Saturday 9th July 2022

We had a good chat with Sraddabha and Andy before leaving their house today. We travelled north to Manley Village Hall in my home village of Manley to attend an event on the history of the now defunct Manley Morris Dancers which was originally set up by my adopted  mother in the 1930s. 

Soon after we had arrived my cousin Giles turned up on his folding bike having travelled by train from his home in Manchester and cycled from Mouldsworth station which is a mile or so away from the village hall. Here he is chatting to my cousin Colin's step grand daughter Jay.

The event started with Colin, seen here on the right, and another former member of the team playing some of the tunes the Manley Morris danced to on  their concertinas. 

The main man in all this was Derek Schofield who has not only produced a book on the history of the Manley Morris but also put together a film along the same lines. Incidentally the film was funded by a legacy of my mother's to the English Folk Dance and Song Society!  

The film included lots of archive footage of the Morris Team performing.

Over the road opposite the village hall is the Hilary Haworth playing field donated to the village by my grand parents in memory of my aunt who took her own life at a young age.

Ann and Jay and I walked round the playing field where the ashes of several of my ancestors, including my mother, are scattered. I picked up the few bits of litter I could find on the field and put them in a bin.

We stopped for the day at Colin and his wife Monica's house at nearby Kelsall. We invited them into the van for a cup of tea.

Later on Monica and Colin took us out for a very nice meal at a local pub, Here we see Monica writing down the food and drinks order supervised by her friend Jean.

Today we travelled 52 miles (84 kilometres).