Morris dancers get together for laughs

Stratford was overrun with merriment last weekend, with visiting and local morris dancers getting together for dancing, drinks and laughs.

"Oh, you can't explain morris dancing!" says a member of the Hawke's Bay side. A side is a Morris dancing term for a group, and several sides had gathered at Colonel Malone's on Saturday when the Stratford Press visited.

Every year, says Aaron Bosch, "squire" of the Taranaki side, Phoenix Morris Dancers, the various sides from around New Zealand meet. The North Island sides normally meet in Taranaki.

This year they're in Stratford and Eltham.

Michael Self, a Taranaki man, is the "gaffer" for the event and he got the group dancing in Colonel Malone's, then out in the street.

Passersby stopped to watch, equally entertained by the music and dancers.