It's amazing how quickly the fall is flying. Today, witches, goblins and all manner of strange and wonderful creatures are on the move. I am wondering what to wear for our Hallowe'en dance class. Christmas trees are already beginning to appear and the air has that quality that promises snow before long! Still the autumn colours are beautiful, dancing is fun, and there is nothing I really wish to complain about!
The September Ceilidh, by all accounts, was a success. Thank you to all those who helped out, and in particular to Noreen MacLennan. The Executive is looking at planning another in the Winter term, to help lift our spirits and attract public interest. Meanwhile, our Fall social approaches on November 5 at Vanier, and I am looking forward, once again, to dancing to Corryvreckan's beautiful playing. It is such a treat to dance to live music!
We have had a good turnout for Monday classes thus far, including some newcomers to the beginners' class. Hopefully they will catch the Scottish Country dance fever and spread it on to friends and relations.
On this day of treats, I reflect that it is indeed sweet to have such a lovely group of people to dance with each week!
On Monday, November 21 Gower Street United Church is hosting Eric Bugle for an evening concert, and the hall will not be available for dancing. Bill and Sue Scott have kindly agreed to hold class at their house at 30 Monkstown Road (regular times). Bill would like an indication of how many people will be attending so he can rearrange the large living room/dining room accordingly. Please email him with your intent to: wscott@geoscott.nf.ca.
We are making an inventory of all the material owned by the branch, and are requesting your help. If you have anything that belongs to the group, or know someone who does but doesn’t come dancing very often, please get in touch with a member of the executive. They don’t want to be inundated with “stuff” to store, but would like to know where it is for the record!
We extend our best wishes to Joanne Gillis and Lucy Drown, who have been having health problems this year, and to anyone else who has been prevented from joining us on Monday nights because of illness or injury. We hope you are making a good recovery and that we will see you again very soon.
Please try and remember to bring your own mugs for lemonade or tea on Monday nights. It cuts down on the cost of styrofoam cups, as well as being environmentally friendly.
Kathy Simonsen advises that the RSCDS website has a section for members which requires a
password to get into. If you want to take a look at the benefits of membership, and what lies behind
these pages, the web site is: http://www.scottishdance.org/
Please contact Kathy for the required user name and password.
The newsletter is published in September, November, January, March and May (hopefully!) And is available in paper copy at the classes on Monday and Thursday. For those who are unable to make class, it is also posted simultaneously on our website:
Margaret Connors keeps our site up-to-date – in fact I am impressed just how quickly she puts up events, changes, and anything I send her, when compared to other organizations’ websites I have known! If you think you have missed an issue, check there. She has all issues from October 2003 onwards posted. To access issues prior to this date, keep clicking on [previous]
And that’s not all. If you haven’t looked at the site before, it has information about current classes and fees; contacts; events both past and future; publications; a history of Corryvreckan by Bruce Shawyer and of the demonstration team by Noreen MacLennan. There are also links to many other sites with general information about dancing; other RSCDS branches, North American and world wide; and the local sites of Martin Mulligan and Bruce Shawyer. And on top of that, there are maps on how to get to the various locations we use. Bookmark this site!
We offer our congratulations to Sue Scott on receiving the 2004-5 Award for Service from the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador. We also greatly appreciate her many services as a teacher, newsletter contributor, and more.
The world record for the Largest Scottish Country Dance was dashed last fall by Ellon Academy in Aberdeen, Scotland. The Toronto Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society had held the record since 1991, with 512 people dancing for 5 minutes.
A total of 1254 pupils of Ellon Academy, after weeks of training and learning the dances in their P.E. classes, took to the field on a cold windy day in September, 2004, and danced 15 minute sessions of each of the Dashing White Sergeant, the Virginia Reel and the Orcadian Strip the Willow, followed by a rain-soaked Hooligans Jig. Not only did they deserve to win the record, they raised over £20,000 for their school and local charities through sponsorships.
However, the Largest Irish Dance record had even more participants. On August 1, 1998, 6971 people danced an Irish ceilidh for 5 minutes at the Dublin Irish Festival, Dublin, Ohio, USA, led by professional ceilidh callers, while Irish bands played traditional jigs.
