The Rusty Chronicles: Dancing for the First Time

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Dancing for the First Time

Not me, oh no - I've been doing this for a while - since the summer of 2010 to be precise. But Rusty, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't been out on the Morris before. Perhaps he has and I'm just not aware of it, or perhaps he has and he's seen people in white with bibs and sashes, waving hankies around. That would be Cotswold Morris. We Wreckers don't do that. We do Border Morris - that means wearing tatters (in our case black and Cornish gold) and making a fair old amount of noise.

I don't dance myself (except on very rare occasions when I've been known to join in Much Wenlock), I think I'd be something of a danger to myself and others whacking a hefty stick around when I have no idea whether there's anyone in close proximity on either side - such are the joys of RP and its gradual destruction of my peripheral vision. On the plus side, I get to play guitar and hang around with the fine bunch of people who make up Wreckers Morris.

Here's a small cross section of Wreckers as we were on Saturday just gone in Saltash. We were dancing in the late morning to help raise some funds for the Cornwall Air Ambulance. The side is considerably larger than the number of those present on Saturday; not everyone can make it to every event. Except Wrichard and Max - almost!

This was my first outing with my old Wrecking chums for a while - I've not been all that well over the winter. It felt seriously good to pull on my old tatters jacket again and strum along with the traditional old tunes.

His Rusticleness did very well, only getting a bit excited at the beginning of the event and soon settling down to watch from his accustomed prone position. The only time things got a bit out of hand was when a large labradoodle stopped to watch with his human. Rusty wanted to be friends, but he was on duty so wasn't allowed. The labradoodle's human decided otherwise and let his charge rush up to Rusty which caused a moment or two's mayhem.

We danced and played for a shade and a bit over an hour, raising (I have learnt) a shade and a bit over £60 for this year's chosen charity.

And so, to this posting's magnificently exciting climax. Mrs The MIllbrooker was present to record us motley crew doing what we do. This is the last dance we performed with Rusty paying rapt (ahem) attention to every step. Ladies and germs, I give you a slightly under populated (this dance usually has 8 people in it) and slightly cramped in terms of available dancing space on a Saltash pavement, Sheep Skinners danced to the combined tunes of Jan Mijne Man and Go Mauve.

1 comment:

JudithApril 01, 2014
Well, that looked like fun!
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Some Useful(ish) Tips About Guide Dogs

I gave these "rules" to some of my friends - perhaps they're helpful. I hope so.

Rusty is a working guide dog and not an ordinary pet so there are a few simple rules to follow, some of them might seem odd or difficult - but it's all to keep Rusty working well at his job.

1) If Rusty has his harness on, then he is working - please don't talk to him, catch his eye or have any interaction with him at all - even if he approaches you.

2) Once the harness is off - he's a simply a well trained dog and should behave like one. Most of the time he'll just lie down close to me, but he might decide to say "hello". It's absolutely fine to pet him, tickle behind his ears (he likes that) or anything else you might do with any other dog.

3) EXCEPT! He is not allowed to lick people or do the "shaking paws" or "putting paws up to you". He only knows one negative command which is "NO". If he does try to lick or paw you, please just gently say "no" and replace his paw on the ground or move away from the licking.

4) AND - he is not allowed any food treats of any kind - at all, ever. No matter how much he gives you the "RSPCA eyes" look. He's on a strict diet and gets low fat rewards occasionally from me to encourage or reinforce correct behaviour.

5) I am absolutely aware that I'm just the bloke who hangs around with Rusty and that's he's the star of the show, BUT - he mustn't think that. So please, even if all you say is "rhubarb rhubarb" for two minutes, talk to me without looking at Rusty first. After we've ignored him for a minute or two, providing he's off the harness, fuss him all you like.

6) Last rule! If you're going to leave the room/tent/bar or wherever we find ourselves, please don't make a fuss of Rusty as you leave. It's far more comfortable for him if you just leave without even acknowledging his presence - a bit like the previous rule, but in reverse!