Spring Fling 2006

A ceilidh start

On the first weekend in April young people from all over the UK - and some from further afield gathered together for a hectic but enjoyable weekend of SCD. After tea, a ceilidh started the weekend off in good style and ensured we all got to know each other. The drinking (sorry socialising!) that followed made sure we got to know each other even better!

Morning classes

Saturday morning dawned with some of us having had decidedly more sleep than others. After a walk to the school, the length of which depended on how lost you got en route, the morning saw us in classes with Deb Lees taking the less experienced dancers, while Malcolm Brown took the more experienced people through their paces. A leisurely lunch in the sun followed, then we had a choice of trying Northumberland Ranting or Highland Dancing with Deb or Shona Harper respectively, with something to challenge everyone in each class. Some people then had a practice for their performance that night at the Sage Centre. where the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra happened to be appearing. Others walked through the dances for the evening dance; some shopped; some slept.

Evening dance

The evening dance was held in the 'social sauna' of Blackfriars Hall with music by Phil! Jones and Ceo! na h'Alba where we were joined by a number of local dancers. More socialising followed - I'm still campaigning for the photos of Twister that night to be burned!

Sore feet

As usual, Sunday saw some of us suffering from sore feet and a lack of sleep. However, Malcolm and Debs re-organised the classes and started rehearsing us for a performance to the other class with excellent music from Patricia Cass and Gillian Stewart to inspire us to keep going. After a short break, chocolates were provided to sort us into different teams for a SCD quiz. After a bit of debate we had all the answers, and had to pick one of the answers to dem - no mean feat when you don't get any time to practice!

The chairman arrives

We were joined at this point by the Chairman Stewart Adam. We don't think it was coincidence that it was lunch time! Lunch was described in our course info as a buffet, but there was enough food to feed an army, thanks to the people from RSCDS Newcastle Branch, who had also kept us supplied with juice and biscuits all weekend.

Ready for Oxford?

It was a great weekend. We've already got the minibus booked for the drive to Oxford next year. See you on Friday 30th March!