Our 4th All Hallows Gathering will contain a few changes. A fortnight ago I received an email from Angie Latham that said that she was stepping down from a few roles she held due to health reasons, and that this would include being Morris organiser for the Dark Gathering. Although I was saddened to hear of her health issues, I understood the need for her to cut down on her responsibilities. I want to take this opportunity of publicly acknowledging Angie’s hard work and commitment to the Gathering, and I personally thank her for her support and enthusiasm for this event from its small beginnings to the hugely popular happening we enjoy now. Take a bow Angie! 😀
Moving on… Catseye Morris are unable to perform at the All Hallows Gathering for what appears to be the foreseeable future. I am sure I am not alone in thanking the Catseye team for their unique contribution to the Gathering in the last couple of years. In their place this year will be another Cornish side, Wreckers Border Morris. Wreckers are an inclusive and energetic Morris side who are a lot of fun and we look forward to their performance alongside Beltane Border Morris and Wytchwood.
Finally, it has been decided that it would be a good idea to have, if possible, a Guest Side each year. So, the following invitation is going out to any side that would like to perform at our All Hallows Gathering:
We are sending an open invitation to any sides that consider themselves to be dark and edgy and preferably of Pagan persuasion (although not essential) to perform alongside Beltane Border Morris and Wytchwood Morris at the annual All Hallows Gathering at the Museum of Witchcraft & Magic. If you are interested please apply to Event Organiser
At the end of each Gathering we will make an announcement about which side has been chosen as Guest Side for the following year. Make sure you submit any offers early as we already have had interest shown from some Dark Morris sides.
There are several things planned for this year’s event but I will fill you in on those details nearer the time. In the meantime, enjoy a taste of Wreckers performing Evesham Wheel at Restomel Castle.
It’s hard to know where to start on describing the events of the All Hallows Gathering 2016. From a small, seemingly inconsequential idea birthed in 2014, it has grown exponentially to become a remarkable happening that has attracted worldwide interest. Since Simon Costin, director of the Museum of Witchcraft & Magic, put out this video from the weekend, it has attracted well over a million hits!
It was estimated that over 300 people attended the Gathering and all accommodation in Boscastle was fully booked. In fact, it was stated by a member of the local Chamber of Commerce that the hotels and B&Bs could have booked their rooms four times over – so, phenomenal indeed! However, as a result of this remarkable interest in the Dark Gathering it has been agreed by all concerned that it cannot afford to get any bigger because the infrastructure of Boscastle cannot support this. Therefore all Morris sides and other performers, including Osses and Maris will have to be by invitation only.
However, I’m getting ahead of myself. This blog is about what the weekend was like and to try and share what the atmosphere was like with others who were not present. Quite a few of us, particularly the organisers met up at the Cobweb Inn on the Friday evening to relax, catch up, sort out last minute details and generally socialise.
It was during this general ambience that I was informed by my Oss Rider that he had decided for reasons best known to himself to withdraw from performing with Penkevyll. This could have had a very detrimental effect on the whole event’s proceedings but fortunately within minutes the situation was resolved by someone who heard what had happened and immediately stepped up to the challenge. A crash course in Oss riding and associated lore was then embarked upon and the possible calamity was averted. It appeared that the gods were definitely on our side that weekend as although there were quite a few potentially upsetting problems that presented themselves over the weekend, all of them got resolved in surprising and unexpectedly positive ways. There were definitely a lot of ‘silver-linings’ around! 🙂
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear and it was obvious that the weather gods had been kindly once again., although it has to be said that there were quite a few people specifically petitioning them! I personally had to be at the Museum early in order to put my new volunteer Rider through his paces as he became accustomed to the energies and logistics of Penkevyll.
Given that Penkevyll’s new Rider had only about 15 minutes of physical instruction, he did fantastically well. Then it was time to prepare Penkevyll for the evening’s performance as we knew we wouldn’t get time later to do this. She had a new headdress handmade by Laetitia with LED lights and it was rather fiddly to secure. Once done I then had to zip off to undertake a TV interview in the Museum pointing out and explaining various artefacts. Here’s a brief excerpt:
This was followed rather swiftly by a photoshoot for all the performers, Osses included, in the Museum Library where a temporary studio had been set up. Then, thankfully, it was time to get lunch of a grabbed sandwich and a cup of tea.
Me and Laetitia had decided some time ago that she would join me in teazing Penkevyll from now on. Nobody knows exactly what the future will hold and I wanted to be sure that Laetitia was ready to take over the Teazer role whenever that became a necessity. Given that I’m now nearer to 70 years of age rather than 60, it made sense to me to be prepared for this.
Also, in the folklore tradition and in the Morris world in particular, there has been an recent backlash towards the practice of ‘blacking-up’. Some of the comments directed towards sides and traditions that we respect have been particularly virulent and upsetting accusing them of racial incitement – which is a nonsense. As a sign of solidarity, both myself and Laetitia thought we would try this practice of blacking-up. We were both amazed at how much it altered our appearance and how effective it was as a disguise. Moreover we subsequently found out from our Welsh visitors from the Mari Lwyd party, that this was used in the past in their traditions. We have now decided that we will keep this look for any Midwinter excursions with Penkevyll.
The crowds who came to watch the afternoon’s entertainment came from near and far, and gathered well in advance of 3 pm the advertised start time. Subsequently, the dancing kicked off a full half an hour earlier. The action started with Wytchwood Morris from Worcester, and I got to play drum with them this year which was huge fun!
Wytchwood looked fantastic in the afternoon autumn sunlight which was a beautiful match to their autumnal coloured tatters. I particularly like Wytchwood’s energy and versatility and it was a brilliant start to the afternoon’s proceedings.
