The day was a wet Saturday in August typical for summer fayres. The intrepid Men of Wight and their good Friends the Oyster Girls carried on regardless. Outside the bar with the beer festival in was a lovely canopy which we could dance under. We danced from 11am until 1pm with the lovely smell of burning coal from all the engines on site The public stopped and enjoyed our performances. Sydney the seahorse also put in an appearance.
The side had a booking to perform at the Seaview village fete, so Malcolm thought why not make a day of it. The result was a great tour using Southern Vectis buses - the number 8 route all the way. Newport St Thomas' square, Sandown Pier, Seaview and Ryde sea front. The No 8 route must use every back road possible which makes for a very interesting journey!
The pandemic of the last year could not have come at a worse time for The Men of Wight Morris. The year 2020, was the 50th anniversary of our foundation and the team had big plans for a celebration in June. Much of the year had been spent on the planning of the 2020 programme of events, including our normal “summer” programme which normally comprises about 30 dates.
There are several other Morris and folk-dance sides on the Isle of Wight
There are three ladies sides: The Oyster Girls and The Wight Bells both perform dances in the north-west tradition, while The Island Cloggies perform clog dances mainly from the north-east.
Many of the Men of Wight are married or otherwise related to members of these three sides.