Update

The same thing keeps on happening, I think I've updated this but when I check, it's not there - it is the system or is it me - I suspect the later. It's finally getting chilly here, and after the storms yesterday, I won't need to water the garden for a while. Luckily a few weeks ago when we held our first Quiz night, on the patio at the Elea Resort, the weather was still lovely. It was a very successful event. The pictures and description of the excellent food and entertainment can be found HERE. [I remember uploading the pictures immediately, because it was such an excellent night I didn't want to risk forgetting, and that is probably why I completely forgot to update these blethers]. The quiz was so successful that we are going to do a similar event as a Xmas get together - numbers are strictly limited so see the flyer below and contact Irene ASAP if you are interested in coming.
Our regular dancing sessions are much missed, and we are not alone in that, but there is still activity within the group and amongst dancers world-wide and in many ways the Covid situation has been a catalyst for positive activity.
Some people may be aware of mini-crib - the original go-to depository of computerised dance instructions - I have just been contacted by one of the mini-crib managers regarding 'Cyprus Delight', a dance written several years ago by John, a regular holiday visitor, who dedicated it to us for the many years of welcome and fun he'd had at the class. It's exciting to know it's going 'mainstream'. 
During this time of separation the internet has kept us all in contact and perhaps given us time to get round to contacting people. One lovely message received via the website has been from Noreen R who used to be very active within the society many years ago - before my time, but remembered by others.
Although nothing can replace actually dancing, the lock down has resulted in the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) increasing their on-line content a thousand-fold, including Zoom classes every Wednesday and many, many YouTube teaching clips which just didn't exist this time last year. This is copied from their e-mail reminder in case anyone is interested in accessing the sessions :-

"The RSCDS Online Class takes place weekly on a Wednesday evening at 19:00 GMT.
Dance Scottish At Home, including the “At Home Podcast” will be issued on Friday 30th October and will continue to be issued fortnightly.
The Online Class recordings will continue to be sent out on a Friday, with a link to a previously distributed “At Home Podcast”.
 
GENERAL INFORMATION
In the RSCDS Online Classes, each week a different RSCDS Teacher is there to guide you through a mixture of basic movements, warm ups, technique, steps and dances, giving variety across the classes.
Live every Wednesday, the class will give you the chance to dance with RSCDS members around the world at the same time. Across the classes we are aiming to provide content for a range of abilities from beginners through to advanced dancers and will aim to have something everyone can join in with, in every class.
Hosted on Zoom, the classes deliver live video and instruction, with the opportunity to post written Q&As throughout the session, which are answered throughout each class. You can also post messages on the ‘Chat’ area of the Webinar to other dancers and we know how valuable many of you are finding this."

The classes are great fun, if inevitably varied in their technical set up although the blank screen can be a little disconcerting when you first link up there is always a musical introduction from top quality musicians which,  by itself, makes joining in worth it. I personally find the Wednesday class a little late to access live, so I catch up on Fridays, when I remember. It's fascinating to see the messages from people all over the world, including many familiar from the International Branch visit to Cyprus and my trips to Winter School. It does make you realise we are part of a very active international community and although dancing might not be allowed until next year at the earliest, after surviving nearly 300 years a few months break isn't going to matter much and hopefully I will see some of you at least at the Elea in December, if not before.