It's almost a new year, and as usual it seems unbelievable that 12 months has passed so quickly. It's been yet another year of change in so many ways, and much of it not good. However, not only is tomorrow "another day", but it's "another year", and we hope that at least some of the changes to our Group in 2023 will be good ones. 
We have a new dancing venue! We are moving to the Phoenix Club for our 2023 dancing season (see directions & location HERE). Not only can we return to our regular Tuesday evening slot, but we will still have access to a bar. Though we'll be without the lovely Gilly, there'll initially be substitutes from the committee, and room for volunteers to take on the role, eventually. 
A suggestion has been made that the 'beginners & improvers' session, previously held on Mondays, should be run immediately prior to the main dancing evening. We'll be doing some investigations to see if this is a viable option and if it would be a popular alternative to the previous arrangement. It would certainly mean we are only moving tables, and setting up speakers, once a week instead of twice, so it has Pete's vote!  
There are multiple new ideas in the pipeline - from name badges at the dance classes to a new venue for the St Andrew Ball (we have quite a few ideas for modifications in that direction), but the most important thing to mention at the moment is  Burns Night at The Elea, it's on Saturday 21st January - tickets will be on sale at the classes or by ringing Irene on 96 48 4500, or email [email protected]. The price is €25 only - heavily subsidised by the St Andrew Group - and as well as your wonderful traditional entertainment the evening will also include a welcome drink and  prize draw -  sponsored by Blevins Franks, as well as wine with your meal sponsored by Fraser Terry limited - a great evening guaranteed! Happy New Year and I hope to see you soon.

It's been weeks since I've had a chance, the equipment, or to be honest, the inclination to sit down and blether and it's come as a bit of a surprise to be told that people have missed me. That's nice, sorry to be so long away, (not that I had much choice in the matter) and now... I'm back! Hopefully, I'll be able to stay put for a while too.
Thanks to everyone who has tried so hard to keep things going while I've been in the UK - even I hadn't realised how much I did, and how hard it would be to keep contact and keep everything up to speed. One problem was that I didn't have access to the same computer systems in the UK - my niece very kindly leant me one of her machines for a while, but as a full time student that wasn't always convenient for her. The UKCA closing down was also a big issue since it wasn't a point when I could delay updates to their website or skip issues of the Flipbook I prepared weekly for them - that limited even more the computer time I had for blethering, hey ho... (excuses, excuses ;-)). And now it's Christmas! When did that happen? My internal calendar is still registering October Ahhh.
At least I did have a weekend in Scotland, before heading back home to Cyprus, which has firmly recharged my dancing soul. When you have had too long a break it's easy to forget how much joy dancing can bring you; yes, it can be hard work, your feet can hurt, legs get cramp and your brain can reel with fear and trepidation as you go completely blank when it's your turn to lead... but, WOW the buzz you get makes it all worth while, hot, flustered and high as a kite as you finish, you've done it, spun through the turns, weaved through the reels, flown round the circles and all of it with friends new and old - to amazing music - absolute magic.
We are now on the hunt for a new venue where we can continue our Tuesday night sessions, it's too close to Christmas for anything to be organised properly before the New Year but I plan to start next season with a fun Ceilidh - super easy dances, traditional or otherwise - to shake off the post Christmas blues and get us all back into the swing of things. Have a great Christmas, and we'll be in touch with dates, venues and anything new, soon Jxx