Alvechurch Morris at The Crown
Alvechurch Morris performing outside 'The Crown' inn at Alvechurch.
Shortly after this photograph was taken they broke their staves in a
particularly energetic dance and had to pause for refreshment.
Their blacked faces are traditional for a Border Morris team and date from
the days when farm labourers would dance at pubs for money and beer. They
would rub soot in their faces and wear rags so that they would not be
recognised.
Their Mummers' play at the Crown on New Years' Day is one of the
highlights of the village year. The village team perform the play to the
traditional pattern but always manage to bring in some scurrilous
reference to the events of the past year.
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