This was the first time we'd attempted the JJ on a weekday, but it made sense to try it. People already have their Tuesdays free for dancing and this is a celebration of all our Monday and Tuesday dancing classes. Some of us were there way before the event itself, meeting at 10am on the patio to decorate for the evening. Thank-you so much Fiona, Suzanne and David for your hard work - it's amazing what a few extra hands can do to transform an already very special place, into 'our' special place for a day.
Despite the inevitable absences at this time of year, 34 people gathered for the event and it was a magical evening; an even greater success (people said) than previous years - if that's possible! The food was complemented by everyone -  we even asked the 3 absolutely charming chefs to come out, and they took a bow! The crème brulé was especially commended, but overall it was a fabulous feast, beautifully prepared and presented.
Prior to people taking to the dance floor another well deserved presentation was made to Irene, for her many years of hard work behind the scenes. Irene has been the lady responsible for ensuring that all the group's events - including this year's Jamboree - were of as high a quality as possible, while maintaining affordable prices. It is to be hoped that we can follow in such successful, and effortlessly glamorous, footsteps... we'll do our best though, it's reassuring to know she's still around to guide us if necessary.
Now to the dances - I had a large selection to choose from but hadn't fixed a definite programme, preferring to see how the evening developed.
We started with 'A Highland Welcome' (see the little video below), progressing, as I often do, to the hilarious mixer, 'Borrowdale Exchange'. We danced the ancient dance 'The Bridge of Athlone' next, and then changed gear completely with a St Bernard's Waltz followed by the lovely Strathspey 'Butterscotch & Honey'. At some points we had a bit of a break but it's hard to remember exactly when! I know during one break in the programme we were treated to a spectacular firework display - based somewhere on the coast below - but they can't have had such a super view as we did.
Carrying on, Waratah Weaver was well received, a familiar dance for all the class dancers and an easy one to negotiate for the non-dancing guests who were keen to have a try. Postie's Jig, a real favourite of some, was performed with gusto, by those that knew it, as was The Dashing White Sergeant - with enough people on the floor to dance it 'in the round' - rather than my usual alternative 'lengthwise' orientation.
Finally the evening started to run down. People were saying goodbye and drifting reluctantly away. The final requested dance - as is traditional for Doug, was 'De'il Amang the Tailors - which we danced with 5 couples up and then we completed our evening - ensuring we included those non-dancing guests who were still with us - with Auld Lang Syne - thanks again to Anna who supplied the little video below.
We all then set too, cleared the decks of all our decorations and made sure we'll be welcome again next year! Thanks everyone, it saved us having to make the trip back the next day.
​Enjoy the photos below - they don't do the evening justice but hopefully they'll bring back happy memories. Thanks to Anna for additional video and pictures.

Date :- Saturday 29th June 2024
Tickets Class attendees €20; Guests €25 

Our end of season dance, a keenly anticipated opportunity to dance the night away (or at least a fair proportion of the evening) on the lovely terrace of the Elea Golf Resort Clubhouse. It was a fabulous success. Having come under new management the quality of the food - always good for this event - was outstanding. The Elea even treated us to a welcome drink of Prosecco + fresh orange juice and the standard of service overall was superb - the gratuity we always collect for the staff was certainly well deserved! Having eaten an enormous meal some doubted that we'd ever dance but the dance floor wasn't hard to fill. The programme was very varied - we opened the evening with 'Sheena's Saunter', went straight into the fabulous fun 'Borrowdale Exchange' then slowed the pace down with 'St Bernard's Waltz' and than a 'class dance', the lovely strathspey 'Butterscotch & Honey.' We picked up the pace with the frantic 'Gypsy Thread', got slightly dizzy with the 'Circle Waltz' and returned to elegance with another Strathspey 'Ring of Brodgar'. 'The Fairy Ring' came to an early and hilarious conclusion, but it was a spirited attempt by all. 'The De'il Amang the Tailors' was then performed - by request - with what energy we had left and as people were starting to drift happily away we finished the evening with Auld Lang Syne. Staff and guests then sprang into action to retrieve all the decorations scattered around the terrace - the combined effort was much appreciated as were the assurances that everyone was already looking forward to meeting up and dancing again in September. Above this article please see a few pictures to remind us of the event.

