Some famous Cardiff Morris dancers...

It has to be said that Cardiff Morris is currently polarised, composed largely of individuals either in, or certainly approaching, their prime or those in the first flush of youth. With the exception of some of the newer recruits the male majority of the side has achieved the dignity of middle age...

Phil Gibbins	Squire, and has been around a year or two, the evil genius (or was that genial and devious?) behind the topiarist tendency which has so damaged our reputation in the higher echelons of the Urdd Gobaith Cymru this past year or twenty. Known and admired for his ability to address his sixteenth pint of Dark as if it were his fifteenth, which is largely attributable to his unorthodox open-faced stance.
Caroline Bird	Bagman, musician and an 'if you've got it' flautist if ever there was one. Has a healthy respect for the brewer's art, if no real grasp of weights or, more to the point, measures. Caroline completely failed in her attempt to maintain her position as the only female in an all-male side due to a miscalculation of the percentages involved.
Dave Silver	Treasurer, can always be trusted with the cash. Not because there is any and not because if there was he would sit up all night talking to it, but because he is good at it and the rest of us aren't. A stalwart who is known to hate, loathe and detest one bloody dance, while being very keen to dance all the rest as soon as possible. Can always be depended upon to get close to the stumps in his delivery stride.
Thomas Rudman Fletcher	Undoubtedly the oldest (and longest) member. 'Best (or at least noisiest) of Breed' in the "Englishman" category at Sioe Amaethyddol Brenhinol y Sblot every year since the war. Without his ample and consistent presence since 1972, we should undoubtedly have been unable to obtain sufficient good ball from the lineout.
Alun Roach	Known as "The Musician", has rarely allowed effete optimism to dilute his natural ebullience or cloud his eye for detail. Our best (and, some would argue, only) musician in recent years, he has been known to have his own opinion. There are those of us who remember him in the first flush of youth in those far-off days of 1974 when we wore our hair long and our breeches flared, who would say he hasn't changed a bit.
George Sawicki	The only Sawicki in his immediate family (the others are all female), here we have the Euromorrisman par excellence. Much-travelled George can claim a pied à terre in most european cultures. His mellifluous and urbane tones can usually just be made out crashing through the traditional end-of-tour beer haze. Current holder of the CM low-jump record, set at a height, previously assumed unattainable, of 20mm in an inspired spell at the Butchers Arms, Rhiwbina.
Bob Williams	Father of The Twins and dancer of Bledington; would drink Bledington were it potable and is firmly of the opinion that Bledington would make a better First Secretary than Rhodri Morgan. A subscriber to the 'flash bastard' school of Morris interpretation; which, curiously enough, has never threatened his standing as one of our most accomplished dancers.
Nigel Davies	Freeman of the Borough of Haverfordwest and 2 down with three matches to go in his struggle to curb his sheep-driving tendencies. Came to us from the wilder excesses of Oyster Morris and feeling a lot better now. His recovery is evidenced by the fact that it is over five years since we have had to call for a step ladder to bring him down after knee failure in mid-caper.
Paul Hodges	A fine dancer and abstemious to the point of abjuration of all spiritous liquors below, say, 5% abv. A brave upstandin' sort of fellow when he's upright, who said he'd tried sober, but it made his chips taste funny. Utterly trustworthy, although he would queue up to deny it. It is rumoured that he invented the now universally accepted CM 'first in last out' principle for dealing with licensed premises.
Mike Angove	The only member of the side not likely to assume that 6 Highland Marys is some sort of penance. We all gaze in awed wonder at his dazzling efficiency and even old men are heard to murmur that CM's long search for the one true treasurer is surely over. The Capuccino Kid is famous for being able to turn on a sixpence (€0.04) and if he can ever work out how to do that without a Volvo XC90 strapped to his arse, we've cracked the Nantgarw heys.
Darran Thomas	Mature beyond his ears (ie. he's just as daft as someone twice his age (eg. some current members of the side)), Darran carries the credentials of the Ponty Lodge of the Justified and Ancient Valley Commando. His chief contribution to CM mythology is the 'beer free day' and my advice is to stay in bed when that one dawns. "And I set before the House of the Rechabites pots full of beer" (Jeremiah 35:5-6)
Jim Bartlett	Has a multiple personality problem, so we'd have stuck him in the dragon only some barmy sod calling himself Idris got there first. He has so many talents that the only thing you can be sure of is that if he's concentrating on one, we're spared all the others for a while at least. Has a larger reputation than can safely precede a gentleman, but undoubtedly the very model of an Englishman abroad. Claims to have gone native, but we're not entirely sure that time spent after hours in the New Inn at Glynogwr can be held to contribute to residency qualifications. This boy needs help.
Mike Greenwood	It's rumoured that Mike only dances with CM when he needs a rest from all his other duties as one of the Principality's foremost dance-oriented box squeezers. Perhaps he just does it to let off steam...
Paul Gallagher	".... I am able to hold my end out, without assistance like any other dancer after drinking copious amounts of beer, I eat as much curry as anyone else at the ale without being more ill than anyone else, I have been known to follow in Bob's footsteps and shoot off anywhere at any time during a dance and lastly my snoring and flatulence can be second to none, I know you will vouch for this. I have other endearing qualities which would take me too long to list now ...."
Phil Edwards	Musician, and a multi-instrumentalist (current CM euphemism for someone who also plays bagpipes), who was recently awarded the Eddie Connolly Prize for Wry Observation by the Guild of Morris Writers. The doyen of Groeswen café society, Phil has only been a member since about 2005, but no-one really believes that.
Tom Goodale	Has as many arms and legs as Bob Williams and means to prove it. Achieved the highest possible marks among the recent intake for facial hair and general maleness; a rare accomplishment in these millenial times. Tom seems happiest having just successfully hacked his way through a dance he swears he's never even heard of.
Tamar Williams	This is what continuity in the age-old business of Morris Dancing looks like. Bridging the twin chasms of age and gender, we gladly hail the fact that the style and general athleticism of one of our most distinctive dancers will not be lost to future generations. Canwres arbennig iawn.
Morwen Williams	Mad keen on all the dances in the Cardiff repertoire except the ones she hates. Especially keen on anything with lots of sticks in it. Bucks the family trend by generally doing exactly what she's asked to, at least in the dance. To hear her sing (canwres arbennig iawn hefyd), you'd never think she was a dancer.
Peter Weston	Foreman, has managed to remain anonymous thus far partly because it's his nature and partly because I'm writing this. A living reproof to the orthodox view that it's impossible to be an understanding, sensitive bastard and Foreman. Has recently presided over the most radical alterations in the CM repertoire, on all sorts of pretexts; but chiefly, it is rumoured, because dwarfs can't leapfrog. Likes a drop of Batham's, but wholly incapable of recognising such a small quantity.

Pete Weston

© Cardiff Morris 2006