Dance Held At The Commodore Hotel on 28 April 2023
Daylight and dry (albeit overcast) weather welcomed 41 dancers (35 members and 6 non members) to the April dance, a disappointingly low turnout due perhaps in part to the event coinciding with the bank holiday weekend. As a result a small loss of £39.80 was recorded on the night, a loss which would have been substantially higher were the raffle income to be taken out of the equation. One can only hope that numbers pickup over the next few dances.
The evening began with the traditional welcome from President Neil MacLeod and music for the night was provided by the Roy Hendrie SDB who, while not perhaps the most communicative of band leaders, did play some splendid music for the various dances.
The floor was well frequented for most of the dances despite its appallingly glutinous surface (of which more later) though the reluctance of many to try their hand at a couple of dances outwith their immediate comfort zone was disappointing.
The usual tea/coffee and biscuits were served at half time without any of the problems experienced on past occasions and the raffle followed, raising the sum of £126 to alleviate somewhat the loss on the night. Thanks to prize donors and purchasers of tickets.
Despite representations by the President to the hotel management it was clear that a number of the problems raised had not been addressed. The state of the floor in particular had been pointed out as an issue after the last dance and it was self evident that nothing had been done to remedy the matter leaving it unfit for purpose as far as dancing is concerned. Several of the dancers complained and indicated that they might have to consider future attendance if the situation remained unresolved. The stage lighting also appears still to be an issue and complaints were received as to the state of the ladies toilets with one cubicle out of commission, another without toilet paper, both soap dispensers empty and a boxed toilet seat left atop two of the basins. A lack of cleaning was also evident and the corridor leading to the ladies toilets has been in darkness since December. In addition a lack of small tables necessitated the requisition of one of the long tables for the purpose of taking entry money and selling raffle tickets(which could have been problematic had the attendance been higher). All in all a pretty poor showing by the Commodore.
The evening ended with remarks and thanks by the President followed by the last waltz and Auld Lang Syne.
The next dance will be held on Friday 26 May at the Commodore (with the sincere hope that at least some of the aforementioned problems will have been sorted out). The AGM will also take place at the interval and it is hoped that as many members as possible will attend and that volunteers to become new committee members will make themselves known prior to the date.
