The westbourne, & brunswick, Swansea

Another stunning evening saw us dancing out at the above establishments, with a good trickle of local people dropping by to check out what we were up to.  Some of them liked it so much they parked up, told their families and came back with their wives and children!  And the lovely Fatia from Montreal in Canada was so excited to see us she became our official paparazzi for the evening, trailing us to the Brunswick after our Westbourne set and joining in with Brighton Camp.  And she only popped out to get vinegar for her sister!!  We also had some young people get involved, one or two of whom we thought we might have seen before.  Careful now, Morris dancing can be contagious and addictive...

Alongside our wonderful audiences and ‘volunteers’, we were also joined by a Very Special New Person - Ben and Morwen’s baby.  Welcome to the world little one, and welcome to the Sweyn’s Ey Morris family.  It was great to see all three of them out enjoying the evening and looking well.

Our resident musicians did a fine job of trying to keep us on the straight and narrow, even if the sets were occasionally a bit wonky, our sticks kept breaking and I lost count of how many times people dropped their hankies.  Fortunately, Sweyn’s Ey does not take itself too seriously, and the squiffy bits provide additional entertainment for the audience, the dancers and the musicians alike.  Aside from the shonky ones, the rest of the dances we nailed, obviously.

After the dancing, Siân and Di played a few fiddle tunes to keep us entertained, and we all went home happy and contented after a fabulous evening of dancing, drinking and fellowship.  Probably.

For those of you who like to keep track of this sort of thing, our first set at The Westbourne included dances from the Fieldtown, Adderbury, Bampton and Sweyn’s Ey traditions, including Banbury Bill, Postman’s Knock, Valentine’s, The Curly Boar, Sheriff’s Ride and Bonny Green Garters.  The Brunswick saw us perform a particularly energetic set, at least near the start, including Step and Fetch her, Riggs of Doom, British Grenadiers, Lads a Bunchum, Brighton Camp (with volunteers), Speed the Plough and The Curly Boar (again), topped off with another rendition of Bonny Green.  I think.  I’m sure Alex H will correct me if I am wrong!

Thanks to the Westbourne and the Brunswick for being so welcoming and putting up posters about our performance in advance of the big day, and thanks as always to our eclectic audience who stayed and watched rather than running a mile.  And big up to everyone who drove past us by The Westbourne and beeped – we love a good heckle!

Photos by Claire, Zep and Di, words also by Di.