NEARLY 100 Morris Dancers descended on Tonbridge on Sunday [June 11] but one in particular drew the attention of the town’s Mayor.
Octogenarian Martin Graetz came all the way from Acton, Massachusetts to participate in the 65th anniversary of the formation of The Hartley Morris Men.
In his younger days, Mr Graetz lived in the UK and quickly developed a love for all things British, particularly cricket and Morris dancing – a tradition that dates back to the 15th Century.
He performed a solo dance on the Castle Lawn before having a long chat with Mayor Roger Dalton, where they discussed the tradition of Morris dancers in Massachusetts as well as the potential for a Mayor-led cricket team to play in the US.
Mr Graetz was the co-creator of one of the most influential video games of all time – developing ‘Spacewar!’ in 1962 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT].