connection to minstrelsy. The issue caused controversy in 2014, when local politician Will Straw was photographed with them. He defended the custom: "... it’s traditions from the past which give communities a sense of common identity for the present and the future. May the Coconutters continue for many years to come." Membership One long-standing member of the troupe is Dick Shufflebottom, whose service of 50 years was celebrated in 2006 and who continued as an active member in 2013, aged 76. The youngest member of the troupe at that time was Gavin McNulty, age 26. Performances The main annual performance is on Easter Saturday, but rehearsals take place weekly throughout the year and form a social occasion. In 2013, the annual performance was threatened by public sector austerity as the police and local authority threatened to withdraw support for the traffic management and security at the event. Review AA Gill, writing in The Sunday Times, described them as bizarrely compelling: Recordings A five-minute black-and-white film, shot in 1930, with a new musical accompaniment, is included in the DVD Here's a Health to the Barley Mow, issued by the BFI in 2011. A 2-minute and 18-second excerpt of the music used for the dancing, recorded in 1972, is included on the album The Voice of the People, Volume 16: You Lazy Lot of Bone Shakers – Songs & Dance Tunes of Seasonal Events, issued by Topic Records. Topic included this recording as Track One on the second CD in their 70-year anniversary boxed set Three Score and Ten. See also Garland dance Molly dance Saddleworth Morris Men Notes Easter Saturday here refers to the term's meaning in common usage, the day before Easter Sunday, properly known as Holy Saturday, not the more accurate use of the term Easter Saturday which designates the Saturday following Easter Sunday. References External links The Britannia Coco-nut Dancers of Bacup – official website The Most Unusual Dance in England? – from the BBC's Still Folk Dancing... After All These Years The Britannia Coco-nut Dancers of Bacup – performing at the Saddleworth Rushcart event in 2009 English folk dance Sport in Lancashire Morris dance