Helensburgh & District Highland Association

Dance Held at the Commodore Hotel on 31 May 2019

Turnout at the May dance on a thoroughly dreich evening was modest with only 49 members attending. The numbers were, however, boosted a little with a count of 10 non-members.

Music was provided by the ever reliable Ewan Galloway Scottish Dance Band who drew dancers onto the floor with a perfectly judged selection of tunes. The band fairly raced through the programme and two extra dances were fitted in at the end.

The Annual General meeting was held at half time, with the Minutes of the last AGM being read by Secretary Ronnie Reardon, financial report by Ewan Howieson and the President's report by Vice President John Johnston in the absence of Association, President Neil MacLeod. 

It was announced that two Directors were retiring from the committee, Jim Gray and Andrew Rankin.  

The rest of the committee, as per the constitution, stood down at the meeting and all were re-elected, no other names being put forward to fill the vacancies. 

A minute's silence was also held at the commencement of the meeting in honour of two members who have sadly passed away since the last AGM, Andy Love and Jack Inglis.

There was a slight delay for refills of the tea and coffee pots at the interval leaving some dancers waiting to slake their thirsts.....apologies to those affected. It's also worth noting that the condition of the floor was not ideal, being somewhat “stickier” than usual. Hopefully that will have improved for the next dance.

The raffle raised a respectable total of £167 and, as ever, thanks to those donating prizes and purchasing tickets.

Closing remarks were given by John Johnston and the evening ended in traditional fashion with a last waltz and Auld Lang Syne.

Our next event will be a dance in the Osprey Suite of the Commodore on Friday 28 June 2019 with music provided by Liam Stewart. All welcome as ever.

Monthly Function Friday 26th April 2019

The Association’s monthly function was held in the usual venue of the Osprey Suite, Commodore Hotel, Helensburgh.

The evening was opened by our President, Neil MacLeod, who welcomed all present, including a group of Polish and Canadian visitors.

It is always a pleasure to see new faces coming along.

For many years, donations of between One Thousand and Two Thousand Pounds have been dispersed locally, and in keeping with its longstanding tradition of donating annually, any profits, to local good causes, this year, we were pleased to be able to give away a total of Sixteen Hundred Pounds, divided amongst the following organisations.

Helensburgh Food Bank: £500  -  St Augustines Foodbank, Dumbarton £500  -  Rhu Scouts  £300  

and 

Grey Matters, Helensburgh:  £300 

Representatives of all the organisations joined us for a night of dancing, with music provided by the 

Roy Hendrie Scottish Dance Band, and are pictured here along with the Association President, 

Neil MacLeod, and Treasurer, Ewan Howieson.

As always, visitors local and further afield are invited to join us at our regular events, held on the last friday of every month. 

All  will be  will be made most welcome. 

Our next Ceilidh dance Function will take place on Friday 31st May and will feature 

the Ewan Galloway Scottish Dance Band. 

Dance Held at the Commodore Hotel on 29 March 2019

On a pleasantly surprising rain free night in Helensburgh the welcome and introduction were given by  Vice President John Johnston in the absence on holiday of President Neil MacLeod.

Playing on the night were the Lomond Ceilidh Band, minus their usual fiddler and with a second box filling in. Notwithstanding the change in lineup the music produced was of the highest quality and special mention is due to the perfect tempo for the Viennese Swing, something which other bands have often struggled with. Dancing progressed apace through the advertised programme and a couple of extra dances were fitted in.

Numbers on the night were on a par with those of February's dance with 53 members and 2 non members attending.

The raffle raised a total of £150, somewhat more than last month, and, as ever, thanks to those donating prizes and purchasing tickets.

Closing remarks were given by John Johnston and the evening ended in traditional fashion with a last waltz and Auld Lang Syne.

Our next event will be a dance in the Osprey Suite of the Commodore on 26 April 2019 with music provided by the  Roy Hendrie Scottish Dance Band. All welcome as ever.

Dance Held at the Commodore Hotel on 25 January 2019

Despite a fairly dreich evening a respectable turnout of 64 members and 4 non-members were welcomed by President Neil MacLeod to an evening's dancing at the Commodore. Included in the numbers were a party celebrating a 50^th birthday.

The Iain Anderson SDB who had been scheduled to play on the night had regrettably had to call off but were ably replaced by the Donald MacLeod two piece band providing some excellent lively music, though with some little confusion as to the correct tempo for Saunter Together.

The raffle raised the sum of £112 and thanks go to those who contributed to the prizes as well as those who purchased tickets.

Our next event will be a dance and not a Ceilidh as originally advertised due to lack of interest in the latter and will be held as ever in the Osprey Suite of the Commodore on 22 February 2019 with music provided by the  Stuart McKeown Scottish Dance Band. All welcome.