Next up was the fantastic Beltane Border Morris who delighted the crowd with their wild but highly skilled performance. Their dark, edgy dancing always thrills the crowd and I get mesmerised by their innovative music and drumming.
Finally it was the turn of Catseye Morris who looked particularly colourful this year and their dancing and music created an interesting contrast to the previous sides’ performances.
During the well deserved break at 4 pm I managed to get Angie Latham and John Isaac together and get a photo taken with them. I quickly ran into the Museum and ‘borrowed’ a copy of my book as Angie (Illustrations) and John (Photographs) were both excellent contributors to Village Witch.
Before we knew it we were participating in with the last dance of the day – the now traditional Rochester Thistle, performed by Wytchwood in which every side now joins in with.
Then it was time to bring out Penkevyll the Oss to send the Call to the Mari Lwyds.
The time approaches rapidly for the All Hallows Gathering – or the Dark Gathering as it is affectionately known now. This year it falls on Saturday 29th October and starts at the slightly later time of 3 pm. Attending Morris sides this year will be:
Directly as a result of the past few years’ success and subsequent upsurge into the local economy, we have received two sources of funding for our event.
Both businesses have given us generous sponsorship for which we gratefully thank them.
We have decided that we will welcome the Welsh Mari Lwyds with a Lantern Procession which will start at the main car park at around 5 pm and process accompanying the Maris down to the Museum. Bring your own lantern and dress up if you feel in the All Hallows mood!
In the meantime back at the Museum, Penkevyll the Cornish Oss will be raising the energies to send a Call out to the Mari Lwyds to come and join our celebrations. This will involve lots of tribal drumming. If you wish to join us with your own drum at this point please do so.
Finally, as an appetiser here is some footage put together by Dougie & Angie Latham of last year’s festivities:
Group shot of all sides at the All Hallows Gathering – Photo credit: Dougie Latham
What a spectacular event the All Hallows Gathering turned out to be! As one of the main organisers I was experiencing considerable nerves and trepidation as Halloween approached this year – I had never attempted anything of this size before which involved quite so many people and logistics. My main concern was the weather but as it turned out the weather gods were kindly and it was a beautiful winter’s day and evening. Another issue that was on my mind was what the attendance would be like – performers as well as audience numbers. I needn’t have worried as I watched what eventually turned out to be hundreds people slowly arriving and setting up. The air was electric with expectation and anticipation and it was heartwarming to see so many people gathering together to celebrate All Hallows in such a special way.
Events kicked off at 2 pm with Catseye Morris, based in Cornwall – the side that I belong to as a member of the band, and Laetitia as a dancer.
Laetitia of Catseye Morris – Photo credit: Dougie Latham
Cassandra of Catseye Morris – Photo credit: Dougie Latham
Next up was Shadow Hunters all the way from Worcestershire. This is a group that was especially created for this event. It started off as a ‘Dark Morris’ scratch side and evolved to become an official Border Morris side. They were energetic, elegant and spooky – not easy to achieve!
“Dancers of the Dark Morris . We come from the woods and dance …..and then slip away back into the shadows.”
Then came the infamous Beltane Border Morris from Devon. They are renowned for their theatrical and punchy performances and we were delighted that they decided to join us at the Gathering.
So for the next two hours onlookers were treated to some remarkable performances from these Morris sides:
Catseye Morris – Photo credit: Dougie Latham
Shadow Hunters – Photo credit: Dougie Latham
Beltane Morris – Photo credit: John Issac
Catseye Morris – Photo credit: Dougie Latham
Shadow Hunters – Photo credit: Dougie Latham
Beltane Morris – Photo credit: Tim Gent
Beltane Border Morris – Photo credit: Tim Gent
Then it was time to go and get Penkevyll from her stable where she was impatiently pawing the ground, so to speak. The crowds delighted in her antics and then as the tribal drums began, witnessed Penkevyll and her Teazer (yours truly) start the dance which called up the Mari Lwyd(s).
Calling up the Mari Lwyds – Photo credit: John Issac
Sure enough it was soon time for us to scuttle into the Museum of Witchcraft and await the arrival of the famous Mari Lwyd. Once the Mari(s) had a short ‘meet & greet’ with the audience it was time for the pwnco ceremony. Here’s some photos and footage of this old tradition:
Mari Celeste – Photo credit: John Issac
Y Fari Troellog – Photo credit: John Issac
Y Fari Troellog – Photo credit: Museum of Witchcraft
Once the Mari Lwyds had gained entrance to the Museum there followed introductions. Penkevyll and Y Fari Troellog were old friends, but Penkevyll and Mari Celeste had not met and exchanged pleasantries as only Obby Osses and the like can! We then set off around the Museum bestowing blessings as we went.
The Unholy Trinity – Photo credit: Museum of Witchcraft
Then it was time for much-needed libations of soul cakes (baked by Museum manager Peter) and beer – which was much appreciated by all concerned! 🙂
Libation time – Photo credit: Museum of Witchcraft
Meantime outside Steve Podger, my very able Master of Ceremonies, with the fantastic support of Beltane Border Morris entertained the crowd by torchlight with some powerfully evocative and wild dancing.
Torchlight time – Photo credit: Tim Dent
Beltane Border Morris – Photo credit: Tim Dent
This included the now famous Beltane Fire Dance!
Once they were fed and watered, the Osses emerged from the Museum and mingled with the large crowd and danced to the pulsating tribal beat of the drums until it was time to end this part of the evening.
Oss party – Photo credit: Museum of Witchcraft
Oss dancing – Photo credit: John Issac
Samhain celebration – Photo credit: Museum of Witchcraft
Steve our trusty MC, wound up the day’s proceedings and we wended our weary but elated way into the night for a well-earned dinner at the Cobweb Inn!
