Jenny Pipes Day of Dance

On Saturday 28^th March Jenny Pipes Morris held a Day of Dance and Ceilidh in Leominster, Herefordshire. The event was a fundraiser for The Brain Tumour Charity, a cause which is close to our hearts since two of our members have lost family members to the disease.

We were delighted to bring together 10 Morris Sides – Shrewsbury Morris, Gidderskins, Foxwelp Morris, Bow Brook Morris, Silurian Border Morris, Leominster Morris, Ledbury Morris, Appleyard Traditional Dancers, Pinsley Mill Morris and ourselves, Jenny Pipes Morris.

We danced throughout the town, outside the Grape Vaults pub on Broad Street, in Corn Square, outside the Co-op and outside the Museum. For anyone visiting Leominster on the day it would have been difficult not to come across some Morris dancing – we were all over the place!

To support with the fundraising, each side had their own collection pot, introducing a bit of friendly competition to see who could collect the most for The Brain Tumour Charity. There was also a raffle, with fabulous prizes donated by local businesses, as well as Day of Dance badges, which were made by some of Jenny Pipes more creatively talented members.

In the afternoon, all the sides met on The Grange for some mass Morris dancing. This included a 50m (ish) line of a Morris dancers for the Dilwyn Stick Dance, a giant circle for the Shepherd’s Hey and finished off with a Tinners Rabbit, during which there was a fair amount of confusion as we realised that all sides who danced it, danced it slightly differently. The Jenny Pipes method of skipping backwards certainly took a few by surprise! We were pleased to have a few brave members of the public joining in with the participation dances as well.

The ceilidh was open to Morris dancers and locals alike, with several musicians from different sides joining in with the ceilidh band. It was a fantastic end to the day, with many smiles and laughter, albeit some achy legs among those who had been dancing all day, and a sore voice for the ceilidh caller!  

Together, the Day of Dance and ceilidh raised over £2,000 for The Brain Tumour Charity. As a side we are so incredibly thankful to all the dancers and musicians who came and got involved and made the day what it was. We brought music, dancing and plenty of fun to Leominster for the day and hopefully all who came along enjoyed it as much as we did.