Clerical Error learnt this from Ragged Staff, one boozy night whilst on a weekend of dance near Blackpool, about 1994. It is slick and worth learning.
Click
here to see Clerical Error dancing it in a pub in Anglesey (5.4MBytes), or right-click and "Save Target As" to save it to your
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Set : Four dancers in a
square. Long Sticks (over shoulders when not in use). Single stepping. Right foot start
Music :
Portobello Hornpipe - (A) AB AB etc
Calls 
- DANCE UP AND BACK
- CHORUS
- WINDMILLS
- CHORUS
- RAGGED CROW
- CHORUS
- SQUARE HEY
- CHORUS
- PLUGHOLES
- DANCE OFF
- Dance up and back
- All dancers face top (ie music). Take four steps forward, surging upwards on the first step. Then four steps backwards to place again, surging backwards on first step. Dancers 1 and 2, and 3 and 4, then turn to face each other for four steps. Then 1 and 3, and 2 and 4, turn to face each other for 2 steps and three stamps.
- Chorus
- With 1 facing 3, and 2 facing 4, clash six times right to left, left to right etc., ending with three short naps. All turn sharply 90 degrees so 1 faces 2, and 3 faces 4. Repeat clashing.
- Windmills
- All start together one step to just inside the next dancer's start position, and dance around clockwise .75 of a full turn. IE Dancer 1 will take the first step to just inside dancer 2's position, and so on.. 4th step is a sideways step, as are the 8th and 12th. The 15th step takes the dancers back to place.
- Chorus
- With 1 facing 3, and 2 facing 4, clash six times right to left, left to right etc., ending with three short naps. All turn sharply 90 degrees so 1 faces 2, and 3 faces 4. Repeat clashing.
- Ragged Crow
- The essence of the Ragged Crow figure is that the shape of the set changes from a square to line, and back to square, etc. Dancers 1 and 4 dance a diamond figure, taking sixteen steps to go around twice. IE one step between each position, and one on the spot. End with three stamps when finally back to position for the second time.
- Assume a line across the centre of the set; 1 & 2 on one side and 3 & 4 on the other.
- Dancer 1 & 4 dance a diamond, left to the centre, then right to position 3, then to right back to centre, then left back to place. Repeat.
- Meanwhile, 2 and 3 dance the Ragged Crow figure. This figure is essentially and "M" and then its mirror-image back, using sixteen steps to go around once, clockwise.
- Chorus
- With 1 facing 3, and 2 facing 4, clash six times right to left, left to right etc., ending with three short naps. All turn sharply 90 degrees so 1 faces 2, and 3 faces 4. Repeat clashing.
- Square Hey
- Each dancer takes two steps to turn ( 1 and 4 turn to right, 2 and 3 turn to left). Cross up and down to the set to start, clashing as you pass on the third step. 4th step takes each dancer to next corner. 1 and 4 go around the set anti-clockwise, 2 and 3 go around the set clockwise. Each dancer turns in two steps at each corner, except when they return to their original position.
- Chorus
- With 1 facing 3, and 2 facing 4, clash six times right to left, left to right etc., ending with three short naps. All turn sharply 90 degrees so 1 faces 2, and 3 faces 4. Repeat clashing.
- Plugholes
- Start, as for Windmills. IE everyone moving clockwise. Take first step to just outside the next dancer's starting point (4 steps to get arount the set. On the 5th step, step in towards the middle of the set, so that a close huddle is formed with right shoulders to centre and sticks held vertically by your sides. Step again once round and on the 9th step each dancer places their left hand on the next dancer's right shoulder (with vigour). Carry on around the set turning to face out on 13th and 14th beats. End with 3 stamps and arms in the air with stick held horizontally. Music stops.
- Dance Off
- When the music restarts, and with sticks and arms still in the air, spiral out off the middle of the set so that each dancer finishes the dance, dancing off 180 degres from where they started the dance off, spinning all the time. The impression should be that of the opposite os water going down a plughole.
