This seems an inappropriate place to mention sad news but as a highly scattered group this may be the only way to let some people know that this week we lost a great friend. Don Nova passed away last night after collapsing suddenly a few days ago. His calm good sense and quiet humour will be missed enormously, as will his unflagging support for all that Irene and the St Andrew Group did. Most people will be quite unaware of the amount of work Don simply got on with, from sourcing miniature gin bottles, to sticking labels in diaries, researching information and organising sponsors, always, always turning up to meetings, helping decorate, and providing meticulous minutes and records for the rest of the committee. Despite laterally often being in pain and unable to dance he supported every event, always looking immaculate and fulfilling his role in the evening with style. He also baked excellent cakes! He will be truly missed by all who knew him and remembered with affection. Our sympathies go out to Irene and his family.
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It's been a couple of weeks since I've updated these 'blethers', but that doesn't mean that anything else has been neglected. The Dance Programme for the St Andrew Group Ball has been decided, you can find it HERE if you want to check it out. There are the usual links to any video examples, or if no video is yet in existence the link points to instructions. Both the Monday and Tuesday classes are down in numbers, which is inevitable at this time of year, but they are still well supported in enthusiasm if not in numbers and we always have enough people attending to make up a full set. The Monday class are making good headway with both the steps and the dances themselves, and we managed to cover 4 dances from the beginning of the ball progamme on Monday. At the Tuesday night class we danced almost the whole first half programme. Everyone seemed to enjoy the dance choices which was a relief :-), next week we'll attempt the second half! Fans and AC's are keeping the area cool enough to dance in and even now the classes are continuing to attract new people which is brilliant, if rather unexpected! Next week is the final session for both the Monday and Tuesday classes before our Summer break, hopefully we'll have a good turn out for both... on Tuesday especially it's no problem if people come along even if they can't, or have no intention of dancing, and just because it justifies having the bar service available, we'd love to see you too :-). Remember if your preference is a cup of tea, rather than a glass of wine that can be provided too and the UKCA has one of the cheapest bars in Paphos so it won't be an expensive night out! Keep well and keep cool hopefully I'll see you all soon.
It's getting seriously warm. At one point in the last couple of days the thermometer showed 36' C, not a temperature that usually encourages people to Scottish Country Dance. Despite being a dance form definitely more suited to cooler climes, not only did we still have enough people at both Monday and Tuesday classes to make up full sets, but we even welcomed a newcomer, a returnee and a surprise visitor to the classes. I hope they enjoyed themselves, I certainly enjoyed having them in the class especially at this time of year when we are more used to bidding farewell to people heading back home for the summer.
People may be aware that from this Friday we are required to wear masks in shops etc. again, however we don't have to 'mask up' while dancing... phew. (the relevant announcement is HERE ) Obviously we will continue with our regular use of hand sanitizers, which, (touch wood) seems to be working well and if people are more comfortable wearing their masks, either while dancing or otherwise, then they should do so, but, from experience, dancing with a mask on is a challenge! If you are interested in the Covid stats the information at https://covid19.ucy.ac.cy is well presented and very interesting. Cyprus has the most number of confirmed cases, per 100,000 of population, in the EU but as per last week only 4 people were in a critical condition - though the number of hospitalisations are increasing. Since keeping ourselves fit and healthy seems to be a vital step in avoiding any serious complications we'll keep dancing while we can. See you next week I hope. |
MeOriginated in Manchester, England: Worked almost 20 yrs in the United Arab Emirates: Lives in Cyprus. Teaches Scottish Country Dancing (RSCDS qualified 2015) -just the average life! Also loves Photography & Photoshop, Gardening, Music, Sewing, Design, Reading, computers, God, my husband & my cats (not necessarily in that order). Hates - crowds, hypocrisy, 'Reality' TV, corrupt politicians, cruelty and greed of any kind. Archives
January 2025
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