An evening of revelry in Sussex!

So what could possibly link this:

to the following seemingly random selection of items?

...why an evening of Morris dancing at the beer festival at Amberley Museum. The museum itself is a fascinating tribute to the industrial history of the South East and has many different vintage machines on display including said traction engine. Some can even be ridden on to get around the site as well a range of  workshops where you can see the craftsmen in action.

Last night, however, was a slightly different affair with a fabulous range of ales, perries and ciders to sample, many from the plethora of local breweries that  we are lucky enough to have around here. I love the inventiveness of some of the names- Hop'o The Morning Stout, Wormcatcher, Betty Stogs, Moondance, Vision in Pink, Bottle Wreck Porter to mention but a few. I would have liked to have tried them all, but I have a confession to make- I love drinking beer, but I am a Morris dancing light weight and at the moment having too much would not do much for my performance! It doesn't take much for me to get distracted and forget what bit of the dance I'm supposed to be doing! However, I looked the part with my tankard except it was filled with Top Dog which tastes fab but is only 1.2% [Mr GBT was driving last night]. After I'd finished I had a pint of Elderflower Perry which was sensational, quite a bit stronger and left me a tad whittled!

The New Rocks are a recent acquisition bought from my dear Morris dancing chum Sam. Lots of the side wear them, but they are surprisingly heavy so I am not quite at that stage yet. I have enough trouble coordinating my feet in time to the music as it is!

Finally, the angry cats? We do a dance called "Foul Mouthed Cat" which finishes up with all of us lining up and hissing, claws out like grumpy moggies!

Arilx