Rapparound 17
A miscellany of news gathered from those with their eye to the wall and ear to the plughole
A truly sheltered life....
Comment by Nicol Kennedy (son of Andrew): “I can't understand why nobody in my class has heard of sword dancing. You see it everywhere you go.”
Martin Says “Sorry but...”
Some of the order forms filled in on the weekend of DERT were “tidied away” by the helpful chaps at the Pavilion, never to be seen again. If you have ordered a video, please contact Martin directly at martinhanley @ tiscali.co.uk and let him know.
Digital NUT
As reported in Issue 16, your esteemed (or even steaming) editor now has access to a full set of back copies of The NUT (Issues 1 to 13) and is busy scanning them to create a digital archive. This will be available free of charge to the major collections and archives, and also to you, dear reader, at the modest price of £5.00 for the CD including P&P. Each page is saved as a jpeg and each issue in a separate folder. Enquiries and orders to Ron Day.
Mabel says....
Gubbins are enjoying a busy year so far. Bookings to date have included dancing for St Patrick's night at the Far From The Madding Crowd in Oxford. Plied with quantities of champagne and Guinness, this booking featured Dipsomaniac Mabel pole dancing using random passers-by as the pole...
At DERT they were paid the compliment of being “amusing in the right way” – they are now polishing up a full-blown comedy routine complete with shiny red noses and exploding car. The Oxford Folk Festival saw them trapped by the torrential rain in The Madding Crowd again (they do love James the landlord) and actually managing to get their DERTy Dance right - shame they peaked a month too late.... Next up, Mabel are looking forward to the Sword Spectacular at the end of May, followed by the excellent Kirtlington Lamb Ale early in June. Then they are dancing at the Wallingford Bunkfest in September - a local festival of folk, steam and beer - right up their street! September also sees them dancing at the Burton Beer Festival with their friends, Ryknild, and a tour of Preston is projected for October. Then, of course, on 5th December there is Mabel Day V....
All this, plus as many evening tours as they can fit in and as much cake and gin as they can manage.... Hic!
North British in Belgium....
Brian Tasker reports that North British are just back from a successful Easter tour of Belgium. “We danced in Tongeren, Hasselt and Liège.” We can't work out what Graeme Taylor is doing in the picture. The NUT invites alternative captions.
Hanley's DERT Trivia 1....
Alcohol... Late on Friday night, the barman reported that he'd sold all the beer – and he meant all the beer he'd got for I the weekend! After what can only be described as a full and I frank discussion he promised to get some more in.
Which he did. Over the weekend we drank twenty gallons of scrumpy cider and ninety-nine gallons of beer. Oh, and two and a half pints of lager for Andy Smith.
What Tradition??
Quote from my 81 year old sister-in-law, enquiring as to where we had been dancing last weekend, “They didn't used to have the kind of dancing you do when I was young!” Ed
Hanley's DERT Trivia 2....
Most frequently asked question – “Veni, Vidi, Saltavi” means “I came, I saw, I danced.”
Another one bites the dust
The NUT is sad to learn that Clydeside have folded. The team that organised the most enjoyable DERT 2003 in Glasgow have recently locked their swords for the last time. Member Torsten Stein commented, “Yes it's a real shame but it was unavoidable. We suffered too many losses of really good dancers over recent years. We'll certainly still hang round the rapper scene, so all is not lost...
“...The highlight for us had to be DERT 2003, although it was also the beginning of the end.”
DERT Marketing....
A few T-shirts are still available (£10 from martinhanley@tiscali.co.uk), and videos too - also £10 (to be delivered soon).
If you want a program or a rosette send a stamped SAE to DERT 2004, 1 Pond Cottages, Faulkland, Somerset BA3 5XB. And finally, if you have any decent photos from the weekend, Martin would dearly love a copy of them.
Dutch Courage
Mersey Morris are to visit Utrecht on the weekend of June 18th - 20th. They have promised to perform their rapper dance as well as other traditions.