Costume and Custom

Most Cotswold Morris Clubs dress  in white trousers or dark breeches, and all wear bells sewn onto pads worn on the shins. Usually, brightly coloured crossed ribbons decorated with rosettes are worn over the white shirt - these ribbons are know as the baldric, and reflect the Club's colours - in the case of Greensleeves, green, red, and black.

Note the green armbands worn by most Greensleeves men. These 'green sleeves' denote a full member of the club, one who has served his apprenticeship and is considered to have reached a sufficiently high standard in his dancing. They are presented by the club's Squire in a ceremony in which the incoming member has to dance a solo jig in front of the rest of the club - a daunting experience requiring much practice beforehand.

Most sides have a character known as the 'fool' who deliberately dresses differently from the other men in the side. We are fortunate to have several such fools. You maybe lucky to see at least one. One wears a white smock and carries a pig's bladder (yes, it is a real one!). Another is dressed in full Cavalier's costume, complete with sword, and a third wears a bowler and a coat of tatters. They are an important link between the dancers and the audience, announcing the performances and belabouring both dancers and watchers alike with his bladder. To clown successfully, the fool needs to be an expert dancer; and he may need to step into the set at a moment's notice.