Acquiring shoes for Scottish Country Dancing in St. John’s is not the simplest thing in the world, as those who have been through the procedure will tell you. Unfortunately, there is no store in St. John’s which carries ghillies (as those shoes with no heel and all those lacings are called). So, you can’t just walk in here and try on shoes until you get your fit.
When you are ordering or buying your shoes, make sure you get the ones with the full extra suede sole sewn on the bottom. Highland competition ghillies give a beautiful look to your foot, but wear out in no time, because there is no extra sole. Also, all dance shoes will stretch with time – the leather is thin and your feet will sweat. So you may want to get them slightly on the snug side rather than on the loose side; but make sure you don’t go for a lot of pain – you won’t have as much fun dancing. Men generally like their shoes a bit looser than women. Now, what does that say about the differences between us!
Here are the options for getting shoes for Scottish Country Dancing:
Good luck! If you have questions, feel free to ask me.
Best known for his haunting ballad “And the band played Waltzing Matilda,” about Australians who died at the Battle of Suvla Bay, Eric Bogle is a songwriter whose subtle and well-crafted lyrics get straight to the heart of the matter. He will be providing an evening of musical magic, along with his friend John Munro on guitar and mandolin, at Gower Street United Church Hall on November 21.
Eric has been called a living legend, to which he replies, “It’s marginally better than being a dead legend.” This self-described “roundish, shortish, baldish, Scottish” singer grew up in Glasgow, but has made his home in Australia since 1982. He has written dozens of memorable ballads. His songs have been covered by Slim Dusty, the Pogues, Donovan and Joan Baez. After thirty five years as a performer he is internationally known and respected. He has released 14 CDs and is currently on his eleventh North American tour. For more background on Eric Bogle, view www.ericbogle.net.
This concert in St. John’s is the sixth in a series organized by Second Stage Creative Arts with support from the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council.
Tickets for the concert are $22 in advance, $25 at the door. However, as the event has pre-empted our dance class, members of the Scottish Dance Group will get a small discount if bought in advance, paying only $20 a ticket. If you are interested in attending, call (709) 335-7007 to reserve a ticket as s oon as possible, and make sure to say that you are with our group. Otherwise, regular tickets are on sale at O’Brien’s Music, Auntie Crae’s and Fred’s Records, or online at www.blueislandrecords.com. A sell-out is expected.
“. . . In Glasgow, according to a recent news report, “country dancing is the newest weapon against childhood obesity.” Classes in that city’s schools have proved hugely popular. An hour of vigorous country dancing has the potential to burn off up to 800 calories, the newspaper reports.”
(The Globe and Mail, September 19, 2005. Submitted by Jo Shawyer.)
Congratulations to Brenda Burness on the birth of her second grandson (third grandchild) Finn on September 6, 2005. The proud first-time parents are her son Gary and his wife Antje in Peterborough, Ontario.
Congratulations also to Margaret and Harry Connors, who have joined the club of first-time grandparents. Andrew John Labonté Connors was born on October 17, 2005, to their son Michael and his wife Amanda. Margaret informs me that currently his parents are trying to convince him that 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. is NOT the time to be bright eyed and bushy tailed and up and about.
In a wee but-an’-ben in the wilds of Scotland, Dougal's wife went into labour in the middle of the night, and the doctor was called out to assist in the delivery. To keep the nervous father-to-be busy, the doctor handed him a lantern and said: "Here, you hold this up so I can see what I'm doing." Soon, a wee baby boy was brought into the world.
"Whoa there, Dougal!" said the doctor. "Don't be in a rush to put the lantern down. I think there's another wee one to come yet." Sure enough, within minutes he had delivered a bonnie lass.
"No, no, don't be in a great hurry to be putting down that lantern, lad. It seems there's yet another one besides!" cried the doctor.
Then Dougal scratched his head in bewilderment, and asked the doctor: "Do ye think it's the light that's attractin' them?"
*****
Q: Why do bairns bawl