Colne Valley Morris dancers Slubbing Billy’s have reached their 40th anniversary and are celebrating with a Ceilidh.
They started with eight dancers and a musician with some of the original members coming from Morris dancers Marsden Pride based in the Colne Valley.
The Slubbing Billy’s name is taken from an 18th-century textile machine used to draw out and put a slight twist into carded wool or cotton to prepare it for final spinning.
Slubbing Billy’s dance the north west of England tradition of Morris dancing which originated in the region’s textile mills during and after the industrial revolution.
They wear clogs – the Sunday best type as opposed to working – mostly with irons attached to the wooden soles. The costumes are made from woollen cloth which was woven and dyed locally.
Alex Bywaters from the Slubbing Billy’s said: “This tradition has been going for nigh on 200 years. In keeping it alive we educate and inform others of the way folk lived and celebrated life through the dances, the tunes, songs and by keeping clogmakers and the textile industry busy.’’
One of the founder members, Andrew Sellens, still dances, teaches dance and plays Melodian.
The Slubbing Billy’s peaked at nearly 50 members in the late 1990s and early 2000s but now has around a dozen, so more dancers and musicians are always welcome.
They practice on Tuesday nights throughout the year at Slaithwaite Community Centre from 8pm to 10pm, followed by a visit to the pub.
Slubbing Billy’s perform at folk festivals such as Otley and Beverley, Days of Dance organised by the Morris Federation, Sowerby Bridge Rush and local events and have been overseas in France, the Netherlands and Holland.
Their next performance will be at the Slaithwaite Christmas lights switch-on which takes place on Saturday November 28.
The Ceilidh will be on Saturday, October 10 at Slaithwaite Community Centre from 8pm to 10.30pm. People need to bring their own drink and food.
Tickets are only £5 by texting or messaging via WhatsApp on 07947 194731.
Anyone interested in joining the Slubbing Billy’s should email bagmanbilly@gmail.com
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content, copywriting and ghost-writing autobiographies.
