My occasional pictures, thoughts and quotes about dancing, stretching and keeping healthy—written from the Breton Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, of which I am the Honorary Secretary.
This blog is a supplement to the monthly Dancing Hippos Newsletter. Hippos dance too, but only in my hilarious newsletter.
STRETCHING is good for keeping healthy during 2023!
Having good balance and coordination are important goals for all of us to strive for. Stretching helps us keep good balance, and so does Scottish dancing. Dancers are healthier, better coordinated and better-balanced human beings.
Dancing and stretching will keep you Fit and Healthy during 2023!
Read MoreWilliam Williamson, the Society’s new Chairman, launched the RSCDS Centenary Year in Glasgow at the AGM on November 5th during the Autumn Gathering. This was my very first time to attend an AGM, after 55 years as a member of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society.
Read MoreLike Nicola, I am very interested in music (and dance) education. Every child should play an instrument. If they can do it in Venezuela (and they do), they could do it also in Europe. We Europeans under-estimate the value of culture.
Read MoreThe Crown stands for British and Commonwealth unity
It has been said by others before me, that “The Queen represents all that unites us; the prime minister represents all that divides us.” That is why The Crown is such a precious national asset.
Read MoreWhich nations have beautiful national costumes? Where do we see them? When to they wear them? In this increasingly homogenized world of social media and American commercialism, I am proud that Scotland’s National Dress is probably the best loved, the most recognized and the most often admired in the whole world. Certainly it is the most important in Britain, and in Europe.
Scotland and the Scots should be proud of their tartans.
Read MoreI am weightless when I dance. I have no need of a Jeff Bezos rocket; all I need is Strathspey music or a beautiful Waltz …. and a beautiful partner to dance with, of course. When they dance well, all women become beautiful. Dancers are Angels.
Read MoreThere are snobs everywhere, and I hope I am not one of them. Ceilidhs do not offer top-level dancing. Nor are Ceilidh dancers always elegant. But Ceilidhs are fun. Definition: a Ceilidh is a Scottish party with any combination of music, dance, singing and storytelling.
Read MoreThese Highland dance feet are not our Breton feet. We leap less high and we are non-competitive. Dancing is for joy. We dance for pleasure, whether with our old friends (skilled and experienced) or with our new friends who are Beginners.
Read MoreAs soon as French government rules allowed outside gatherings, the Breton Branch members came together to dance in the beautiful medieval city of Josselin, where - as ever - Branch President Dr Penny Gibbs was a generous host.
Read MoreOn Sunday, June 13th 2021 in Josselin, in the centre of Brittany, the Scottish Dancers of the RSCDS Breton Branch will be dancing out of doors, in open-air safety with masks for some and clean hands for all.
Read MorePrince Philip died on April 9th 2021. The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince and First Gentleman of the United Kingdom was an outstanding British personality, a great servant to the United Kingdom and to the Commonwealth.
Read MoreThe best way to start dancing again, as soon as most people have been vaccinated, will be to dance outside in the Summer sunshine. Risks of passing a virus are reduced twenty-fold in the open air.
Read MoreWould you believe that? My New Year gift (actually Xmas) is a TREADMILL. In British and American history, the treadmill's miserable history illustrates the awfulness of English values.
Read MoreWe decided to create an RSCDS Breton Branch. Individual groups are invisible; an official Branch makes us all stronger and easier to find.
Read MoreFirst let me present many congratulations on your knighthood: a well-deserved reward by Her Majesty the Queen in recognition of your extraordinary and generous contributions to World art and British culture. The summit of your achievements (for me, if not for you) was your magnificent film Twelve Years a Slave, which has been a game-changer in the understanding of social relationships in the United States, and also in the British Commonwealth.
Read MoreSt Andrews Day, Nov 30th: since we cannot dance, let us celebrate with this portrait of Bonny Prince Charlie, leader of the 1745 rebellion against England's imported German kings from Hanover.
Read MoreNormally I dance twice every week, sometimes more often: an hour or two where I share the exhilaration of music and movement with friends and fellow-dancers. Janet McCrorie's pictures illustrate so perfectly the joys of dance! This one is called BIRLIN' BLUE ...... turning fast with your partner, in time to the music: fusing movement with motion with music.
Read MoreSean Connery was a British national treasure as well as Scotland’s most famous and popular man. He always wore the Maclean of Duart tartan (hunting version) because his mother was a Maclean.
Read MoreThe pandemic prevents us from dancing together. Here is a dance we can do alone: The Lawn Mower Reel
Read MorePolitical correctness is spoiling the fun of dancing. Stop bullying!
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