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.
William 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 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 MoreDancing is healing! At a recent conference, a medical researcher was presenting findings showing the benefits of dance for older people. In the Q&A session someone said that they were keeping their mind very active with crosswords and sudokus, and they thought this should protect them from senility.
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