Frome Valley Morris Workshop 2009

The Dorsetarian

Sherborne Folklore and Ghosts
Folklore, Customs and Ghost Stories in Sherborneby Elisabeth Bletsoe Sherborne is a small market town in north-west Dorset; formerly a Saxon burgh. It evolved through the cloth, gloving and silk industries and boasts two castles, a Benedictine Abbey and the renowned public school for boys established since Edward VI. The town is embedded in varied countryside united by scarps of Jurassic ...

Well Dressing and Sacred Water
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Folklore of William Barnes
The Folk-Lore of William BarnesBy John Symonds Udal I have been asked to write a short paper or article on "Dorsetshire Folk-Lore" for our "Year Book." But I feel some difficulty in doing so, for two reasons; first, because it is impossible in such a limited space to give any fair idea of what the folk-lore of the Dorset people consists; and, secondly, because I am myself just...

Some Dorset Superstitions
Some Dorset Superstitions By Hermann Lea In employing the term superstition, it is in the sense defined by Franz v. Schonthan : — Zwar nicht wissen — aber glauben Heisst ganz richtig — Aberglauben. (Not to know, but to believe; what else is it, strictly speaking, but superstition?) It is natural, no doubt, that superstition should decrease in the s...

Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy - A Dorset Novelist and Poet Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy was born on 2nd June, 1840, at Higher Bockhampton, a hamlet in the parish of Stinsford, some two and half miles east of Dorchester. The author's grandfather, Thomas Hardy (the first), settled in Bockhampton in 1801, in a house which his father had built for him. By trade he was a master mason but hi...

Easter Customs and Traditions
Easter Customs and Traditions By Robert Newland 'Easter Tide’ is the most important festival of the Christian year, symbolising the ‘Redemption of Man’ and the confirming of the fundamental belief in ‘Life Everlasting’. Easter holy week begins with ‘Palm Sunday’, which commemorates the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem before his tri...

Cerne Abbas
Cerne AbbasA Brief History of the Village with Local Legendsby Anon. Amid the rolling, grassy hills of the picturesque Dorset hinterland nestles a perfect gem of typical English villages - Cerne Abbas.Cerne, by its very geographical situation, might eventually have competed with Dorchester for the honour of being the county town, but all who love the unspoiled English countryside would not have...

Fossil Folklore
Sea Dragons, Fairy Loaves& Serpents of StoneFables & Fossils of Lyme Regis by Dr. Karl P.N. Shuker Dr. Karl Shuker and life-size megalodon jaws,Lyme Fossil Shop, Lyme Regis In July 2010, I visited Lyme Regis on Dorset’s south coast, a relatively small town but one that is to fossil enthusiasts what Hay-on-Wye on the Welsh-English border is to book love...

Skulls in Folklore
Skullsby Sabine Baring-Gould. In medieval churches, castles, and mansions where there is a parapet rising from the wall and obscuring a portion of the roof, this parapet is supported at intervals by corbels, that usually represent heads of either men or beasts, very frequently grotesque. These corbels are not of any great structural importance, though they add to architectural decoration. T...

Ghosts and Hauntings
Ghosts and Things that go Bump in the Night by David Kingston. The word Ghost is described in the Oxford dictionary as, "a person's spirit appearing after his or her death." But then what about the reports of horses galloping down the lanes on a dark night and other such apparitions? Why do certain countries, houses and places appear to have more than there fair share of Ghosts?Great Britai...

Frome Valley Morris Workshop 2009

As the South West gears up for 2012 there are a series of events this September. Nine young Morris teams are visiting Weymouth on September 26th as part of the preparations for the Olympic Cultural events and the next weekend Frome Valley Morris are holding a workshop on Saturday October 3rd at Dorchester Arts Centre 2.30-4.30. Morris dancing is part of the distinctive cultural setting of this country as well as being fun, social and a great way to keep fit. The workshop will be most suitable for beginners or those new to dancing but all are welcome to come along. Tuition is being given by experienced tutors and there will be live music, tea and biscuits. All you need are comfortable shoes e.g trainers. The 2012 Olympics give us the chance to celebrate things British and move off our couches to a more active lifestyle so here is an opportunity not to be missed.

Below: Highlights of the Frome Valley Morris performing outside the Crown Inn, Puncknowle on 3rd July 2008

Tuition and refreshments provided - Suitable for 10plus, U16 must be supervised

Adults £3.00

Under 18s free

Get ready for the 2012 SouthWest Cultural Olympiad which features this dance form. For more information and contact details vist the Frome Valley Morris Website