation to Spring.

I am so glad stuff like this goes on.

I suspect you're right about the lack of ale and cider at that time of the day. The Blackheath Tea Hut was probably their best bet, htough the caffeine might have kept them awake...; 01 May 2008 17:33
Benedict said...: Absolutely Phantom, here's to diverse cultural activity!
We need a bit more of this kind of stuff.
Good health Morris dudes!; 01 May 2008 18:21

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About Me

Name: The Greenwich Phantom

Location: Greenwich, London, United Kingdom

Greenwich is one of the coolest "uncool" places there is in London. It's not profoundly unfashionable - rather somewhere where it doesn't occur to people that there is anything more than a few museums, a nice park and the Cutty Sark. The really adventurous might know about the Trafalgar Tavern or venture out to Greenwich market on a Sunday afternoon, but essentially, Greenwich is still relatively undiscovered for one of the great regions of London. I adore Greenwich - but I'm not blind to its faults either. In this journal I take an affectionate but honest - at times brutally so - look, giving my own personal low-down on the things to do - and one or two of the things NOT to do in Greenwich. I am being unashamedly parochial here. I will talk about the tourist sites, of course - how could I not when we have a World Heritage Site on our doorstep - but also about the things which make our town great - the little things. Interesting vistas, cool shops, bizarre novelties and quirky one-offs which make this place buzz. Greetings, by the way, to all of you who have travelled with me from Livejournal - and thank you for making the journey.

The Greenwich Phantom

Thursday, 1 May 2008

May Morris Morning

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