WHEN Ducklington Morris Dancers held their first taster session in a year, they did not get as much interest as they had hoped.

After publicising the session in the Oxford Mail, on local radio and in the village for weeks, just one man turned up, and he didn’t want to dance – just watch.

But the eight dancers still jangled their bells and waved their hankies with as much enthusiasm as ever.

Ducklington Morris is a unique tradition, different from all other Morris sides.

It was revived 30 years ago by a group of villagers who found a collection of “Ducklington dances” in the famous Black Book of traditional English dances compiled by Lionel Bacon.

For years the side thrived, competing for glory alongside long-established sides like Eynsham and Bampton, but in recent years numbers have dwindled.

Dancer Richard Ford, of Cogges, Witney, said: “Some of our members were the original group who revived it and are getting a bit long in the tooth.

“We need some young blood.”

“But age is not the only problem – the youngest members are in their 20s. We just need more of them.”

The group currently has just eight members – ten if it calls on two past members who remember some of the dances.

They would ideally like more than ten to give it more flexibility.

Mr Ford, 64, joined five years ago after retiring as a primary school teacher.

He said he wanted to help preserve the village’s unique tradition, but also just wanted to keep having fun with the side.

He said: “We feel it is a village tradition and it is worth keeping because it is distinctive, but we also have good fun doing it and we would be sorry if it had to stop.”

Ducklington Morris is from the Cotswold Morris tradition, meaning the dancers wear white.

But it differs from other village styles in being much slower and more methodical.

Mr Ford said: “There is border morris, where the dancers black or white up their faces or wear masks, and they dance very energetically, but it doesn’t have the subtleties of Cotswold Morris.”

Ducklington also wave hankies at one another rather than clacking sticks together, and wear yellow and purple ribbons on their grey top hats.

The side dances regularly at Cogges Manor Farm and hosts an “ale” – a day of dancing, drinking and feasting in the village each November.

Mr Ford added: “It is open to anyone so long as you’re reasonably fit, and it’s a good way to stay fit.”

You can go along to the group’s Tuesday night rehearsals at Ducklington Village Hall from 8pm.

* To find out more, call Mr Ford on 01993 700482.