Those of us with memories of last year's ball - when 1/2 our guests couldn't make it because of a humongous storm - will understand the trepidation caused by the spectacular lightening show we were treated to on the way to this year's ball.
Up until then everything had been hectic, but under control - Pete and I had managed to fit everything into the car in the morning, including our 2 meter ladder and me (just), so only one trip was necessary to get all our decorations to the Club. Daniela, Suzanne & Debbie turned up to help, and they turned out to be just the right people to get the place looking amazing with the minimum of fuss or guidance, and natural skill and energy; To then be confronted with the possibility that, yet again, people might not be able to enjoy the night we had all worked so hard for, was depressing.
Thankfully all was not lost - despite the lightening, the rain - what there was of it- held off until we were all safely gathered in! :-) And we had a fabulous night.
Despite the unavoidable absence of so many of our class regulars, guest numbers were increased from previous years by the inclusion of 'external' P3A members & dancer's family & friends - they entered into the spirit of the night with enthusiasm and many stayed with us until the last note of Auld Lang Syne and removal of the last fluttering flag.
The food served by the Kamares Club team was excellent as usual, service equally so, with the timing of the evening working out perfectly. Class members had plenty of dances to choose from, we even managed 2 sets up for Mairi's Wedding, and the more well known ceilidh dances were thoroughly enjoyed by all the room. The night flew by and it was a shock when I realised how late it was and that it was time to wind the event down, in past years things had 'died down' naturally and we'd called it a night - not the case this year! Thanks to everyone who contributed to such a fabulous evening, David, Doug, Pete, all the helpers in the morning and everyone who came and so obviously enjoyed it. Daniela not only took excellent photos with an unfamiliar camera, but also worked hard after the event to create a great little video for us - those of you on our WhatsApp group will have seen it, and I'll happily share if you get in contact. Lots of the photos can also be seen by clicking the link HERE (if you are reading this on our website) or going to www.standrewgroup.com and navigating to Events -> Past Events and clicking on the 2025 Ball poster. 
Now we are heading towards Xmas events - there'll be news of a trip to the Stage One Panto soon (our Doug is writer & director) and the dates and details of our Christmas Ceilidh can be found elsewhere on the site. We look forward to seeing you at the classes in the meantime however - tonight? I hope so.

​Okay, final numbers are in... if you have said you are coming ... we are expecting you!
As usual we'll be decorating the Kamares Club in the morning, so if anyone is available from 10 a.m. come along and join us getting it all ready - many hands make light work and it's always fun to be part of things - it also gives those of you, who may not be too confident about finding your way around the Kamares area, a chance to do it in daylight, before negotiating the route in the dark! Those of you who are joining us at the class tonight can pick up a 'route map' to the Kamares Club if you think it would be useful, they can also be downloaded from the Future Events page - find the link below the poster. Don't forget it's a 6.30 pm start - we've a lot to fit in - and if you want to dance it's worth bringing flatter shoes to change into for the dancing, both your feet and your fellow dancers will thank you for it!

The Ball is next week... it's slightly unbelievable and there's still lots to do - (don't panic!!) - but the major stuff is sorted out and the rest is under control, hopefully, but if this blog is slightly incoherent please be understanding :-)
Anyway, if you haven't got your ticket yet, I'll be in contact, and if I don't reach you, please, please, get in touch, and confirm you are coming (contact details are on the website), because our lovely venue will be asking for final numbers and we don't want you to turn up and have nowhere to sit! :-)
Unusually, despite how close we are to the ball our Tuesday session numbers are fluctuating wildly as many of our regulars are away due to other commitments; (promising they'll be back before next Friday), meanwhile the Monday class is gradually increasing in numbers - and on both days we are regularly getting 2 sets up even for more challenging dances. The main problem is the continuing hot weather - despite the occasional clouds, and the real chill at night where we are in the mountains - the weather down at the cost is staying sultry, making dancing harder work than it should be at this time of year; it seems worryingly similar to last year when a truly spectacular storm stopped many people getting to the ball at all and most of those who did make it had hair-raising journeys - thankfully even the most pessimistic weather forecasts for next week suggest light showers only, which isn't enough to dampen our spirits. In the meantime Halloween requires a little bit of preparation too - so lots to do, I better get on with it!

