A Maypole in Northgate Street

The Northgate Street traders in Chester are organising Festival Sundays in July. On the afternoon of July 28th there will be a Maypole in the middle of the street, and I will be teaching some Maypole dances.

Should be fun.

Or utter chaos.

Or both

March - July. Snowstorm to heat-wave

I was quite worried when we had heavy snow in mid-March as I had a booking on the Saturday at Jodrell Bank school. Would I get there? Would High Jinks  get there? Would the dancers venture out. Would we get home again? I had a sense of deja vu - I was out with High Jinks on Burns Night and we had to dig the cars out of the car-park. Luckily the roads got clearer as I drove along the Northwich bypass, there was no snow on the lanes near the school, and we had a good Dance.

Tomorrow will be quite a contrast. A birthday / retirement party in a marquee in a garden in Mold with Tom Brown playing. Just the weather for it.

In between I did -
A short spot at Tessa's wedding (using recorded music),
A Ruby Wedding celebration in Glossop with High Jinks,
A teachers retirement party with Three Point Turn in Rhyl,
A fundraising Barn Dance with White Knuckle Ride,
Two bookings with  Fiddlestrum, a PTA dance and a Rotary Club international weekend with guest from various countries.

And I was invited back to the Chester Folk Festival to call the Family Ceilidh with Black Cat Band.

So many good bands, a pleasure to work with; great seeing a roomful of people getting up and enjoying the music and dance.

And still time for plenty of  dancing and club calling using recorded music.

A musical Saturday

We started at Chester for Bagpipolorum. Took our not-bagpipes to a session and enjoyed the way the Playford tunes sounded filling the pub with music.

I couldn't stay for the concert, as I was calling at a 50th birthday party with the Millstone Band. More good music, mostly less than 400 years old this time. Lively tunes to dance to and gentler tunes in between.

Then home at midnight with a programme about the Modern Jazz Quartet on the car radio - jazz inspired by baroque music.

Quite a varied day.

Tessa's Party

Isn't it nice when someone likes what you do. Last year I called with Don and his band Three Point Turn at Tessa's birthday party.

Now I am booked to call a few dances at her wedding.

A family party

On Sunday I took my tapes and PA to a party in Swinton for a family who have a get-together every year.
Everyone had brought food and they all joined in the dancing (mind you, some sneaked off after the first dance - they needn't think I didn't notice!)
At the end two of the family had produced a quiz. Some of the question were very obscure - do you know a one word term for 'the day after tomorrow'? I didn't and I still don't quite believe it even if it IS in Wiki

This was a repeat booking from two years ago. I'm still waiting for the photo's of Helen's wedding dress, Mike

Kids, cars, chaos

In October I went up to Bury to call with the Millstone Band for the first time. This weekend I enjoyed another gig with them, nearer home. A 40th birthday party in Sandiway.

As we were setting up there were preschoolers riding cars all around. There is obviously a playgroup that meets there as there was a room full of toys to one side of the main hall.

As you can guess I didn't call my hardest dances. The parents and children made a good job of dancing the simpler ones (once we had redirected the ride-ons off the dance floor).

The adults without children were less keen to get up - their loss. I expect they were enjoying the party in their own way. I hope they liked the music as much as I did.

Two parties this weekend.

I was working with Marilyn on Friday at Becca's twenty-first party, and again this afternoon for Toby's 7th birthday.
We enjoyed the way everyone joined in at both parties.

We found cowboy songs and dances for Toby's friends as that was the theme he had asked for.

 The dances for Becca were a bit less simple but just as lively. Her friends coped well with the Dip-and-Dive and Strip-the-Willow figures (or if they got them wrong they were good at faking it).

The Black Cat band varies between 1 and 6 members, this weekend it was just Marilyn, her melodeon gave us all we needed.