The annual Milford & Makeney May Day celebrations took place on Saturday 13th May and, as ever, proved to be a highly entertaining day for the villages. Although cool to start with, the weather soon brightened into a glorious day.
The festivities began, as usual, at The Holly Bush in Makeney at 11.30am , with dances by T’Owd Man Morris from Wirksworth, dancing from our own Maids of The Mill, school children dancing round the Maypole and the Fire Eater performance, then having a procession down to The Elephant & Peacock where the performances were repeated, before moving on to Milford School in time for the start of The May Fayre at 3pm.
The Maids of the Mill’s theme this year was cocktails and they gave elaborate and entertaining performances at both venues, suitably dressed, as can be seen from their routine at The Elephant and Peacock, below, accompanied by Milford melodion player Alan Squires.
T’Owd Man Morris, accompanied by their musicians, gave lively performances at The Holly Bush and The Elephant Peacock, seen below.
The Maypole was decorated with flowers from local gardens and hedgerows, and looked particularly pretty this year, as this view from the top shows.
The children enjoyed dancing round it as usual, as can be seen from the dances at The Holly Bush, Elephant & Peacock and Milford School, shown below.
The Fire Eater from last year returned, seen here doing his thing at The Holly Bush.
Once again, with permission from Amber Valley Borough Council, we closed Makeney Lane from Holly Bush Road to the A6 while the procession went through, allowing a much safer and more pleasant passage. The Maypole was carried, as usual, by Jake Everett, and the T’Owd Man Morris continued dancing.
A welcome addition this year was the beautiful new banner for the parade, which was created by the Milford Craft Group, and is seen in close up below.
This years theme was Art, and this, as ever, gave a chance for people to dress up…
The children of Milford School prepared a well dressing, seen below.
Finally, to end the day, the traditional ceilidh took place at Nealies 7.30 – 10.30. This year was a sell-out, and included the Maids of The Mill giving an encore of their Cocktail dance from earlier in the day. The funds raised at the ceilidh have been donated to the May Day committee and will allow us to pay for the running (insurance, road closures, Morris troupes etc) of future May Days.
For a write up and photos from last years’ festivities, see the article here and for photos from May Day events going further back into the past see here.