Well I think I've got it done … find it at the bottom of the  Future Events page, or click HERE. You can click on any of the dance names to get to a video/s of that dance. The colours and description will hopefully give you an idea of how easy they are.
There will be dance cribs supplied on the night as well as a 'walk through' so don't worry that you'll have to remember them all - or even dance them all - we will almost certainly run out of time - so probably only a selection will be done from the programme - but hopefully they'll all be enjoyed.

It was our usual change over of faces (and feet); regulars away, swallows returning, and some brilliant newcomers swelling the ranks - and both the Monday and Tuesday session were excellent. Dropping the bar (though not really that far), on Tuesday gave us the chance to include most of the dancers in most of the dances despite the lack of experience for some of them - so we had 2 sets up several times - lots of fun whether the dance actually ended up as written, or not. We did have one or two more challenging ones and some people got 2 goes at 'Mairi's Wedding'; even I managed to dance it - not a common occurrence since it's so popular I'm rarely needed to make up the numbers.
Tonight's job is the ball dance programme - I haven't been putting it off, I've just had such a lot of other things to do that time's crept up on me - I have a good idea of what dances I want to include, it's just ensuring I've got decent music to dance them to and getting the right order - though on the night we can be flexible, it's good to have a basic idea of what will follow what. Just a reminder to you all that final numbers for the ball will have to be in fairly soon... but we still have a week to encourage our friends to join us; we aren't quite at the point when we can get the discount promised us, but we are getting closer, so finger's crossed and it truly is 'the more the merrier'. 

to stop being so ambitious! Okay, so over the last few weeks we've been doing some pretty adventurous stuff, but I've finally realised we've reached the point when it's stopped being fun and started to become hard work... hey ho. Time to leave Ramadan-ce for the 'advanced class', though I have to commend everyone who did so well - it's a genuinely tricky one to do, and I forget that not everyone is with us every week ; but having exhausted the brain cells, the dances planned to follow on, on the programme became too steep a hill to climb. So what to do? A quick revamp ensued and we indulged instead in a bit of Barley Bree, and Johnnie Walker - both named after inebriating beverages and guaranteed to lift the company - the Devil's Elbow fitted in with the theme quite well too. In amongst the revelry Butterscotch & Honey introduced some sweetness and Byron's Strathspey some style! But Rannoch Moor was one of the night's surprises - not a well known dance but quite a 'logical' one and several people truly surpassed themselves and proved that even amongst our enjoyable chaos a bit of knowledge manages to filter through! I'm truly impressed. Well done everyone - I'll try to keep things a bit less complicated, or at least well known - for a while at least - and don't forget the ball is only 3 weeks away, let me know if there are any dances you'd particularly like on the programme - mostly it will be simple stuff but we can include a few more complicated 'class favourites' - Mairi's Wedding anyone?! Well I'll put it on next week's programme and take a vote. 

It was great to be welcoming back some of our regular 'swallows' to Tuesday night dancing and, even though we were missing other regulars, numbers are very gradually increasing so that we managed to get 2 sets up at one point. This is something we haven't managed for weeks. It was a challenging programme, particularly because I am in the process of resurrecting 'Ramadan-ce' - you start with 'Sausage' Reels and finish with 2x1/2 reels of 3 across the set and then up and down - with some very unusual twirly bits in the middle - of course that's not how the instructions put it - but basically that's it.
We didn't manage it.
However for a first try it was pretty close and we'll try again next week. The benefit of trying something that challenging came later - because for the first time the class danced every other dance with no significant breaks or breakdowns  - including Staircase in Styria - in fact I didn't believe it when the music finished - there was everyone smug and smiling in their places, every slight hiccup corrected on the fly - and the 3 couple bourrel in Barbara's Strathspey? No problemmo - I've obviously been making everything too easy for everyone!  (well, okay, Postie's Jig wasn't quite as written, but it was lots of fun anyway)
On another note, Ball tickets sales are gradually picking up - we aren't likely to run out of them any time soon, however please try to remember your money and get yours sooner rather than later - the prep that goes into the night is quite extensive and having an early idea of numbers goes a long way towards making it less stressful - and in the case of the dance programme - more likely to include your favourite dance!

