A perfect shot of Arran from the ferry over

Less than 2 weeks until the next Ceilidh Dance on Friday, April 28th and I hope you are all planning to attend along with many friends.  We had a super attendance at the March dance though it wasn’t a record so it would be nice to have everyone back again as this is the last ceilidh dance until September.  You all know what a fun night it is and it is pretty reasonable too at $15 or students $10 plus refreshments for a donation.  Remember it is Cash Only both for admittance and for the refreshments.

Ceilidh dances are held in the Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson Street, Vancouver.  There is a free class at 7 pm then the dance follows from 8 – 10:30 pm with live music by Calanais.  All easy dances that are taught and called and everyone has lots of fun and great exercise.  Tell your friends and make it an outing – it only costs $15 ($10 for students) and there are refreshments (including cider & beer) for a donation.  Remember it is “cash only” both for admittance and the refreshments.  Mark your calendars now and make plans to join the fun.

If you have a group of 8 or more then the cost is $1 less for each of you.  You have to choose a password, make sure everyone in the group knows what it is then contact me at duncanmackenzie@telus.net at least two days before the dance & let me know you have a group and what the password will be, then you do not need to all arrive together.

Scottish Country dance classes are winding down but there is still time to check which classes fit your schedule and come along – many first nights are free – check out the new beginner class on the North Shore.

There will Dancing in the Park (DITP) again this summer so think about joining in the fun at Ceperley Playground near 2nd Beach in Stanley Park on Monday evenings starting June 19.  More details on the website www.vancouverceilidh.org – it is FREE!

 

Here is some cheery upbeat Scottish Dance music to enjoy – I have chosen tunes from the upcoming Heather Ball

Jubilee Jig        Alastair Fraser & Muriel Johnstone          Just as it Was l

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Admit it . . . .  you feel like doing this to at least one person everyday!!

 

 

I’m sure you will enjoy this. I never knew one word in English language that can be a noun, verb, adj, adv, prep. UP

Read until the end … You’ll laugh along with it.

This two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and  that word is UP .’ It is listed in the dictionary

as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It’s easy to understand UP , meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP , and why are the officers UP for election (if there is a tie, it is a toss UP ) and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.

At other times, this little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.  To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is blocked UP .

We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !

To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look UP the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.

If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don’t give UP , you may wind UP with ( UP to) a hundred or more.

When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP . When it rains, it soaks UP the earth. When it does not rain for awhile, things dry UP . One could go on and on, but I’ll wrap it UP , for now . . . My time is UP !

Oh . . . One more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning and the last thing you do at night?

U

P !

Did that one crack you UP ?

Don’t screw UP .. Send this on to everyone you look UP in your address book . . . Or not . . . it’s UP to you.

Now I’ll shut UP !

 

 

 

How I stay in shape!

 

Island living – Lairg in Sutherland

What a fun dance hosted by the Burnaby club and a good turn out of dancers too.  It was great to be able to dance again to the music of the Vancouver Fiddle Orchestra.  They were in fine form and had us all up dancing every dance.

Now we look forward to the Deep Cove dance and then the Heather Ball with musicians from Scotland.  Get your tickets for the latter event at www.rscdsvancouver.org

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One afternoon a lawyer was riding in his limousine when he saw
two men along the road-side eating grass.

Disturbed, he ordered his driver to stop and got out to investigate.

He asked one man, “Why are you eating grass?”

“We don’t have any money for food,” the poor man replied.
“We have to eat grass.”

“Well, then, you can come with me to my house and I’ll feed you,”
the lawyer said.

“But sir, I have a wife and two children with me.  They are over there, under that tree.”

“Bring them along,” the lawyer replied.

Turning to the other poor man he stated, “You may come with us, also.”

The second man, in a pitiful voice, then said,  “But sir, I also have a wife and SIX children with me!”

“Bring them all as well,” the lawyer answered.

They all entered the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine was.

Once under way, one of the poor fellows turned to the lawyer and said,
“Sir, you are too kind.”   “Thank you for taking all of us with you.

The lawyer replied, “Glad to do it.  You’ll really love my place.
The grass is almost a foot high.”

Come on now…you really didn’t think there was such a thing as a heart-warming lawyer story…did you????

 

 

Well I seem to have the garden all tidied up and ready for spring.  Our garden is already colourful with the daffodils, hyacinths, and primulas along with the magnolia and camelias.  Our garden is a spring time one and we will soon see blue bells, lilacs and other bulbs.  Now is the time to visit and you can check out our fancy door knocker.

Loch Tulla taken from the A82 just north of Bridge of Orchy and south of Rannoch Moor

1. In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a committee.  —  John Adams

2. If you don’t read the newspaper  you are uninformed, if you do read the  newspaper you are misinformed. —  Mark Twain

3. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Parliament. But then I repeat Myself. —  Mark Twain

4. I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle. — Winston Churchill

5. A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. —  George Bernard Shaw

6. A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money. —  G. Gordon Liddy

7. Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. — James Bovard , Civil Libertarian (1994)

8. Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.–  Douglas Case , Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University.

9. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys.  —  P.J. O’Rourke , Civil Libertarian

10. Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. —  Frederic Bastiat , French economist(1801-1850)

11. Government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it.  If it keeps moving, regulate it.   And if it stops moving, subsidize it. — Ronald Reagan  (1986)

12. I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. —  Will Rogers

13. If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free! —  P. J. O’Rourke

14. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other. — Voltaire  (1764)

15. Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you! —  Pericles  (430 B.C.)

16. No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.
—  Mark Twain  (1866)

17. Talk is cheap, except when Parliament does it. —  Anonymous

18. The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. —  Ronald Reagan

19. The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery. —  Winston Churchill

20. The only difference between a tax man and a taxidermist is that the taxidermist leaves the skin.   —  Mark Twain

21. The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools.   —  Herbert Spencer , English Philosopher (1820-1903)

22. There is no distinctly Native Canadian criminal class, save Parliament. —  Mark Twain

23. What this country needs are more unemployed politicians — Edward Langley , Artist (1928-1995)

24. A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything  you have.  —  Thomas Jefferson

25. We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office. —  Aesop

 

 

A bracing walk on a beautiful spring afternoon on St Andrews beach to blow away the winter blues

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The 2023 season for Ceilidh Dances are scheduled (all on Friday evenings) as follows:-

2023
April 28
September 29
October 27
November 24

Mark your calendars now!

The dances will be will be held at the Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson Street, Vancouver.  The class will be held in the large hall from 7:00 – 7:45 then we will all exit to give the band a chance for a sound check etc. and the dance class will run from 8:00 – 10:30 with live music by Calanais.  Alison will continue to be your teacher/caller so you are guaranteed to have a great evening.  No change to the admission – still $15 with students $10.

Help us spread the word – I am not into social media but I am sure somebody can promote the Ceilidh Dance(s) there for me especially out at the Colleges and Universities.  Tell all your friends to come along – it really is a fun (and cheap!) evening.  DON’T FORGET IT IS CASH ONLY.

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All blondes will love this…

Two Irishmen were standing at the base of a flagpole, looking up.

A blonde walks by and asked them what they were doing.

Paddy replied, ‘We’re supposed to be finding the height of this flagpole, but we don’t have a ladder..’

The blonde took out an adjustable spanner from her bag, loosened a few bolts and laid the flagpole down.  She got a tape measure out of her pocket, took a few measurements, and announced that it was 18 feet 6 inches.

Then, she​ walked off.

Mick said to Paddy, ‘Isn’t that just like a blonde!
We need the bloody height, and she gives us the length.

 

 

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Here is another tune from the upcoming Heather Ball

 

 

 

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