OBJ Morris - 2026 Scrapbook
OBJ's 30th Birthday Bash
Bearwood Brewing, Wokingham
with Borderline Morris
11 October 2026
Back in the mists of time, a small group of people who had previously
danced North-West Morris together, were enjoying tea and cakes in an
upstairs tea-room during Wimborne Folk Festival. Inspired by the
sights and sounds around us, we conceived the idea of creating a Border
Morris side. The idea was a little optimistic as only a handful of
Border Morris sides existed at that time, reviving the tradition after 30
years of dormancy.
By the time the tea and cakes had been consumed, Colin &
Christine had agreed to take on recruiting and organisation, while Jack
& Jackie would do the teaching, and Doug & Kate would provide the
music. After a few short weeks, our numbers had grown to 11 and we
held our first meeting at Colin & Christine's house. First on
the agenda was a name; we didn't much like "Bracknell Border Morris" and
after a few minutes we chose the abbreviated name of a Brakspears summer
beer "Oh Be Joyful" - thus OBJ Border Morris came into being.
Designing the kit took even less time, as Colin had already created a
mock-up using Powerpoint - see below. Having got the two most
important issues behind us, we then set about making plans for our
first practice, which was on 10th September 1996 in St Michael's school
hall, Easthampstead.
Over the next few months we set about the task of getting the team
going. Dances were learned, and some were abandoned, modified or
replaced. People joined and a few left for various reasons, and our
new team grew to 34 members by 2000. As Jack and Jackie had departed
for pastures new, Colin & Christine inherited the teaching role.
Time marched on, and a few changes happened - we dropped the "Border" from
our name to become just "OBJ Morris". We had a spin-off of a few
people to form a new side "Borderline Morris", who coincidentally were our
guests at our birthday bash. And after a health problem, Colin &
Christine started the process of handing over the management of OBJ to a
committee of committed members.
So here we are, 30 years later, still going strong. Rose and Claudia
felt the occasion should be marked and organised the 30th Birthday Bash,
which was enjoyed by all, including four of the founding members: Colin,
Christine, Pam and Kate. The pictures below come from the 1996
paper-based scrapbook (no web site in those days) and from the 30th
Birthday Bash.
Today's OBJ comprised: Andrew, Andy, Ann, Cameron, Carl, Christine,
Christopher, Claire, Claudia, Colin, Eddie, Eleanor, Hazel, Helen, Jamie,
Joe, Kath, Lawre, Les, Lou, MaryAnn, Peter, Ralph, Rebecca, RichardH,
Rose, Sarah1, Sarah2, Sophia, Sylvia, Tim&H, Tony
Our guests included some past members: Ali, Jane, Jill, Kate, Pam, and
some friends and occasional participants: Andy, Wendy, Rich, Gareth
1996 - The Startup Year
In the first picture, the first members were from left to right:
Jos, Mary, Linda, Doug, Lynn, Kate, Colin, Chris, Pam, Jackie,
with Lee (horizontal) and Jack taking the picture
You can read about them in the 1996 page of the scrapbook
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Back to the 30-year Bash in 2026
The formalities were introduced by Rose (Squire) and Claudia
(Bagman and organiser. Gifts were presented to Colin
& Christine (Founders) and a cake cut by the 4 attending
founder members (Colin, Christine, and guests Pam and Kate)
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11 October 2026
OBJ's 30th Birthday Bash
Bearwood Brewing, Wokingham
The presentation and cake
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We had party games
Tony organised the games - pin-the-bells-on-the-morris-dancer,
pass-the-parcel and a balloon-relay-race
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11 October 2026
OBJ's 30th Birthday Bash
Bearwood Brewing, Wokingham
The Balloon Relay Race
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And of course, there was music and dance
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11 October 2026
OBJ's 30th Birthday Bash
Bearwood Brewing, Wokingham
A pretty large set for Dilwyn
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