I've been a Morris Dancer for over 50 years!
Most of that time it was dancing around England. But in 1995 I was invited to join a team that danced by invitation at festivals throughout the world.
The first that I went to was to Israel, but before going I had to negotiate with my wife. It was an amateur men only team and whilst all expenses were paid once there, we still had to pay our own airfare.
Whilst she would have loved to go, she was very pragmatic and loving and said that either I go on my own or neither of us can go, and we agreed that I should go.
We had been invited to the 3,000 anniversary of the City of David ~ Jerusalem. Not universally popular as there were several nations who found it difficult to acknowledge. Some to this day who still don't accept Israel as a county.
However off we went.
Yehiam Fortress (part of).
The first few days we were at the Yehiam Fortress Festival. The Fortress was built by the Crusaders way back in the 12th Century, the walls are massive and still in remarkable condition.
We stayed on a kibbutz. All of this was new to me so I just went with the flow.
Don't know how much you know about Morris Men (check it out on Google) but all the dancing gives us a thirst, so we are well known for drinking English Ale. As there was none around we made do with the local beer.
Then after three days all 12 of us and our luggage were bundled into a transit bus and we made the long hot journey to Jerusalem.
We stayed in the dormitories of the University, where dance groups from other countries were also staying. This gave us the opportunity to mix and make contacts which in future years led to other invitations.
There were various rehearsals that we had to attend before the day of the main 4 mile procession, but the rest of the time we were free to wander. So dressed in our morris kit we explored the old walled city of Jerusalem. It was heaving with people but we found the odd place to sit, eat and drink.
By the time we noticed that all the crowds had gone it was quite dark.
Now what I have noticed wherever I have been in the world with the Morris, is that when you are in your kit then people are happy and pleased to see you, so we in no way felt threatened.
Just as well as foreigners are strongly advised not to wander around the old city at night time. Whilst wandering around the alleyways (with our bells on) we could see a light in the distance, it was a bar, the only one open in the whole city. So we stopped and chatted (and drank).
As we were leaving we approached one junction where a group of Israeli soldiers accosted us and advised us that it would be too dangerous for us to continue along that road, so they sent us off in a different direction.
We did get out of the walled city but not by the gate we wanted. We did find a minibus taxi and negotiated a trip back to the university. As we got to the manned gates of the university we realised why the taxi driver was not too keen to take us. Being Russian and with no permit, he was naturally not allowed past the security gates, so we had to walk the last part through the grounds on foot.
The Big Parade.
The parade was massive we only ever saw part of it as it stretched way back beyond us and a fair distance in front.
Whilst most of the invited participants walked with their banners, we danced. We had after all been invited to represent English Morris Dancing. It was hot and we got through all the water that was laid on for us, plus some given to us by the spectators.
Afterwards, we met the Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, little did we know that within a few weeks he would be assassinated.
Well, that briefly was my first International Dance Festival, way back in 1995 and the pictures they were all on film (not digital) so a lot fewer pictures taken.
Since then I have danced in Romania, Turkey, Syria, Mongolia, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Czechia, Poland, Germany and probably others that I will remember later.
I will be doing blogs on them all and I hope you will find them intriguing and interesting.
