Henry “Harry” Taylor was 68 in 1910. He had led the Longborough morris. The last time that Taylor danced with a side was at the Jubilee of 1887. Cecil Sharp noted his dances with the tunes, which Taylor sang to him; he probably never learnt an instrument.

The first time C. Sharp met Taylor, on 2 May 1910, the latter had gone to Condicote, just over the hill from Longborough, for a “haystack thatching job”. There under the shelter of a haystack, using wisps of hay in lieu of the orthodox handkerchiefs, Mr Sharp and “Old Harry”, as he was called, danced a “Pas de Deux”, the ancient one whistling the tunes, of which, along with the steps, notes were taken and afterwards pieced together. The first dance gone through was Constant Billy, because of its possible relationship to the Campden dance, then Country Gardens (to the tune usually called Highland Mary), Taylor’s favourite tune for the sidestep dance, and on to Hey Diddle Dis, the processional. This story was confirmed by Fred Taylor, Henry’s son.

Hey diddle dis
“This concluded the dancing. the dancers went round in a ring (whole rounds) for 2 or 3 times then broke off and danced away in single file after the leader all ‘making their obedience’ to the audience.”

“Hey diddle dis my face/backside you may kiss
And away goes Longborough Morris”
(Sharp’s notes quote face, but Dommet gives backside.)