The Crooked Spire

A Memory of Ermington.

It's not just the church at Ermington which has a crooked spire.The village has a traditional village inn called 'The Crooked Spire'. It's not particularly pretty to look at from the outside as there is just a narrow pavement separating the front door from the many cars parked in the village square. However, this was the venue chosen by The Plymouth Maids, a side of attractive clog morris dancers who know how to liven up a sleepy village with music and dancing. It was a Wednesday evening in July, and they invited friends from Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers to join them ouside the Crooked Spire Inn for a couple of hours of traditional village entertainment. Sadly, the typical English weather arrived and a heavy shower forced all the dancers inside the inn! What a transformation as we discovered a fairly ordinary looking pub was in fact very jolly and welcoming inside. The musicians from both Plymouth Maids and Heather and Gorse joined together to play a selection of jigs and polkas on their accordians and melodeons, and the small number of villagers who had been watching the dancing outside also crowded in. The landlord joined in the friendly atmosphere by providing some trays of sandwiches and freshly cooked hot chips to revive our soaked and chilly dancers!

As it grew darker the rain eased off and we managed to go outside for just a final couple of dances to live music provided by the sides' two bands. We even managed to persuade some of the villagers to join in! I took my own photo of the village church looking up at the same crooked spire shown in this view.