So far so good – at least I hope that is the case.   Sorry if I miss out on some of your announcements – I am trying to check my e-mails but I am not able to access everything from where I am which, as you will have gathered, is not my home.

Well it would be nice to have a home here as we are now in Cala Galdana on the Island of Menorca which is a charming island of just under 100,000.   It is Spanish now though it has been ruled by Moors, English, French and once more by the Spanish.   It is much smaller than its big sister Mallorca being about 50 km in length.   The climate is very pleasant, certainly when compared to Scotland!   We have had a high of 31C and one day of clouds and showers.   We have travelled the length and breadth of the island by foot, boat, bus and rental car.   The island is surrounded by cliffs cut through by canyons which end with amazing beaches many of which you have to hike a fair distance.   The main road runs along the spine of the island and there are roads leading off to various small villages and resorts.   All very nice and enjoyable.

Did not get to watch (probably just as well) Canada playing Ireland at rugby but did see the last few minutes of Japan’s amazing win over South Africa and then Scotland’s win over Japan.

All good things must come to an end and we will soon be flying back to Scotland and hope the weather in the West Highlands will be fair.

Now do not forget the Ceilidh Dance tomorrow night.   All the information is in this newsletter so there is no excuse.

Summer - scene on Sheltand Isles

on the Shetland Isles

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She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.

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 Summer - shore between Pittenweem & Anstruther

Seashore between Pittenweem & Anstuther

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The next regular Ceilidh Dance is on Friday, October 23, 2015 (the second last Friday of  October to avoid conflicting with Halloween.)

Unfortunately, mainly due to rising costs but also because of some lower attendances, I have been forced to increase the admission price for this season to $12 ($10 for students) so I really hope this does not stop people from attending.   Remember that if you have a group of 8 or more you can all qualify for a discount but you have to contact me beforehand.

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Flying Truths  (including a few repeats)

  • It’s better to be down here wishing you were up there, than up there wishing you were down here.
  • If you’re ever faced with a forced landing at night, turn on the landing lights to see the landing area. If you don’t like what you see, turn ’em back off.
  • A check ride ought to be like a skirt, short enough to be interesting but still be long enough to cover everything.
  • Speed is life, altitude is life insurance.

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  kids 3

 

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Summer - Smoo Cave, Durness

Smoo Cave, Durness

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 sheep & fisherman

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 32 Strange Things You Likely Didn’t Know    

10. Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn’t wear pants.

11. Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II were made of wood.

12. The number of possible ways of playing the first four moves per side in a game of chess is 318,979,564,000.
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Thanks to Steve at the Celtic Treasure Chest there is now an online list of all the Celtic societies as well as a calendar of events:

List    https://www.celtictreasurechest.com/links/index.php
Calendar    https://www.celtictreasurechest.com/celticevents/index.php

There are always some specials at The Celtic Treasure Chest’s stores.  Check them out at www.celtictreasurechest.com

Celtic Fashions on E-Bay – go to https://www.CelticFashions.com

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Summer - South Ballachulish view

Summer at South Ballachulish

The Scottish Cultural Centre is a pretty unique and wonderful asset and space is available for rent to anyone or any group. The Centre does not run itself but is actually run by the United Scottish Cultural Society (USCS). Memberships in this Society are for individuals only and presently cost $10 annually. Membership Application Forms may be obtained either at the Centre or on the USCS website – www.scottishculturalcentre.com .   The cost is only $10.

Any person may join USCS and Scottish Country & Ceilidh Dancers are encouraged to show their support by doing so. If any USCS member would like to be more involved, then, Darryl Carracher, the Manager at the Centre, will be pleased to give you further information.  

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Summer - South Erradale, Wester Ross

South Erradale

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The next Ceilidh Dance is on Friday, October 23rd, 2015 arranged so you can still hold your Halloween parties!!   I am still overseas but will be back in plenty time for the October Ceilidh dance.  I am very grateful to Louise (and friends) as well as Francis and Gill for filling in for me.   I am sure everything went off without a hitch and that you supported them and had a great evening.   I look forward to hearing all about it when I get home. 

 Michelle has very kindly made up a Facebook event page for the Ceilidh but you need to “Search for Vancouver Ceilidh on Facebook and “Like” us to receive updates on upcoming Ceilidhs and other events”. Then, if you “Like” the Vancouver Ceilidh FB page (do as described above), you too will receive updates AND be able to share those updates and events on your personal Facebook page to your friends and ask that they “Like” and “Share”, etc. Ceilidh Dances are great ways to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries etc. Invite all your friends to come and join you at the Ceilidh. You are welcome to bring your own cake and we’ll even sing for you!!

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You can join the e-mail list of the SFU Scottish and Celtic Society; the club connecting you to all things Scottish and Celtic at SFU and the community. As members of this mailing list, you will receive updates on events and learning opportunities. All are welcome to participate and enjoy. Facebook Group: As of today, our new Facebook Group is launched and available to join. It is an ‘Open’ group. Anyone can join and invite their friends. We will create Facebook ‘Events’ for all our occasions. Join today at this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/451447541666799/

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Some fun and interesting sites: – note if you have a link to something you think others would enjoy please forward them to me.

What the drone can  photo

https://uk.businessinsider.com/illegal-drone-photos-of-the-most-beautiful-places-on-earth-2015-3?op=1

young musicians

 

There Are A Couple of These I Just Can’t Do Anymore   https://www.youtube.com/embed/VWf8CXwPoqI
The next Ceilidh Dance will be on Friday, October 23rd, 2015.    Same time, same place, small increase in price (so long as there is a big attendance), same amount of fun and entertainment. Now it is up to you all to help by planning on coming along and bringing loads of friends, family, acquaintances, etc. We need to improve the attendance to make the dances financially viable. Please do your best to spread the word. Let me know if you would like a poster to put up.

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The subscriber list is growing but ever so slowly.  We now have 327 subscribers.  I really need your help to get the subscriptions back up again.   Thanks for all your support.

Please pass along the website to your friends and ask them to subscribe – it is free!! www.vancouverceilidh.org

Please keep opening the newsletter!!  Any and all comments and suggestions are welcome.

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 Please see “Coming Events” below for all information.

COMING EVENTS IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS: Note: Please check list of classes for all start times and locations.

2015  
Sep 30 White Rock social – Bring a friend night
Oct 9 – 12 RSCDS Calgary Branch & the St. Andrews Caledonian Society of Calgary are hosting a Scots Gathering weekend. Come and immerse yourself in the Scottish Culture the weekend will offer. There will be a full Scottish Country Dance Workshop, Ceilidh and Ball, classes in Cape Breton Step Dancing and Highland Dancing and a full Musicians’ workshop. Scottish singing, Gaelic lessons, piping workshops, whisky tasting, Celtic knotwork and much more will be offered. Venues are located in the town of Canmore, surrounded by the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Canmore offers 101 restaurants, hiking and nature walks, shopping, golf and more. Note that there are many activities for dancers and as well as non-dancers.   You can find more detailed information and register using Pay Pal on the Gathering website www.calgaryscots.org. You can also register by mail and cheque.
Oct 17 Vancouver Island Harvest Social
Oct 17 Seattle RSCDS  — Dance party on Mercer Island
Oct 23 Ceilidh Dance at the Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson Street, Vancouver – no partner or experience required – live music with Calanais – refreshments available – class from 7 – 8 p.m. followed by dance from 8 – 11 p.m. – all dances walked, talked and called – admission at the door $10 (students $8)
Oct 24 Gleneagles Fall Dance 7:30 pm $15 —   New location: Delbrook Recreation Centre 600 West Queens Road (NE corner of Westview Drive), North Vancouver
Oct 24 Bellingham Ball
Oct 28 White Rock Halloween party
Nov  1 White Rock Fall workshop and dance wear sale
Nov 11 Lady Aberdeen Tea Dance 1:15 p.m. in the Scottish Cultural Centre hosted by the Burnaby SCDC – $10
Nov 13 – 15 The San Francisco RSCDS Branch is gearing up to launch our upcoming 2015 Asilomar Weekend registration. We, of course, would love to invite your members to come dance down & at Asilomar this Fall! Join us for a magical weekend of Scottish Country Dancing on the spectacular Monterey Peninsula with world class teachers and outstanding musicians. Workshops and Ball at Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, CA, USA Teachers – Jimmie Hill, Ruth Jappy, Elaine Brunken, Jeff Corrigan, Alan Twhigg – Musicians – Fiddlesticks & Ivory, Judi Nicolson & Andy Imbrie The Asilomar Conference Grounds and State Beach are renowned as the Monterey Peninsula’s ‘Refuge by the Sea’. If you are travelling from afar or nearby, there is no better time to start planning a memorable and unique autumn trip & come enjoy the magic that is Asilomar! Follow us on Pinterest for trip ideas https://www.pinterest.com/SFRSCDSDance/. More details & registration information available at www.asilomar.rscds-sf.org Questions? Please contact: Asilomar Weekend Chairman: Patti Cobb pkcobb23@gmail.com Registrar Julee Montes julm-hcs@pacbell.net
Nov 21 St. Andrew’s Ball

 

Dance - blue

 Fitness thoughts and advice.

   One dubious advantage of exercising every day is that you die healthier!  

If you´re going to try cross-country skiing, start with a small country!  

I don´t jog…it makes the ice jump right out of my glass!

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If anyone has any suggestions or complaints regarding the newsletter, please let me know – ceilidh@rscdsvancouver.org Please do not complain to your server that this is junk mail. There is a link on the e-mail should you wish to unsubscribe.

 Come Scottish Country Dancing – it is lots of fun.  Just ask anyone who came along to the Dancing in the Park. We had great audience participation so I hope you will all come along and join one of our great classes or at least come to one of the Ceilidh Dances.   This is the first year in quite some time that there were no cancellations of Dancing in the Park
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The next Ceilidh Dance is on Friday, October 23, 2015 with live music by Calanaish.   

You have all summer to spread the word about all the Ceilidh Dances as that is the best (and cheapest) form of advertising. It is great exercise and fun, for all ages, too. Here is a link where you can watch a short video of a Ceilidh Dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MvUwZnY9Ms and here is a link to the Facebook advert: https://www.facebook.com/events/597360563665264/597360566998597/ The format for all of the regular monthly Ceilidh Dances will be the same with the class from 7 – 8 p.m. and the dance from 8 – 11 p.m. and all dances will be walked and talked through.

They are all held at the Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson Street, Vancouver.  The price is only – $12 or $10 for students which, for what you get is a super bargain – everyone is welcome. No partner is required and you should wear FLAT, comfy shoes and loose clothing. Children are also welcome but should be prepared to dance with other people as some of the dances require a change of partner. Don’t forget to bring a few extra $$$$ to help defray the cost of the refreshments which are otherwise free.

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The Branch has opened a Facebook Page at “RSCDS-Vancouver” – check it out there are some good pictures etc. www.facebook.com/rscdsvancouver. There is a link on both our website www.vancouverceilidh.org and the Branch website www.rscdsvancouver.org

October is still a really good time to come along and join in one of many Scottish Country Dance (SCD) classes as they will be starting up again.    You will be made very welcome. Many classes have a policy that the first night is FREE! Plan to come along to try out a class next week. There are classes all around and on different nights so GIVE IT A GO! Go to either www.rscdsvancouver.org or www,vancouverceilidh.org for a list of class locations and times.

St patrick's Day Dancers

Dance - green

For those who don’t know SCD is a fabulous pastime (much better and lots more fun than golf!!) and is super exercise for body and mind. SCD is, naturally, rooted in Scotland but there are groups in almost every country so you can learn here and then dance with other groups when you vacation or travel. SCD is not to be confused with Highland Dancing which is more solo dancing. SCD is usually done with a partner in groups or sets however you do not need to come with a partner. It is more akin to Square Dancing.

Classes will have started up again at various locations throughout the Lower Mainland and beyond but it is never too late to come along and join in the fun.   Check for location, start date and time at www.rscdsvancouver.org

It takes a year or two of classes, workshops, etc. to learn the basics then you can hone your skills in advanced classes. You start by learning the steps and formations. Dances (of which there are over 13,000) are made up of these formations so a good grounding will give you the ability to learn a new dance fairly quickly. SCD has its HQ in Scotland and is known as the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) and there is a Vancouver Branch of the RSCDS under which there are many clubs throughout the Province (there is also a Branch in Seattle).

There are a great many classes and the ones in the Vancouver area are listed on the website. Come along – check us out – the first night is usually free and thereafter it will average about $6 a night and that’s for a 2 hour class! You will find many friendly people who will be eager to help you and welcome you to their club. You never know you actually might like it!! Check the list of classes at either at www.vancouverceilidh.org or www.rscdsvancouver.org. Note that the latter website has the latest updates to temporary changes to times and locations.

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as well there are classes all up and down Vancouver Island, a number of the Gulf Islands, the Cariboo, Okanagan, etc. etc. and there are various groups all over this great Province, Country, World and who knows where else! Check the Branch website for all these details – www.rscdsvancouver.org

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For upcoming events see www.vancouverceilidh.org and www.rscdsvancouver.org.

