Welcome to the home page of the Rombalds Mummers. Who were formed to provide a do it yourself Street entertainment for the Burly in Wharfedale Folk Day. At this point in time I was not too sure what a Mummer was. But turning up for rehearsal that first day. I was immediately cast as the back end of the three man Dragon.

This was the nineteen seventies and middle of the now Politically Correct three person Dragon had still to be cast by our artistic director Liz Bowen*.  I had  gone along for the crack however this was not the kind of crack I had gone along for. But before you could sing that well know song "Through the Hole in the Elephants  Bottom" stardom reared its ugly head.

The play had been adapted from a Traditional Pace Egging Play from Kirby Longsdale by Addingham's, resident poet, the late Shawn Mansley.  Shawn, who was not the most reliable of men, failed to turn up for any of the rehearsals.  So our director Liz  decided that I should play St George as I had been rehearsing this roll in Shawn's absence.

In the Pace Egging Play's adaptation Shawn had brought this play up to date. It now in fact  before its time dealing with the issues that we are suffering the consequences of today.  I tried to portray St George as a wimpish coward fighting first the Turkish Knight who is the son of the Oil sheikh who also works for the Dragon.

The Dragon who was at first named Whinscale after the then named Nuclear Power Station Sellarfield. It later had to change its name to counter BNF's ploy of  changing the name of its Nuclear Power Plant to make seem safer. This remember is before Chernobyl and the revelations of a management cover up on safety at the Plant. Any one wishing to view the Nuclear Power Station can do so... "By the light of the Morecambe Bay Prawns" **

The Dragon itself was amazing. Built by Steve Jones who, at the time, had his own workshop in Ilkley making sound systems. It was seven feet tall and about twelve feet long. The dragon also had an on board public address system and sound to light eye's. For smoke flour was loaded into the top of its  nose. A pipe system enabled the front person to blow a eight foot plus, depending on the wind factor, cloud of  smoke/flour at St George.

The play was greeted with some acclaim  and became a yearly event performed at the Ilkley Folk Day which had now moved to Ilkley. The Ilkley Folk Day is now sadly missed from the festival list. But who knows maybe one of the children, who were always played a big part in the street events, will revive it for there children's entertainment.

The Rombalds Mummers who I was the longest serving member. Adopted the name of the local giant called Rombald. It was Rombald of Rombalds  Moor who threw The Rocks that are know as the Cow and Calf Rock on Ilkley Moor.

In the early nineteenth century a church rambling group were crossing  the moor when a couple in the party went off on there own. They rejoined the group looking somewhat dishevelled. A member of the choir wrote the now well known song On Ilkley Moore Bar Tat (On Ilkley Moor with out a Hat). The song became so popular that the hymn tune which it used had to be removed from the Hymn Books as it was causing some hilarity when ever it was sung in church.