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In 1997 and 1998 Eynsham morris paid two visits to The Globe in London. This account and the pictures are by Steve Douglas.
In "The Life of Henry The Fifth" Lewis the Dauphin implied that the French should not be overly concerned about the English invasion which had assembled upon their shores, stating despisingly that they should fear the situation no more than if they had heard that England were busied with a Whitsun Morris Dance.
And so it came to be that, on a rainy Sunday in July 1997, Eynsham Morris went to dance at the opening of the Globe.
It is a tribute to the continued work of so many people that this project was ever completed at all. Many people from all over the world contributed money, and others gave their time and expertise. For them. it is the realisation of a dream.
Efforts like this only come to completion because everybody does what they can, and we are happy to contribute in whatever way we are able.
The day turned out to be the wettest day I have ever seen but, like Henry's soldiers at Agincourt, and the present-day builders of the Globe, we did not give up. After all, as a Frenchman once said to me "If the English stopped doing things because it was raining, they'd never get anything done at all".
On Midsummer Sunday 1998 we made our second visit to the new Globe Theatre in London.
The previous year's trip was a great success and we were pleased to be associated with the ongoing success of this project.
There were three main parts to this year's trip, two sets of dancing at the Midsummer Fair on Bankside, our spot at the theatre (where serious dancing gets done) and the traditional get-together at the local hostelry afterwards (where serious drinking and wassailing gets done).
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