This year the Trust held three Afternoons of Music, Song and Dance:
Garboldisham – Sunday 23rd March 2025
Wortwell – Sunday 15th June 2025
Coddenham – Sunday 12th October 2025
The afternoons were well attended and full of East Anglian tunes and dances and of course, lots of jig dolls! Huge thanks to all the brilliant volunteers who helped make these events a success!
Photos from the Coddenham event, by Eammon Andrews
Garboldisham – Sunday 23rd March 2025
Wortwell – Sunday 15th June 2025
Coddenham – Sunday 12th October 2025
This year we held three Afternoons of Music, Song and Dance, at Garbolisham, Wortwell and Coddenham. To read our full report on these events, click HERE.
Sunday 27th July 2025
The trust had a great time on 27th July at The Compasses in Littley Green for Stepdance day. We enjoyed seeing lots of new faces and old ones at these workshops. Read the full report of the day HERE.
21, 22, 23rd August 2025
This year the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust had a big presence at Folk East, where we were running lots of free drop-in workshops and activities. Read the report HERE.
5, 6, 7th September 2025
We were delighted to be at Bungay Folk Festival this year! Read the report HERE.
Saturday 27th September 2025
Traditional Music Day 2025 marked 25 years of The East Anglian Traditional Music Trust, and we celebrated with music, dance, sessions, talks, films, workshops and more across Stowmarket town centre. Read the full report by Alan Bearman HERE.
Thursday 9th October 2025
Overlooking the beach on Southwold’s East Cliff the Sailors’ Reading Room was the ideal setting for Katie Howson’s presentation celebrating the publication of the 2024 revised edition of Blyth Voices – Folk Songs collected in Southwold by Ralph Vaughan Williams and George Butterworth in 1910. Read the report by Eammon Andrews on this event HERE.
Sunday 9th November 2025
Our annual Step dance and Jig Doll afternoon at Wingfield Barns was a brilliant day of dancing, music, tuition and talks. Read the report by Eammon Andrews HERE.
Sunday 9th November 2025, Wingfield Barns, Wingfield, Suffolk
Left photo – Dom Smith on the stepping board, Lindsay Want playing melodeon
Right photo – the DVD cover for Neil Lanham’s film – Kenny Hambling arriving from Hoxne
About 70 people came along for this varied and informal afternoon of participation and entertainment. Wingfield Barns last hosted an EATMT event in 2024 with “More than Melodeons” and we were very pleased to be offered this attractive rural venue free of charge on this occasion.
Neil Lanham’s film “The Last of Old England”, although filmed as recently as 2013 really does seem to tell a tale of times past. Sadly, several of the local characters featured, regulars at Worlingworth Swan Sunday afternoon get togethers, have since gone too, including Percy West, James Abbott, Dusty Smith, Billy Heffer and Kenny Hambling, all of whom had regularly attended EATMT’s Stepdance Days when held at this very pub.
It was nevertheless great to have Doreen West O’Connor, Dom Smith and Robert Hunt, all featured in the film, join us at Wingfield.
15 to 20 participants came “on board” for Ethan Beal’s step dancing instructional session, some with experience and others completely new to it. There was then good opportunity for everyone to “have a step” in an informal session in the foyer, and also to have a go with jig dolls. Thanks are due to Ethan; to Andrew Collins and Chris Holderness for leading the local traditional tunes in the foyer, to Lindsay Want for leading the music for stepping in the instructional session, and to Kate Batchelor for bringing along some jig dolls and chatting with anyone interested in making or buying one, and for demonstrating how they’re made and used. Special mention for Debbie Sanger who travelled up from her home in Devon specially for the day. Debbie is a keen step dancer and is on the management team at the annual Dartmoor Folk Festival which is very well worth visiting, and where you could expect to see the particular Dartmoor style of step dancing.
