I have just paid dearly for a second hand pair of Alstons Lancashire Dance Clogs because the owner couldn’t bare to part with them for free, not even with the knowledge that they would be going to a very good home?

The new idiom for ‘To Pop One’s Clogs’…should not be ‘to die’ or (if in Lancashire) ‘to send them into the local pawnbrokers for some quick cash’ …. but …. to put them into an eBay auction for the best possible price!

Barry Honeysett

Sidefinder is otherwise the right place and periodic reminders of its existence would be a good idea. I liked the idea about adding it to progs as well.

I agree with Jenny (broadcasts would be to people who could use sidefinder) Only exception would be if there is something extraordinary to say e.g. coincidence of bad luck means no musicians for a few months and they have a festival, or they have an unusual opportunity which requires more dancers than they could reasonably muster.

Chairs being moved around – John, I agree.

If a side is short of members and continually fails to attract new ones, their problem is probably not so much about publicising their vacancies to existing dancers / musos. At the heart is some lack of appeal compared with what else is going on. The lack of appeal could be a grudge against another local side who are better at attracting people! It’s easier to look outwards rather than inwards at what could make things better.

Sometimes, a side cannot or will not adapt enough to survive.

No-one sentences you to so many years with this team or that team with time of for good behavior. We are in sides because we want to be in them.

When and if we join other sides its because we want to do that as well. No-one says one side is better than the other its what we want to do as individuals which is important.

yes there are struggling sides and there are less struggling sides but people move around – we move house, we move jobs – because what suits us one year may not suit is the next.

Its not poaching to tell the Morris world that we want new members –its putting freely available information into that particular market place. That’s called free speech it allows others to know that we are recruiting who may, just at that moment, have decided their present side is not for them.

So recruit away !! its a free country

jg

Actually, I’m not looking for a team but my experience of dancing with teams that were low on numbers is that it’s a sad existence. Bookings can’t be accepted, sometimes you turn out with people who can’t do the best dances, you can’t plan for the future and move ahead. Tensions and gloom develop. In one team, I felt very bad that we actually managed to recruit a beginner to a team that was clearly likely to fold.

However, I think it’s not unethical for teams to canvas other sides for help in this way. It might be discourteous, at worst; it could actually be of service to someone. Probably the deciding factor is that the webmaster, or someone else, has the chore of doing it, taking up their time when it doesn’t really serve their larger purpose.

That said, I’m looking for a morris dancer who has circus skills such as acrobatics, juggling or fire stuff, or can play a medieval/Tudor instrument. Or alternatively, some with circus/music skills who has the potential to learn the dancing. If you know anyone… it’s not for The Outside Capering Crew but I can be contacted through the team. cheers