venta | Entries tagged with mabel gubbins

OK. Technically this is day 15 in the ongoing saga, but hopefully it's a bit more like a regular update and rather less like me relentlessly documenting life without ligaments :) (Instead, I shall relentlessly waffle on about rapper.)

( DERT practice )

Current Music: Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History

So, yes. Last weekend was DERT, and I took myself of to Bristol to compete, drink beer and catch up with friends. Disappointingly, by the time I arrived at the main venue some other blighters had drunk all the beer, but I managed to do some catching up.

( The Competition )

( The Rubber Hand Incident )

( Pictures )

What with all the organising, planning and general cat-herdery of getting two rapper teams to Brussels (and back without mishap or arrest) last weekend, DERT has somewhat crept up on me this year. For those who haven't been listening to me bang on for years, DERT is the annual competition for the kind of sword dancing (rapper) that I do.

DERT 2015is in Bristol, and Mabel Gubbinsare back in their spiritual home of the Championship League.

We're a bit under-rehearsed. If last night is anything to go by, at least some of us will be a bit hungover. We are (it turns out) almost old enough to compete a veterans.

But never mind... Wish us luck!

Life isn't half getting in the way of this LJing lark. In summary, I have been to Belgium with Mabel Gubbins and North British Sword, and had a jolly nice time. As noted before, the Belgian public is extremely polite and will form an appreciative circle the moment you break out the swords and give notice that you are going to do A Thing.

Sorry, not swords, but "Morris dancing staves". This, after much thought, is what we call our sprung-steel weapons whenever we take them through security. The idea is to make them sound so fantastically boring that no one could possibly want to ask about them, for fear we might tell them.

Anyway, in easily digestible form:

( Opinions of Brussels )

Good morning, the internet. Does anyone know anything about Brussels?

My dance team are organising a trip for ourselves and another team there next Easter (location chosen mostly for presence of Belgian beer, and ability to get there on the train).

Right now we're at the planning stage, and looking for things to do, things to see and places to dance for a group of ~30 people. Also a (cheap) place to stay, and places to eat. I'm sure the internet, and the research trip Sally and I are planning, will turn up plenty, but if you have any special recommendations, I'd love hear them!

Those of you who have seen my rapper team's Facebook updates will already know the punchline to this story: we had to pull out of the competition at the weekend.

( Some bad news )

( So we went to spectate, instead )

( And I had a lovely Sunday lunch )

Current Music: Reverend and the Makers - The State of Things

Long-term readers will know that around this time of year DERT happens. DERT - the Dancing England Rapper Tournament - is the annual competition for the style of folk dancing that I do. This year it's in Leeds.

This year it is also an unexpectedly big deal for Mabel Gubbins. Firstly, we're in Premier.

( Aaaargh! )

Secondly, as of this moment there are no takers to run DERT next year.

( Aaaargh! )

Anyway, if you're in or around the Leeds area, there will a range of opportunities for watching sword dancing in pubs a week on Saturday. You can watch the finest teams in the land, nay, the world! Or, of course, you could watch us (but only if you cheer violently and help increase our buzz score).

Which also brings me to my other question: I shall be free of swords and other such things by Sunday lunchtime, does anyone Leeds-based fancy meeting up for a pub lunch, beer, coffee, or other social engagement?

strange_complex,

maviscruet,

nalsa, any others?

Last weekend saw me, with Mabel Gubbins, at the annual Lamb Ale held by Kirtlington Morris. As events go, it's rubbish for a rapper team. There are two pubs in the village, neither of which will let us inside to dance, so we do a lot of scuffing about on concrete. However! It's a grand social occasion, we get to see lots of other teams and generally hang out and eat lots of nice food.

( Carrying on in Kirtlington )

Current Music: Public Service Broadcasting - Inform-Educate-Entertain

So, this year Good Friday saw me getting up hideously early and fighting my way through the crowds at Heathrow. I've never flown at Easter before. I think my advice is "don't". Queues. More queues. Queues to join queues. Heathrow had clearly expected an influx, and arranged extra holding pens for grumpy tourists. What they hadn't done was point out to their staff that explanations really help. Just shouting at people "go over there" isn't useful. I want to check in for a Lufthansa flight. Accordingly, I head for the massive Lufthansa check-in sign. If you want me to go the opposite way and walk through a door labelled Cyprus Airlines you really need to tell me that that's actually where the back of the Lufthansa check-in queue is. Cue a lot of quite stressed staff and quite stressed passengers.

Having arrived the recommended two hours before flying, we queued for two and a quarter. Fortunately, it seems the plane was queueing somewhere as well.

( Then it was off to Lower Saxony )

Current Music: The Mountain Goats - Transcendental Youth

Oxfordians! People of Oxford!

Don't forget that tomorrow afternoon is an ideal chance to get your annual dose of sword-dancing in pubs. And cake, if you turn up at the KA around 4pm.

Full details here: http://mabelgubbins.co.uk/mabel13.html

We're expecting ten guest teams this year, so it should be a busy 'un.

Current Music: Ben Folds Five - The Unauthorised Biography of Rheinhold Messner

To the people who keep complaining that I don't tell them when my sword-dance team are dancing: I've now added an RSS feed to the website, which should hopefully keep you updated.

http://www.mabelgubbins.co.uk/rss.xml, or go the site and click the nice orange button.

(And to everyone who says I'm very slack about updating the Mabel diary: no, we really have done next to bugger-all in the past few years!)

Current Music: Kylie - Aphrodite

Just a quick note for those of you who like to keep up with the cut-throat world of competitive sword-dancing: this weekend sees DERT, the national rapper competition, in Newcastle.

Dance teams are marked on various technical matters, and on the elusive "buzz factor" - the rather unquantifiable quantity of being exciting. A recent reading of this year's rules suggests that any team receiving a standing ovation will automatically score full marks for buzz. So if anyone happens to be flapping around Byker with nothing to do tomorrow, feel free to come and stand-up while cheering wildly shortly after we've danced (or, if you're influenced by merit, after someone else has danced).

Careful studying of the world's most confusing timetable (Mabel Gubbins are on tour 7, cycle 2, rotating anti-clockwise[*]), our approximate plan with spuriously accurate timing is:

The Ship (11:37 - 12:13)
Egypt Cottage (13:00 - 13:36)
Eye of the Tyne[**] (14:57 - 15:33)
The Tanners (16:21 - 16:57)
Cumberland Arms (17:44 - 18:20)

There is an evening showcase of all teams in the Artworks gallery, though I believe there's a £5 charge for that.

Oh, and I'm not joking about the cut-throat. Competitive rapper is serious stuff.

[*] I have no idea.
[**] Yes thanks, I am going to be failing to make this scan to the tune of Eye of the Tiger. All day.

Well, Friday night was pencilled in for staring blankly at the wall. However, it was much enlivened by the unexpected arrival of a

davefish and a

keris. Got to catch up with them for a while - especially

keris, it's nice to see her back on the right landmass again - to a background of clanking and cursing as Andy crawled round the floor trying to sort all his tools back into the right boxes.

Saturday morning, I did normal things. I got up, and pottered about doing bits of shopping and that. Like you do on a Saturday morning if you're not me.

Then I went off for ( weekend weirdness in Kirtlington. )

( Designated Hero of the Week )