So, we've got a challenging programme and less than 50:50 as far as experienced, to less experienced dancers. What to do? Well,  during Monday's session we'd successfully tackled a few of the challenges already, including the 5 couple dance 'The Staircase in Styria' - so we went for it! With the lowest bar set at finishing at approximately the right time with the right partner - and the highest bar being a perfect rendition all the way through, we were clearing most of our fences with the best! A great night, lots of fun, and although credit has to be given to our beginners for getting up and giving it their best shot, a huge amount of credit also has to go to our more experienced dancers - they are amazingly patient, and encouraging, not to mention skilled, because it's far harder to dance in a 'learning' set than in a more advanced one. We know that the only way to learn is to have the chance to practice - and it's certainly bearing dividends at the moment... let's keep it going... and hopefully I'll see everyone at both classes next week?  he, he! (and don't forget to bring your money for ball tickets - we need bums on seats - and of course feet on the dance floor!_

It was only when I looked at the date of my last blether that I realised how time has again shot by and I've not had any time at all to add to this record of Scottish dancing in hot & sticky Paphos! Despite the fact that the weather is taking it's time to cool down life has accelerated into our busier autumn mode with a bang. However that has meant fewer people at the classes, rather than more. Everyone is caught up with visitors, or on cruises themselves or unfortunately suffering from the bugs caught from the visitors or the cruising ;-), or sadly other less transient ailments. However despite the lower numbers we are really doing rather well! Most of our 'newcomers' are standing the test and certainly seem to be enjoying themselves; every week enough people are getting to the class for us to dance some great dances and we've even acquired an amazing new barman who is willing to lurk  in the rather warm conditions behind the bar and deal with thirsty dancers - allowing them to be back on the dance floor a good deal faster than if they had to find their tonics themselves. :-) Hopefully soon we'll be back to full strength but in the meantime I confess I'm indulging myself by adding a few slightly more challenging dances to the Tuesday programmes. If our class demographics make them unlikely to be successful, then I can easily swap them on the night for simpler ones. This is a contrast to the plans for the St Andrew Ball - not far away and approaching fast. Tickets are now available and will be on sale at classes - or get in contact and let us know how many you want. There's a 'deal' involved - face value the tickets are €35, however - if we can get 50 guests, the Kamares Club have agreed that they will drop their price. To make the 50 more attainable the Ball programme will include more ceilidh style dances that don't require attendance at the classes - so hopefully everyone will feel empowered to  invite their friends knowing they will be able to join in if they want to, without being completely out of their depth. Come on everyone - it's a super fun night and I know we've already got a lot of people looking forward to it, lets get a few more - oh, and I'm looking forward to when we have everyone back on Monday's and Tuesday's too - we miss you.

Well that was fun. Without having anywhere near our full compliment of dancers we still seemed to fill the room and more. It was great to welcome some more newcomers, as well as welcome back more familiar faces. The summer break already seems to have receded into the distant past!
We really missed our bar people, partly because we also attracted a 'passing couple' who popped in to see what it was all about and we didn't really have time to sort out a drink for them - however we did get them dancing a couple of times and that is what we are all about - good for them!
​The programme was adapted slightly to accommodate so many absolute beginners but we still had a super varied night of dancing - J.B. Milne was resurrected quite successfully and enjoyed by the more experienced in the group, and Johnnie Walker got us all laughing as usual!  A great start. Role on next week. Don't forget, we are heading for the Ball on Friday 7th November - that gives us just 9 more weeks to practice our dances - not that long really, but given how well everyone did yesterday we shouldn't have any problems shining on the night.