I'm not sure what happened but I appear to have missed a week, very strange because there has been lots to report but it's probably because there has also been lots to do. The Picnic on the Patio was a great success, despite discouraging weather forecasts the temperature was perfect with a slight breeze and no suspicion of rain and certainly none of the thunder storms that were threatened over the weekend. The patio was 'arranged' in a slightly different way from the last time we used it and it worked really well, keeping all the tables to one side of the 'dance floor' meant no-one was too isolated if they found themselves sitting out a dance, but everyone still had a good view. Pictures of the event can be found under EVENTS -> PAST EVENTS -> then click on the relevant poster or click HERE . One of the lovely things about the night was that many people joined us who we haven't seen for a long time - even years in some cases - others, who are new members, experienced the fun and real magic of this particular evening for the first time - many still haven't stopped saying how lovely it was - and it reminds those of us who have done it all before of how lucky we are to be part of it. The most special thing for me though is creating moments such as when our little 4 year old guest was dancing 'Borrowdale Exchange' in the same set as a lady 80 years older than her,  - both of them loving every minute, laughing and galloping around with their partners ... how many other activities can claim to be so much fun and so inclusive of all ages and abilities! And the moon really did shine over it all!
After the 'Picnic' there was the inevitable cleaning and repacking of all our decorations, editing of the pictures and various changes to the website to be done which is presumably why the weekly blethering didn't happen. Since then we've had 2 excellent Monday 'beginners' classes and 2 Tuesday sessions however with the usual gradually diminishing numbers we get at this time of year, (despite the very welcome inclusion of family and guests) - partly because of the heat (though ironically the AC's kept us cooler than we are at home) this week the Tuesday session only saw 12 dancers who really did have to work very hard :-) however it was a really good night of dancing so they have to be congratulated. We've got 2 more weeks to go, don't forget that on 9th July we are running the class as an American Supper and ceilidh - it is always a good night and the more the merrier. The 9th will also, probably, be the last class we hold at our current venue since the the PCFi have been told that the buildings' condition requires them to leave... everyone will be informed soon of the venue for next seasons 'Tuesday Class' - although we are still open to more suggestions if anyone knows of somewhere that is easily accessible / locatable (preferably on a bus route for visitors) and with similar facilities to those we currently enjoy. 
Right that should more than make up for missing last week. Hopefully I will see you next week or the week after before we 'break up' and if not, enjoy your summer. BTW click on Future Events to see the dates for the restart of dancing in September, the Tattoo Night in October and St Andrew Society Ball in November and put them in your diaries.

And that was just me... and as usual, the numbers were practically the same... but many of the people were different - so what's new! It was lovely to see some of our rarer visitors dropping in to pick up tickets for the Picnic on the Patio - and staying to dance - I'm not sure if they regretted it though because they definitely plunged in at the deep end for some of the dances. It was brilliant fun however and amazing that we had 2 sets up for most of the more challenging dances, not everything worked but everyone tried and doing the tricky ones can suddenly make the, only slightly, easier ones seem simple. I finally had the chance to dance Ramadan-ce myself - albeit as a man, but I was chuffed to manage it practically unscathed - though my brain cells were definitely addled earlier in the evening and the condition was catching as quite a few people went through the dreaded 'blank moments' during the evening.
​Now we are all steam ahead for the Elea event on Saturday. For those who are interested, the dance programme for Saturday is now available on the FUTURE EVENTS page with links to YouTube videos available when you click on the dance name. I am looking forward to a lovely evening, but since it is still getting chilly in the evenings make sure you bring a wrap or jacket - see you there if you are coming - and if not because you are heading home, have a safe trip and we look forward to seeing you after the summer Jx

It felt an odd sort of night... the weather continues very warm but completely overcast giving a prolonged 'storm on the horizon' feeling and a definite feeling of gloom -the previous week the lights only went on at half time, this week the lights were needed immediately, but so were the A.C's. For the first time ever poor Pete is suffering from severe 'hayfever' most likely due to the Olive tree pollen rather than grasses (so he is hoping it wont drag on too long),; It is making him feel very miserable however he did manage to drag himself around a few dances and the fact that he thought them all excellent was therefore an even better tribute than it would normally have been. 
It was a very challenging programme, even compared to the previous week, because a number of dances had been requested as practice sessions - but time to do them had run out. As often happens here, although numbers were approximately the same only half the class had been at last weeks session when we learnt some of the dances with a bit more time allocated, so the fact that even the very tricky Ramadan-ce and the equally challenging Quarries Jig were attempted with enthusiasm and were mainly successful was really satisfying; Our first attempt at The Saltire Society Reel even though it was at the end of the night was also very successful our more experienced dancers finding it 'different' but still within their scope and pronounced it a 'keeper' - apologies went out to the new dancers who didn't get their usual quota of dances it will be back to whatever 'normal' is next week - hopefully they'll be back too!