Special Guest Terry Summers had travelled up from his home in Hertfordshire to tell us by way of an illustrated talk about his colourful and multi-faceted life in folk music and dance, plus his model making and his love of mechanical dolls. He brought along some of his collection including “John Willy” and “Happy Fanny” and also the two Mr. Jollyboy jig dolls he has owned for many years. Belying his modest delivery, it soon becomes clear that Terry was an excellent dancer, a hobby he enjoyed for several decades, having been instrumental in setting up folk dance groups in Sussex and London, and taking part in display teams at numerous EFDSS events. He is also an accomplished musician and played for many years in dance bands. One of his slides showed his band The Ranchers, who were contemporaries of The Yetties and The Spinners, in a procession at the Sidmouth Folk Festival back in the 1970s. At 91 he has more or less retired. It was an honour for EATMT to have Terry as guest for what was to be his final public presentation. Many thanks are due to Terry and to Terry’s son Jeremy who helped with the technical set up.
Photo – Terry Summers with dolls, books and items from his collection
An Appeal on behalf of Terry please. Terry lost touch with his first dance partner Jennifer, pictured above, some years ago. He believes she moved to East Anglia, married name Jennifer Baylis or Bayliss, and would like to trace her if possible. Replies in confidence please by email to jannine@eatmt.org.uk or to eammonandrews@gmail.com
For anyone interested in jig dolls and their history “The Brightest of Entertainers” written by Katie Howson and Pat Pickles is available direct from EATMT, £10.00 plus postage and packing. It was great to have other jig doll makers along to the event including Julian Rowe and Peter Cousins.
Unpainted new jig dolls are also available to purchase from EATMT. For anyone interested in having a new and “ready to dance” jig doll to their own design these can be ordered and purchased from Kate Batchelor. www.kate-batchelor.co.uk
Doreen West O’Connor and Ethan Beal
Erica and her friend, and Judy, behind the very popular café bar
Kate Batchelor, Artist and Jig Doll maker
Lindsay Want, EATMT’s jig dolls, and Julian Rowe, jig doll maker and enthusiast
This year the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust had a big presence at Folk East, where we were running lots of free drop-in workshops and activities.
Across the weekend we had Jig Doll and Have-a-Go Dulcimer workshops with George Monger, a Traditional Song and Craft Workshops with Bec Jenning and Lynn Whitehead, Stepdance workshops with Ethan Beal and Lindsey Want, a Field Recording workshop with Jake Lee-Savage, and C-Melodeons workshop with Conor Smith.
We also ran the Sam Larner Hour – a song session at the Hop Inn, with Eammon Andrews as MC, and our annual Stepdance Competition led by Fiona Davies, Ethan Beal and Lindsey Want.
As always, Folk East was a fantastic weekend, with music by Kathryn Tickell & The Darkening, Penguin Cafe, The Longest Johns, Sheelanagig, The Rheingans Sisters and so much more!
Huge thanks to our team of amazing volunteers for manning the stall and running workshops over the weekend: Bec and Genevieve Jennings, George Monger, Ethan Beal, Lindsey Want, Jake Lee-Savage, Conor Smith, Eammon Andrews, Fiona Davies and of course Herbert, Bean and Jig!
Thanks to Folk East and the team for having us and we are looking forward to being back at next years festival on the 21, 22, 23rd August 2026 at the Sotterley Estate!
We were delighted to be back at Bungay Folk Festival this year. On Friday and Saturday, Jannine was based at the Fisher Theatre, with information about the EATMT, our upcoming events and selling jig dolls, books and Traditional Music Day 2025 tickets. You might have also spotted her dancing in the town with Rumbrugh Morris!
This year, we also ran some Melodeon workshops with the fantastic Jill Parsons on Saturday and Sunday – both of which were fully booked! Huge thanks to Jill for these.
On Sunday, we had a stall at the Folk Picnic, with a a good view of the stage. While we were promoting the Trust and our upcoming events, we enjoyed music and dancing from the King Driscolls, Kemps Men, Rattlebox and Bungay Primary School! Huge thanks to Jan Robinson, Ivan Cutting and Jake Lee-Savage for helping run the stall.