Other announcements etc:
Seattle Branch

– info at www.rscds-seattle.org ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next regular monthly Ceilidh Dance will be held on Friday, October 23, 2015 in the Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson Street, (73rd & Hudson which is between Oak & Granville), Vancouver,

We need everyone to help us get as many new comers (as well as former Ceilidh Dancers) as possible to come and join us. The Ceilidh Dances are a great way to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Invite all your friends along. Contact me if you will have a group of 8 or more and we can give them a discount!!!

We Really NEED YOUR HELP to advertise the Ceilidh Dances!!!! It only costs $12 ($10 for students) – it is worth so much more in fun, exercise and camaraderie. Use any access to free adverts etc. You can also use things like the YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh2HV3OPBgw or the Face-book page https://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=116203315&k=Z5C5Y4TZPT6G6BD1PKZZTWQQQ6BAW26L34AV&oid=164741310207760 https://www.facebook.com/events/597360563665264/597360566998597/

Suggestions to improve our advertising are always welcome. Don’t forget to tell them about the website www.vancouverceilidh.org and get them to “subscribe” to the newsletter.

Summer - St. Kilda

St. Kilda

Most of you have been to at least one Ceilidh Dance so you know how it goes. You don’t need a partner; you don’t need any experience; you should wear FLAT soft soled shoes; we walk, talk, and call every dance and you should come to have fun and have a good evening of exercise and entertainment and maybe even to learn!

There is a FREE class from 7 – 8 p.m. and the dance from 8 – 11 p.m. with music by Calanais. Remember to bring some extra cash so you can make a donation towards the cost of the refreshments. Without these donations we will have to increase the price of admission again!!

The schedule for the 2015/16 season shapes up as follows:
All on Fridays of course —

 2015
October 23
November 27
2016
January 8
February 5 & 26
March 25
April 29

Come along and get some great exercise while also having lots of fun. We hope to have lots of new Ceilidh dancers and we might even have Louise and maybe Daniel and/or Michelle to help with the calling.  Remember to bring your smiles and wear flat shoes.
Please do your best to assist us in letting as many people know as possible. Use Face-book, e-mail, telephone or even word of mouth and tell everyone you know what a fun night it is.

 Summer - straw bales near Forfar

Straw bales near Forfar

We would like to attract more students from Universities and all colleges. Somehow we have to get word out to these students. Please do all you can to help us. Come one, come all to the same place (Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson Street, Vancouver) and the same time (7 p.m. for the class and 8 – 11 p.m. for the dance) and the same amazing price ($12 or $10 for students.)

You should check the website – www.vancouverceilidh.org – from time to time as you can find various pages listing “Ceilidhs and Events;” Classes:” Duncan’s List;” etc. On these pages you can check all the upcoming events, where all the classes are located, times, etc. and some places to find Scottish things or some local trades, etc. I will continue to highlight the more current events in each week’s newsletter but, as stated, the calendar of all events will be available on the website.

You should also have a look at the Vancouver Branch website from time to time – www.rscdsvancouver.org – as there is always useful information on it and it is a very good-looking site.

If you have any questions regarding the Ceilidh Dances send them to me at ceilidh@rscdsvancouver.org     Please check the website – www.rscdsvancouver.org for updates, pictures and news.

Dance – it is good for your health.

Summer - summit of Ben Lawers

Ben Lawers summit

Keep sending jokes, pictures and info you wish to have included. Don’t forget to look at our web pages at www.vancouverceilidh.org    If you know of anyone who would like to be on the mailing list please send them the web address – www.vancouverceilidh.org and ask them to subscribe.

If anyone has good pictures from the Ceilidh Dances please send them to me so I can put them on the web page. If you have any announcements please send them to me preferably in Word; Times New Roman 12pt format with a layout similar to the one used in this newsletter. I occasionally hear of an event somewhere in our beautiful Province, on the Island or in the Interior, but don’t know all the details.

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  I love this Doctor Dingum

Q: Doctor, I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it…  don’t waste them on exercise.   Everything wears out eventually.  Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster.       Want to live longer?  Take a nap.

 

This newsletter reaches out to some 327 subscribers from all over the Province, Country and to many other countries as well, so please send me the details of your event and I will only be too happy to include them.

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blondie

 

 

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Summer - tombola conecting St. Ninians to mainland

Tombola connection St. Ninians to mainland

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Enjoy yourselves – come Scottish Country Dancing – for it is good for your health and you never know you just might …..!

See Coming Events on the website for info – www.vancouverceilidh.org

Summer - view from Glenuig

view from Glenuig

May your troubles be one, may your blessings be more, and may nothing but happiness come through your door.

Duncan      ceilidh@rscdsvancouver.org