It was with great sadness that the Spring Grove Morris Men received the news, just before Christmas of the untimely death of Ęgle Hoekstra from the Dutch team, More Motley Morris. While we were at Sidmouth during last summer, 99, we heard of his illness, but we were unaware of its severity.
Many of us have fond memories of our joint tours to Delft and Eindhoven during the early Nineties, and More Motley's return tour to Kingston is fondly remembered. We particularly enjoyed the invitation to attend the Brabantse Dag, in Heeze during the summer of 1992. We recall the efforts of dancing in the pouring rain.
Mark Rogers, guest musician on that tour, has often asked us when we are next returning to Holland. Our last trip to see Ęgle and More Motley was during 1995. Sadly we have not yet made it across the Channel again, but we have met members at several Sidmouth festivals in between.
Ęgle will be sadly missed by past members of More Motley Morris in particular and by the Morris in general. His drive and enthusiasm was outstanding. The hospitality and generosity of both Ęgle and the More Motley team members created a warm and friendly atmosphere whenever we met.
We have vivid memories of the dance "Ęgle's Delight" being performed for us with enthusiasm. Also high in our list of memories was the gracious invitation to a wedding reception during one of our visits. We are still amazed that we managed to dance so close to the bride without causing damage to her wedding gown; we must have been much nimbler in those days.
We pass on our thoughts and heartfelt condolences to past More Motley members and to Ęgle's family. Sadly it is unlikely that we will be able to visit Holland in the foreseeable future. We would like to dance to his memory with them, however we will toast him at the earliest opportunity.
We wish all past members of More Motley well for the future, and hope that Ęgle's inspiration and dedication has nurtured within the remaining Dutch teams. May they continue to dance in his memory for many years ahead.
Until we meet again. Wassail, and a toast to the immortal memory of Ęgle Hoekstra.
Spring Grove Morris Men
Kingston-upon-Thames
Surrey. January 2000
Shave The Donkey apologises for late publication of this tribute. It was delayed by a technical difficulty
Links:
Spring Grove Morris Men Ęgle Hoekstra Obituary©2000 Spring Grove Morris Men, The Outside Capering Crew