One of the activities at yesterday’s fete at Drayton St Leonard’s – and an opportunity for the band to take a break – was some Morris Dancing.

It’s a strange old tradition – a collection mainly of older, bearded men dressed up with flower-decked hats and festooned with ribbons, pacing through a collection of folk dances. It seems a ludicrous hobby but I wonder if that is part of the attraction? Perhaps it is all deadly serious but it may also be that, certainly in its modern form, it is a harmless chance for grown-ups (mainly men, although I understand there are mixed sides) to get together and play?

And perhaps the opportunity to play and find a meeting point around a common interest isn’t so silly after all. In truth, plenty of social activities don’t make a lot more sense when you think about them (such as ‘sports fans’ who mainly exercise their eyes watching large screen TVs) and at least the Morris Men don’t appear to take themselves too seriously. Maybe one of these days I’ll give it a go myself although, for now, I’ve got plenty of ways to make a fool of myself without ribbons and bells!