Humans of Warwick - James Phythian
James Phythian
Data and Systems Analyst, Warwick Business School
“You’ve got to keep trying new things to keep life exciting.”
“I don’t look like your typical morris dancer, but when the opportunity to join my local side came up, I popped on the clogs and gave it a go!
It was my colleague, Eddie Walter, that invited me along to watch Earlsdon Morris. He was already a member and with me being quite a restless person, who doesn’t like sitting at home with nothing to do, I thought why not. My interview to join was two questions, do you like dancing and do you like drinking!
I didn’t have any prior knowledge of the traditional folk scene but since joining I’ve been to festivals up and down the country. Most recent one was in Sidmouth, which was a whole week, brilliant fun but very heavy going as well. We also do an annual tour round the streets and pubs of Earlsdon, another full-on day. We don’t do it just to disrupt the traffic, it’s held in honour of members who have died. There’s a memorial on Hearsall Common where we go and remember absent friends and raise a drink in their memory.
I joined because I thought it was interesting and important to keep this old English tradition, dating to the 15th century alive. And it’s sociable, who doesn’t like to dance, sing, travel and be merry. The different groups of dancers are called sides, I enjoy it so much that I’ve joined another side as well. There are nearly 800 sides across the UK. My other side is Birmingham Rapper, and we do another form of traditional dance with flexible blades. They've got handles on either side and you have five people twisting and turning into different formations, it’s impressive to watch and has elements of tap dance in it as well.
I’ve picked up the dances quite easily and have found from an early age, that I can learn new things quickly. I picked up the guitar at age eleven, I wouldn’t describe myself as a multi-instrumentalist, but I play guitar, bass and I’m slowly mastering the piano. I’ve played in quite a few bands, sometimes four or five at the same time, different styles of music. I’m a big supporter of the local music scene so you’ll always see me down the front at a gig somewhere. I’m always looking for a different instrument to learn and really want to try the squeezebox. That probably ties in with my newfound love of traditional folk, I just need to get my hands on one!
In the spirit of discovering new things, I’ve taken a few solo trips to Japan. I’m really interested in their culture, it’s the most opposite to ours possible. When I landed in Tokyo for the first time I loved it. I’ve been across most of the mainland and earlier this year I went to Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's four main islands. It has some of the heaviest snowfall in the world, so of course I had a go at snowboarding while I was there. I took a few lessons before going so I was able to give the slopes a good go.
It's a cliché but life really is too short, go out and try new things, visit a new place or country, learn a new skill or discover a new hobby. There’s really no excuse to not give things a go, you might not be an expert straight away, but you’ll never know unless you try!”