On Saturday, 10 June the Trachtengruppe Ungstein from Germany danced with the Winster Morris in Bakewell, Youlgeave and Winster, entertaining locals and visitors alike. Ungstein is a suburb of Bad Durkheim in the beautiful wine growing region of Rheinland-Pfalz.
This was the 4th visit by the German dancers following a connection made between the two groups by Richard and Chris Powley of Youlgreave who are members of both dance teams. Many friendships have formed over the years, and the visitors were hosted by households from Winster, Youlgreave, Matlock and Chesterfield.
The Group visited a number of local attractions including Eyam Museum and Church, and Thornbridge Hall gardens. There was also the chance to visit both the Miners Arms at Eyam and The Old Bowling Green at Winster for lunches – and of course some liquid refreshment.
This hosting follows hot on the heels of a visit by Winster residents to their twinned village of Monterubbiano in Italy in May. The Italian village is in Ascoli Piceno a province of the Marche region. It holds an impressive celebration for Pentecost each year with a parade of four village guilds dressed in medieval costume, flag waving and drumming displays and a joust.
The two villages have been twinned since the late 1980s, which again, started with Winster Morris and the Derbyshire County Council twinning programme. This has since broadened with ties of friendship formed over the years between families in both villages. The Italian teams of flag wavers and drummers have visited and performed at many local towns and villages in the past and children have also come to Winster for summer school to improve their English.
In 2023 the Winster Morris Dancers have also participated in a twinning visit as part of Darley Dale’s connection with Onzain in France.
As you can see membership of the group is a great way to meet people from the area and to take part in international connections far over our borders.
Winster Morris has a mixed gender membership and welcomes new members to join them. It’s good exercise in a pleasant social setting. If you are interested in coming along to a practice session to meet the team and try this traditional activity then please contact either Mike Hatfield on 07740 663059, email: hatfieldmike65@ yahoo.com or Richard Powley on 01629 636994, email: richard.powley@make paper.com
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