‘Sparks fly’ as Saddleworth Morris prepares to dance for Rushcart

MORRIS Men and Women are ready to pull on their clogs and dance their way across Saddleworth.

With one more sleep until the biggest event in their calendar – Rushcart – excitement is building in villages as hundreds of people will descend on the area to experience the ancient tradition.

Thanks to Saddleworth Morris, the tradition of morris dancing was revived in the area back in the 1970s.

And once one little lad sat at the kerbside in Delph and witnessed the magic of morris, there was no looking back.

David Biggs, Saddleworth Morris squire, was that nine-year-old who had been dragged to Rushcart by his parents who were fans of everything ‘folky.’

He was not interested in folk tradition or even morris dancing, but something changed that day…

He told Saddleworth Independent: “I saw a chap in clogs and he slipped in the road, causing his shoes to spark. I didn’t know they were clogs, I just wanted a pair of shoes that sparked.”

That was it! David ‘mithered’ his mum for months for a pair of matching shoes – he wanted to spark round the streets of Oldham!

He added: “Saddleworth Morris started a boys’ team and put an advert in the local paper. My Mum read it out to me and said ‘Do you fancy doing that?’

“I said, ‘not really,’ but she replied, ‘but you could get some of those shoes.’”

David attended his first meeting at Uppermill’s Cross Keys pub on a very cold Sunday morning in 1981 – his mum leaving him with a group of strangers, which was the norm back in the day, as he was talked through the basics of morris dancing.

He added: “I joined the boys’ team and stayed there until I was allowed to progress to the men’s team at the age of 15, where I danced for my waistcoat.”

But what is a squire in a morris dancing side?

Most teams have a foreman and squire to lead the group. Paul Hankinson is the current foreman after joining Saddleworth Morris at the age of eight and taking over from David, who had been foreman for 18 years.

The squire is the boss – the one that gets to interact with the crowd, introduce the dances and crack the odd bad joke. If anything needs a final decision, it will fall to the squire to make it. However, Saddleworth Morris is a democratic group.

But this is a special year for them as members continue to celebrate 50 years since its inception.

Saddleworth’s first dance in 1974 was the Upton on Severn stick dance of the ‘Border’ tradition, but in clogs.

David did not envisage being here so many years down the line but appreciates many people think Saddleworth Morris will just ‘always’ exist.

He said: “You just think it’s always going to be here. I have been doing this most of my life. I don’t understand a time without it.

“We are quite a big group, not as big as we used to be. Rushcart is our do – everybody who has a Saddleworth waistcoat will be out.

“Other teams will travel so will be smaller in numbers. The door is open for new members. Saddleworth Morris meets every Thursday at the Church Inn in Uppermill from 8pm. We are always looking for new people and need new people to keep this tradition going.”

Saddleworth Rushcart takes place Saturday and Sunday, August 24 and 25, starting at 10am in Uppermill. For more details visit: www.facebook.com/saddleworth.morris.