Helensburgh & District Highland Association

Hogmanay Ceilidh Dance 2018

Doors open at 8pm and the hall filled up fairly quickly, although not with quite the same urgency as witnessed on previous years!

This may have been due to the fact that at least half of those attending were not members of the Highland Association. However, without that influx of guests, we may have struggled to fill the hall.

Nevertheless, the night got off to a great start come 9pm, with a welcome from our 

President, Neil McLeod and music courtesy of the Stuart McKeown Scottish Dance Band, excellent as always.

The evening progressed well, with Piper Daryll Lynch giving a fine rendition of tunes straight after the Bells..

Shortly thereafter, we had the honour of our very own Jim Gray arriving at the door as our First Foot, issuing Good Wishes and Good Cheer, with the offer of a Dram for all present.

Dancing continued until 2am at which point farewells were said and Auld Lang Syne completed a very successful Hogmanay.

Thanks to all those members who assisted in the clearing of the hall after the event.

It was much appreciated!

Christmas Supper Dance Held at the Commodore Hotel on 7 December 2018

66 members and guests (including visitors from Australia) braved some pretty atrocious weather to attend the annual Christmas supper dance at the Commodore and were royally entertained by the inimitable Charlie Kirkpatrick and his band, with Charlie's patter as amusing (if weel kent) as ever.

President Neil MacLeod provided a welcome and dancing continued until an excellent supper was served by the Commodore staff. The traditional appearance of Santa and his vivacious elf assistant (ably played as usual by Ewan and Janette Howieson) was the highlight of the evening and was loudly welcomed by the party.

The raffle raised a total of £182 and thanks go to those who contributed to the prizes and, of course, all who bought tickets.

The second half provided more great music to dance to and included a spot dance. The President wound up the proceedings followed by the last waltz and the traditional Auld Lang Syne before the weary dancers departed, thankfully in somewhat less wet and windy conditions than on arrival.

Our next function will be the Hogmanay Dance at Geilston Hall, Cardross

More photos to follow>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Monthly Function Friday 30th November 2018

Dance Held at the Commodore Hotel on 30 November 2018

Numbers were somewhat down on last month's dance with a total of 49 members attending together with 10 non-members including a Canadian ex-pat on a visit home with family members (who have indicated an interest in returning) and a couple from Alexandria (not the Egyptian city!). Ticket sales brought in a total of £492.

Notwithstanding the lower turnout a most enjoyable evening was had by all, dancing to some superb music by the Wayne Robertson Scottish Dance Band who fairly rattled through the programme.

The raffle raised £141 and thanks to those who donated prizes and, of course, those who purchased tickets.

The floor was in better condition than at the last dance after representation to the hotel management and, thankfully, tea and coffee arrived in suitably large pots after the problems of last month. It was noted, however, that there were insufficient tea bags in the pot for a decent cuppa.

Our next function will be the Christmas  supper dance on 7 December in the Osprey Suite of the Commodore Hotel with music provided by the ever reliable Charlie Kirkpatrick Scottish Dance Band. 

Dance Held at the Commodore Hotel on 26 October 2018

A healthy attendance of 66 members and 12 guests braved a distinctly chilly but thankfully rain free evening to attend the event at the Commodore, bringing in a total of £648 in entrance fees. Originally intended to be a ceilidh evening, due to lack of interest of the members it was instead a night of dancing to the music of the ever reliable Wullie Scott. Looking rather lonely on the stage after a late cancellation by a fellow band member, Wullie nevertheless filled the hall with some great music (amazing the volume, variety and richness of sound a single accordion combined with modern technology can produce!) and, to his credit, had mastered the modern waltz tempo for Waltz Catherine after some confusion at his last appearance.

Regrettably there was some delay in the serving of teas and coffees at the interval due to a strange miscalculation of the volumes required on the part of the Commodore – one small teapot and coffee flagon were totally inadequate for the numbers requiring to be served and there were lengthy delays in providing refills. Apologies to those kept waiting for refreshments. On the plus side the raffle raised a grand total of £202 and thanks go to those who contributed to the prizes.

Our next function will be a dance on 30 November in the Osprey Suite of the Commodore Hotel with music provided by the Wayne Robertson Scottish Dance Band. All welcome as ever.