Boekka’s 10th Birthday – Memories 2

2015

In 2015 my son moved away from the area to pursue his career. I took over the role as teacher for the Morris dances as well as Teazer dances, but was also needed as a dancer. I was unable to play music at this time, therefore most dances were done with percussion.

Chepstow Wassail 2015

Boekka acquired another ‘Oss rider. As he was the shortest one, Penkevyll did not tower above the other ‘Osses as she had in previous years. The rider was also a founder member of a local Morris team, so I danced with them on a few occasions.

St Pirans Day Redruth 2015

Trewellard Beer Festival

Wreckers Day of Dance

After Wreckers Day of Dance, it was evident that the Morris team was not progressing despite our efforts and I decided to close it down. I tried to keeping it going, however the difficulty of recruiting in Cornwall and maintaining a high standard of performance was not possible. This provided more time to concentrate on Teazer and ‘Oss performances and our involvement with the Morris team.

All Hallows Dark Gathering 2015

At this event I performed with the local Morris team while Cassandra performed with Penkevyll.

2016

2016 was a busier year, as well as performing with Boekka we attended many events with the local Morris team. It seemed to work well as our ‘Oss rider performed in both.

Chepstow Wassail 2016

Fowey 2016

Handfasting Event

Boekka was asked to perform at a Handfasting in Lamorna. Our other rider who lives locally volunteered for this one. The torrential rain outside, meant Penkevyll was well and truly soaked when she arrived for her performance that evening!

St Pirans 2016

Lostfest 2016

All Hallows Dark Gathering 2016

It was a busy summer, Cassandra and although I worked hard with the local Morris team, it did not satisfy me. On our arrival in Boscastle Friday evening for the Dark Gathering, certain incidents confirmed that it was time to leave the Morris team. After a heated discussion between Cassandra and the founder member of the Morris team, he announced that not only was he dismissing her from the team, but in retaliation, he would not ride Penkevyll at this event. Fortunately, another Morris dancer attended who was not performing at the event and kindly offered to stand in.

2017

In 2017 when Cassandra handed on the role of Head Teazer to me, I was then able to concentrate solely on this performance without dividing my energies. Life with Boekka settled into a positive routine and the energies improved immensely.

Chepstow Wassail 2017

Cassandra focused on her drumming and met excellent percussionists who assisted in her development.

St Pirans Day Redruth 2017

While I teased Penkevyll at this event, Cassandra played percussion with a folk band known as Whippletree.

On Beltane 2017 we gave Penkevyll a total change of image, discarding unwanted residue from the past for a new beginning. Penkevyll had a new mane, new dress and her tatters are now Cornish colours of black, white and gold.

Although Cassandra had handed over the Teazer role to me, she could not resist posing for our new image with her ‘trusty’ snapper!

After completing Penkevyll’s new image, my creative juices were flowing, so I purchased a small ‘Obby ‘Oss known as Morvargh the Dark Sea ‘Oss. It is a good idea to own a smaller ‘Oss that I can ride when Penkevyll is unable to appear at an event. The foal is a welcome addition to our team and popular with Boekka fans.

Tintagel Carnival 2017

Boscastle 2017

All Hallows Dark Gathering 2017

Morvargh made her debut at the Dark Gathering 2017 during the afternoon. I rode her with Wreckers Morris during their Song of the Sea dance.

2018

2018 brought a surprising change to Boekka. A younger man contacted us with a desire to join a ‘dark and edgy’ team. We tried him out as rider for Penkevyll and he had good potential. He connected with the spiritual aspect of ‘Oss riding and treats Penkevyll with utmost care and respect. This is extremely important as ‘Osses should not be treated as puppets for one’s convenience and/or ego. This sadly occurs more frequently now as owning an ‘Oss has become a fashionable ‘trend’. I have acquired apprentice Teazers that connect with Penkevyll in their own way. One of them also rides Morvargh on occasions.

Chepstow Wassail 2018

Although Penkevyll’s riders were unavailable for Chepstow, I managed to find a young, tall, muscular Welshman to ride Penkevyll during the afternoon. In the evening, we had the freedom to enjoy the ceremony on the bridge without an ‘Oss to distract us.

We spent the summertime training our new ‘Oss rider and Teazers who made their official debut at the next event.

All Hallows Dark Gathering 2018

Cassandra joined the drummers of wonderful Beltane as she enjoys their wild rhythms which are second to none!

It was wonderful to re-connect with my former Morris team from 20 years ago at this event. It provided the opportunity for me to come ‘full circle’; by performing my final Morris dance with them at the All Hallows Dark Gathering. This event is truly a place ‘between the worlds’ where magical things occur!

2019

2019 had a wonderful start with the Chepstow Wassail as we invited Beorma Morris along to this event. It was fabulous to catch up with friends we had not seen in a while as we missed them after the break up of Wytchwood Morris.

This year the Maris had a Beauty Pageant where Boekka were interviewed. There were 33 Maris and ‘Osses, so we were waiting backstage for quite a while before our turn arrived.

My apprentice Teazer and I performed a choreographed dance that I used to perform with my former morris team. We danced on the bridge around Cassandra and Penkevyll.

St Pirans Day Redruth 2019

On St Pirans Day I had work commitments, so I left Penkevyll in the hands of my two Apprentice Teazers and they did a magnificent job!

Tintagel Carnival 2019

Boekka were joined by Mari Arianrhod visiting from Wales for the Carnival procession.

All Hallows Dark Gathering 2019

Morvargh took more of an active role this year, rode by one of our Teazers. I stepped in as co-organiser after the sudden departure of the managers from the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic.

2020

The Chepstow Wassail was unfortunately cancelled this year, so we attended the Brecon Wassail. It is a smaller event; however we were keen to meet up with our Welsh friends who joined us with their Maris. Our Teazers also performed with the Welsh dancers, although the dancing in my opinion was better when we rehearsed the previous evening during our drinking session!

Cassandra’s wonderful 70th Birthday Party occurred in March 2020 with our special guests – the fabulous Beltane Border Morris. After that, the pandemic arrived and it became one of the strangest years we have known as events were cancelled and the world changed beyond recognition! Let us hope we can return to normality as there are many performers missing their music and dance which is an important part of our lives!

So there you have it….10 years of Boekka and what an incredible, eventful journey! I wonder what the next 10 years will bring…… we shall see you soon!!