News in pictures
16
May Brown, a life member of Western Australia Branch and an active dancer into her nineties, celebrated her 100th birthday in April. At a lunch organised by her family, a team of Branch members performed a short demonstration, including The McCulloch Strathspey (which had been devised by May and published by the Society in 1966) and a new dance, May’s 100th, devised by John Brenchley. May thoroughly enjoyed the display, clapping her hands and tapping her feet in time to the music. Sadly, May passed away peacefully two months later, but her family have lovely memories of a great celebration of her 100th birthday.
In its 75th Anniversary year West Lothian Branch has recognised Jack Stalker’s outstanding service to Scottish country dance music by presenting him with a Branch Award. Jack is a wonderful exponent of Scottish fiddle music and his superb selections of tunes, both traditional and modern, have enhanced dancers’ enjoyment for over 35 years at Summer School, throughout Scotland and abroad. He even played for Her Majesty the Queen when he accompanied Highland dancer Dixie Ingram at a reception in Edinburgh Castle. In 2008 his band opened the proceedings for “A Hundred Years of Sir Jimmy Shand” in St Andrews. But he has been equally at home accompanying groups of youngsters in local schools and teams of RSCDS dancers in shopping malls and car parks.
This year the Bell Rock Lighthouse off the coast of Arbroath is celebrating its bicentenary, and on 3 July twelve intrepid dancers from East Angus Branch accompanied by accordionist Frank Thomson of Aberdeen set sail to dance The Bell Rock Reel in its vicinity. The dance was devised about five years ago by Jim Crowe, a member of Huntingdon Branch, who had been born in Arbroath. It was a glorious day with calm seas but there was quite a swell and waves were lashing the lighthouse tower. Even so, the six couples managed the dance plus an encore on the rolling deck of the boat. Then for good measure they repeated the dance for the crowds on the quayside as the boat came back into harbour. Branch member Heather Lockhart thought the day was, “A great experience – and what a laugh.” Photograph by Ian Mutch.
Congratulations to Sylvia Miskoe (Boston Branch) who was presented with the New Hampshire Governor’s Arts Award for Folk Heritage at a ceremony in the majestic Executive Council Chambers on 27 April 2011. Sylvia, the first woman to receive the award, was honoured for her contribution to the state’s musical lore, particularly in Scottish, French-Canadian and New England contra-dancing. It was a proud and thrilling experience, “Like getting paid to eat ice cream”, she was heard to remark. The photograph shows Sylvia receiving the award from Governor Lynch.
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