More about Little Explorers Activity Club

First, you can read about our visit on the Little Explorers Activity Club blog.  It wasn't easy to see what the children were doing when we were dancing, so it's lovely to read about their reaction.  I am sure I speak for all the dancers who were there when I say it is really wonderful to have had such a positive effect.

Arabella Carter-Johnson has kindly sent some photos - you can see many more on the Club blog - and here are some:

Beginning a dance

Ending a dance

Pauline making sure everyone knows what they are doing in "Shepherd's Hey"

Dave Simons, our musician

Little Explorers Activity Club

We had a lovely time this morning as guests of the Little Explorers Activity Club, a club for children on the autistic spectrum and their families.  We danced in bright sunshine, accompanied by Dave on the fiddle and Pauline on the CD player, and then some club members joined in.   Thank you to Little Explorers for having us - you can see more about what they do on their website, and also on Facebook.  Here we are in action (some photos we took):

Lutterworth Carnival

A very hot day at Lutterworth Carnival.

And a photo of some of the Triumph motorcycles present, with some classic cars in the background.

Bridge 61, Foxton Locks

First, the remains of the Inclined Plane at Foxton, an amazing lift built at the start of the 20th century to lift canal boats from one canal to another, bypassing the also amazing series of locks.  The locks survive and are still used, the plane was dismantled, although there are plans to rebuild it.

This shows the level at which boats entered the lift, to descend the plane to the canal below.

Now, some photos of us dancing on the towpath outside the Bridge 61 pub, and of our friends Hips N Haws, who joined us for the evening.

Midsummer, Queen's Head, Billesdon

With Bakanalia Border Morris and New St. George, our regular annual visit to Billesdon to mark the longest day (or thereabouts).  Braybrooke was there (that's our Griffin!), but I seem to have forgotten to take any photos of us.

Bakanalia

New St George

 

The White Horse, Stoke Albany

Lift off!

The Star, Geddington, with Higham Hips 'n' Haws

We usually dance in Geddington, near Kettering, with our friends Hips 'n' Haws, a clog dance side from Higham.  And here we all are.

Geddington is the site of one of the three remaining Eleanor Crosses, erected in the 13th century by King Edward I to mark the route taken by the funeral procession of his wife, Queen Eleanor, who died near Lincoln.  The others are at Hardingstone, on the edge of Northampton, and at Waltham Cross.  The one outside Charing Cross station in London is a Victorian replacement for the original, which stood in modern day Trafalgar Square.



The George, Ashley

We have only been dancing at Ashley for a year or two, but there's always an audience, and tonight there was sunshine too.   
Ashley is a relatively recent addition to the programme, and people always come out to watch.  Tonight was a lovely warm and bright evening, which added to the fun. 

Lollipop Man

Smash the Windows - a jig for two people

Lollipop Man again

Can't remember what this one was!

The Dog and Gun, Walton

Here we are, without the local Young Farmers, some of whom joined us for Shepherd's Hey (thank you!), and some of whom were unloading treasure hunt items from their cars.

Swan, Braybrooke, Mayday

Our habit until now has been to welcome Mayday by dancing in Market Harborough very early in the morning.  However, in recent years some of us have found it difficult to fit this around getting to work or getting children to school.  And although it has been good to dance for the early morning dog walkers and the roadsweeper, this year we thought we would aim for a larger audience and dance in the evening at the Swan, Braybrooke.   And some people (and a very enthusastic dog!) did watch, and it was quieter without the continual passing of the lorry sweeping the road.

Late Night Shopping, Market Harborough

A dry and not too cold night - we spent most of the time at the top end of the High Street, between the reindeer and the steam roller.

Christmas People

Dressed as Christmas people, we danced at Desborough Gala Night.  We danced in Station Rd., quite sheltered, away from any loud music.   Thank you if you stopped to watch, or joined in.

Nevill Arms, Medbourne

No photos of the last few weeks, for one reason or another.  But here are some of a lovely summer evening at Medbourne. 



Queen's Head, Billesdon

It has become a tradition by now, I think, that we spend the Wednesday nearest Midsummer at the Queen's Head.  We were joined, as ever, by Bakanalia Border Morris and New St George Morris, and also by one member of Rutland Morris.   There were some people watching, but this is really a selfish evening for ourselves - it is always very good to watch other sides.   You may see dances that you yourselves do, as well as seeing the unfamiliar.