SCARBOROUGH 2002

This year, the Mockbeggar Morris side was one of twenty-three Morris sides invited to participate in the Scarborough Fayre Morris Dance Festival, held in Scarborough and the surrounding area between the 7-9th June.

The Scarborough Morris Festival began in 1987 as part of an attempt to revive Scarborough Fayre. The festival is now an established event in the town's calendar. It is organised by Yorkshire Coast Morris, who act as guides over the weekend for the many visiting teams.

The different Morris sides were split into groups and sent off to various locations in the Scarborough area to dance. On Saturday, Mockbeggar Morris were luckily enough to be placed in the group dancing in Goathland, the village where Heartbeat is filmed. The team arrived in Goathland by the local steam train along the North Yorkshire Moor Railway and danced outside the local post office and Scripp's garage (opposite the Adensfield arms).

The return journey to Scarborough was an adventure only to be rivalled by Virgin Trains: first the train was late arriving and then broke down! This didn't bother the Morris dancers who took the opportunity to dance on the station's platform and in the aisle of the carriages to entertain the delayed passengers. Unfortunately, due to the delay of the train, the Morris sides which danced in Goathland missed the street party and food. But the sides didn't go hungry thanks to the organisers who arranged for the left over food to be transported to the campsite where the Morris teams waited. The day was rounded of by an energetic ceilidh at the Spa Ocean room and a demo by 'The Sheffield Giants' (www.sheffieldgiants.f9.co.uk). The ceilidh band was 'All Blacked Up' and the caller Baz Parkes.

On Sunday the dancing was centred in the town of Scarborough. Mockbeggar danced along with some other teams on the promenade and then joined the grand procession at midday in the pouring rain. The possession started at the lifeboat station and ended at the Spa Complex with dancing on the sand. Despite the weather and the misfortune of the broken down train, the weekend was very well organised and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The next Scarborough Morris festival is on the 27th-29th June 2003. Hopefully Mockbeggar will be invited back.