A lot of dancing

A day indoors, doing a bit of domestics and a bit more decorating, and rather than another ladder and paint can pic, thought I'd return to the souvenir ticket box. A week on from the last one (don't know how it can be a week ago so quickly) here is a selection of tickets from some of the ceilidhs I've been to over the past twenty plus years. Looking at them the oldest is only eighteen years ago, but I'm pretty sure I've been going to them longer than that. Maybe not quite since I moved to Edinburgh in August 1985, but I'm pretty sure I can clock up a quarter century of ceilidhs. In recent years I've become a regular at the Scots Music Group ones at St Brides. They are always very relaxed and friendly. Sometimes I've been with other people and other times I've gone along on my own. Either way there are always plenty of people to dance with. There is often quite an international feel to the evenings there - some nights I must have danced with a dozen nationalities. At the one last week, I was there with a mixed group of Poles and Czechs, and one Greek. Some of our group were at their very first ceilidh while others have been going to them for a while now. When you go regularly you see other familiar faces, even if you don't know each other and have never spoken. I saw one guy there who I've seen at ceilidhs for years. With his long hair and the casual hiking boots n kilt look he's a very recognisable figure on the floor. Not to mention being a very good dancer. From what I've seen he always seems to do a very good job of matching the skill level of his partners. If they are first-timers, he'll help them through the dance, very encouraging and very tolerant of mistakes, while if they know what they're doing he'll add in fancy steps and embellishments. Although I'd say he must have been around Edinburgh ceilidhs for twenty years, I've never spoken, what's to say? Still, maybe I should one day.