An account of this lovely evening can be found in the Blethers for 24th June 2023. Look for the Blethers link above.
Photographs taken of the morning setting up and the evening itself can be found below. As always I am pleased to be sent any photographic contributions to this page. If you would like a copy of any of my shots - let me know and I'll send them over or if conversely you would prefer a photo to be removed, or edited - that's no problem, just let me know again and I'll sort it out - contacts are on the Contacts page HERE.
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The menu:-
Served at table - Salad & Vegetable Crudités, Pitta and Dips
At Buffet Station :- Hot Selection
Mini fish burger's with tartar sauce
Homemade meatballs, garlic yoghurt dip
Chicken skewers with thyme and lemon
Chicken fingers with smoked BBQ sauce
Spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce
Vegetable samosa, Crispy potato wedges
Savoury Selection
Sausage pies
Bacon & mushroom quiche
Leek & cheddar cheese tartlets
Elea Salad :- Garden greens; tomatoes; cucumber; peppers; feta; olives; red onion
Dessert Selection
Chocolate brownies
Strawberry panna-cotta
Mini fruit tarts
Apple crumble
Famagusta orange cake

This wasn't the most well attended event in our history however it must easily be one of the most enjoyable. The food from the Elea chef's was truly excellent, the best they've ever done for this event and we have had such fantastic positive feedback it could have gone to our heads if we weren't permanently grounded by the desire to do better. Everyone - both the dancers and the spectators - really enjoyed the dancing despite the occasional false starts with the music. The programme was a selection of possibilities, the dances we actually did were:- A Highland Welcome, The Fairy Ring, The Gypsy Thread, The Gay Gordons, The Dashing White Sergeant; Waratah Weaver and St Bernard's Waltz. Well done to everyone who got up and had a go.

With dancing out of bounds, even possibly illegal (how strange that seems), a decision was made to use our superb summer dance venue, at the Elea Golf Resort, for a different type of evening. Our first St Andrew Group Quiz was well attended and a real success. Thanks go to Graham for an entertaining and very professional quiz set at a level we all could enjoy. And thanks, as always to Sally, Julian and the team who catered for our needs so well.
To start the evening everyone enjoyed a welcome drink while the sun set in the distance. The 'Finger Buffet' turned out to be a huge and delicious selection of hot and cold goodies that was preceded by starters delivered to the table, and followed by a selection of individual deserts. Even those needing to be GF were catered for, though we didn't get the beef & horseradish sandwiches which were pronounced by many to be the pièce de résistance, we did get the fish cakes which were excellent! 

This year we have moved back up to the main patio at the Elea to accommodate the demand for tickets that we couldn't satisfy last year. We had an excellent turn out for the time of year with the real pleasure of entertaining lots of people who we haven't seen for a long time - some were attending one of our events for the very first time - this included the star of the night - an already talented dancer of only 4 years old who kindly brought along her mum and dad as well as her grandparents (who are members of the society) and they all joined in the dancing and had a superb night. We were blessed with a lovely balmy evening and the moon shone as advertised all evening adding to a magical atmosphere.
As always we have to thank the fantastic staff at the Elea who make all our events there so special - the pictures below include shots of the Thank-You card that was sent on behalf of the Society and guests.
If anyone wants to send me shots to add to the memories of the evening they are gladly recieved - conversely if you'd rather your picture wasn't posted here - just let me know and I'll happily remove it. Jx​

This was another magical evening at the Elea utilising the lower terraces below the main patio area to create a lovely intimate setting for our 'picnic' and dancing. After a scorching early May, June has been decidedly mixed weather wise (at least for Cyprus) and even this late in the month there were slightly worrying dark clouds hanging around all morning. The evening was almost clear however and the temperature comfortable for most people, when the wind finally became just a little too chilly to bear the excellent staff brought blankets for everyone who needed them. Those of us who were dancing, of course, didn't need any warming up and had a hilarious time with some enthusiastic guest dancers doing really well. The moon was full, the food fantastic and it proved to be as beautiful an evening as any we've had before. Below are a few pictures of the morning setting up and of various moments throughout the evening.
Images are credited where they aren't mine.  

 We had a truly magical night at the Elea Golf Club. We were situated on two of the lower terraces which provided a lovely setting. The area was decorated as usual by our dedicated St Andrew Society decorators, but in addition, as the sun set, the Elea staff also scattered lanterns and lights around the area. The standard of service was second to none with the staff going out of their way to ensure we had a good night both of eating and drinking and of dancing. We've always had a good time at the Elea, but this event was exceptional. Thank you to all involved - here are a few pictures to remind people of what a good time we had.

For those who wish to know, the dances we did were - Beyond the Black Stump; The Gay Gordon's; Butterscotch & Honey; The Grassmarket Reel; The Borrowdale Exchange (twice); The Eva Three Step; The Dashing White Sergeant; The Ring of Brodgar; The Galloping Carousel; The Pride of Erin Waltz and Deil Amang the Tailors.