Great News,

the Nutters are back!

yes you read it here first, the Britannia Coconut Dancers or Nutters are back, the troupe of Lancastrian clog dancers perform every Easter in Bacup, dancing 7 miles (11 km) across the town on Easter Saturday, are back and starting to practise for next year, all photographs from the Nutters web site,

now that covid rules are being relaxed the dancing will start again, and as mentioned, practise has already started at the Bacup Cricket Club and the The Buff Club - Waterfoot, keep up the good work!

 I first mentioned them back in September 2013, and it is great to see that they are still going strong,

and even better than before, there is a range of merchandise like this, born and brewed in Bacup an all grain brew using a blend of natural ingredients including: Barley Malts, Wheat, three varieties of English Hops along with Premium Nottingham Ale Yeast, and yes I have ordered some, and a couple of mugs too, not forgetting a couple of tea towels, 

in case you have not watched them, here they are in action, as for the history of the dance, some say the custom was brought to the area by Moors who settled in Cornwall in the 17th century, became miners and then moved to work in quarries in Lancashire, this troupe was formed as the Tunstead Mill Nutters in 1857 when it was one of a group of five which performed in the Rossendale valley. According to the Burnley Gazette, a man named Abraham Spencer (1842–1918) was one of the founders back in 1857, there is an even more detailed history here pages 7 - 31, for myself it is so great to see British traditions being kept alive and kicking!