Around this time of year as I see the end of our dancing season approaching I wonder why we have to stop. People are still attending class, really enjoying the dancing, we have beginners just starting, visitors enjoying our classes and it seems such a pity to stop ... and then all of a sudden it gets hot and even worse, humid. This weeks class was the first really sweaty class of this year - it was a great night of dancing, almost every dance we had 2 or 3 sets on the floor, but it was very hard work. All of a sudden having a bit of a break seems a good idea, but not quite yet, it's good that we've still got another 2 classes and the June Jamboree to look forward too. 

I've decided it's time to slow down time. All this whizzing past has just got to stop. The alternative is for my brain to start working faster... if anybody has a some hints as to how that can be achieved I'd be very pleased to hear from them. At the moment, with the sun finally giving us warm days up in the mountains, it is full steam ahead in the garden. it is looking great and I enjoy it so much but there is still lots of planning to do for the classes and especially for the Jamboree so I can't relax entirely. I'm not complaining, how wonderful to be so busy with such enjoyable stuff. Next week we have our final 'Advanced' dance class and I'm looking forward to a little soiree on the patio afterwards but I also have a Photoshop lesson to teach, a nature photography field trip to go on, a quiz and our normal weekly lessons and computer and camera club - 'retired' is definitely the wrong word. 

This morning we went to the UKCA Computer & Camera Group meeting as usual. Because many of the members are away on a Camera Club trip to Poland there was no real plan for the subject of the meeting and I ended up giving an impromptu lecture on building a website like this one - a sneaky way of getting a new audience for our site perhaps! Dancing-wise, last night was another great night with another surprisingly large turn out for this time of the year. Last year, at this time, we had 18 dancers - last night we hosted 25. Amazing.  Well done everyone

Last Tuesday night already seems such a long time ago. The numbers attending continue to amaze me although sadly we are now saying goodbye to many of our 'Swallows' who are heading home to the UK and inevitably numbers will drop. Never mind- this time last year we had 19 dancers at class - this year 24, not an amazing difference until I realized that 8 of our regulars are currently on holiday or, unfortunately convalescing, but will be back with us soon to swell the ranks and we even have promising newcomers joining in at this late stage. I am getting very excited about the June Jamboree... although many people will be away it will still be a wonderful night. I am starting to put the program together and working on the music - it's going to be hard work - the first time for anything always is, but after all the great events this year so far this is going to be the best.. I feel it in my bones. :-) 

Last night was the 'Barn Dance' organized by Irene with the (to me at least) highly embarrassing but very gratifying  intention of raising funds to cover some of my ongoing training expenses. As usual I was a nervous wreck until the moment it started - going through dances and music over and again, 'till 3 O-clock the night before (which of course doesn't really do any good at all because at that time of the morning my brain cells are completely dead!) and panicking about the daftest things. In the end there was very little that people didn't seem to enjoy. Irene as usual showed her unerring instinct for a great venue. The staff were lovely, food excellent, the wine served with the BBQ surprising good and people actually got up and danced, laughed and had fun. Irene's brilliant house guests were pressed into service - and were superb - it is impossible to say thank-you in a way that really conveys my appreciation of all the effort time and money involved - from restringing my guitar & doing a brilliant 15 minutes sing-song to the donation of raffle prizes and selling of tickets. One thing I can do of course, is keep going and pass - be assured that is my intention! 

I have just checked my 'class diary', this time last year we had 16 dancers at class - this year we had exactly double the number, amazing. I hope everyone enjoyed the night. For the first time this year I  missed most of the evening because I'd been asked to do some pictures for the Flower Festival at Ayia Kyriaki (well worth a look if you've got time). Thank you to all the 'volunteers' who led the dances on the program and Peter, who as usual sorted out the music and technical side of things - I've been told it got a bit chaotic at times but everyone had smiles on their faces when I arrived and I even had the chance to dance myself for a change so I'm sure it was a good night. It is a sad result of summer getting closer that many people are heading for home and we had to say goodbye to a few more regular dancers last week - the good thing is that they will all be back and in the meantime having fewer sets actually makes it easier to teach, always a silver lining!