Helensburgh & District Highland Association

Dance report for January 27^th 2023

The Band on this evening was the Burns Brothers SDB.

With their fantastic music and tempo all those in attendance had a great evening of dancing and banter amongst their family and friends.

We had visitors from Virginia USA and Insch Aberdeenshire. Unfortunately due to some poor weather on the night, some members on holiday, the Burns Supper Season plus one or two under the weather with the latest flu etc there were only 43 persons in attendance.

There was the usual varied selection of dances and tea & coffee served at the interval, and asking around the company they all felt it was a great night although a few of the friends were missing.

Looking forward to the next dance on February the 24^th and to see all the well kent faces and a few more new ones perhaps to fill the dance floor and get the rest of the season back up to speed.

Sam Mennie

Christmas Supper Dance 2022

Report & Photographs of the Function....

Christmas Supper Dance Report 2022

Dance held at the Commodore Hotel on Friday 9^th December 2022

Welcome and opening remarks by Neil MacLeod, Honorary President.

The Commodore was booked for 9^th December as later dates in December were otherwise unavailable.

The evening began at 8.00pm with a warm welcome and a few opening remarks from Honorary President Neil MacLeod.

There were 71 people in attendance including 12 non-members. On this occasion, conveniently, refreshments were obtainable from the bar within the dance hall area.

The ever popular Charlie Kirkpatrick Scottish Dance Band provided the music with a  range of dances from the planned programme starting with ‘Flirtation Two Step’, a wee change from the traditional first dance, the ‘Gay Gordons’. The Band hire cost was £460.

A Christmas supper was served with previously selected options of steak pie, vegetarian or ham salad followed by tea or coffee and mince pies, and the meal was enjoyed by everyone. The raffle which followed raised the princely sum of £198. A grateful thanks to ticket buyers and to those who generously provided prizes.

After the dinner Santa and his elf visited each table delivering beautifully wrapped chocolates.  The programme then commenced with the variety of dances proving to be very popular with dancers on a busy floor, played in the Band’s inimitable style.

The evening was deemed to be a resounding success by all accounts with comments from dancers including, “A very good night”, “Excellent”, ”A great band”, “Friendly atmosphere”.

The Honorary President concluded the evening by thanking everyone for attending what proved to be a most entertaining and well attended evening. No dance would be complete without the traditional singing of Auld Lang Syne and this evening was no exception.

There was a loss of £108 after deductions for venue hire, ceilidh band and other associated costs were taken into account.

The next dance will again take place in the Commodore Hotel on *Friday 27^th January 2023 with music by Burns Brothers Scottish Dance Band.

*Footnote: As the next dance will be held just two days after traditional Burns Night on 25^th January, a wee acknowledgement may be appropriate, for according to Burns himself, "In my seventeenth year, to give my manners a brush, I went to a country dancing school.” (where he also met the local lassies no doubt!)

Bob McCafferty

Round the Tables 

...................................

 And well Done the Dancers……………………

And well Done Father Christmas 

and his faithful Elf 

Friday 25^th November 2022 8p.m. -11.30p.m.

Venue: Helensburgh Civic Centre, 28 East Clyde Street Helensburgh G84 7PG

Band: Wayne Robertson

Some Photos from the Evening:

Following on from the August function, and the successful election of the new association committee at the AGM, 

 the next two dances will be held on Friday 28th October 2022 and subsequently on the 25th November as detailed below.

*Please note the change of venue for these two functions*

Friday 28th October 2022 8pm-11.30pm.

Venue: Cardross Parish Church Hall, Station Road Cardross G82 5NL.

Band: Scott Band. 

Ticket Price: £8 for members and £10 for non-members. 

Tea/coffee & biscuit available at interval. 

No bar so BYOB. Raffle. 

Dance Programme for tonight:

Dance Programme 28 October 2022

Welcome and Opening Remarks by President Neil MacLeod 

Gay GordonsTwo Step 

St. Bernard's Waltz 

Saunter Together 

Petronella
Pride of Erin Waltz 

Britannia Two Step 

Hesitation Waltz 

Duke of Perth 

White Heather Foxtrot 

New Killarney Waltz 

Interval and Raffle 

Gay Gordons 

Viennese Swing 

Flirtation Two Step 

Postie's Jig 

Waltz Catherine 

Edinburgh Mixture 

Mayfair Quicktep 

Shiftin' Bobbins 

Eva Three Step 

Lomond Waltz 

 (Extras if time permits ;- Square Tango, Military Two Step) 

President's Closing Remarks

Last Waltz and Auld Lang Syne 

Contact Association Secretary Anne Thorn 07490 274 871 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  for more information.  

Friday 25th November 2022 8pm-11.30pm

Venue: Helensburgh Civic Centre, 38, East Clyde Street, Helensburgh G84 7PG

Band: Wayne Robertson. 

Ticket Price: £8 for members and £10 for non-members.

Tea/coffee & biscuit available at interval.

Bar and raffle.

Contact Association Secretary Anne Thorn 07490 274 871 or  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  for more information. 

Dance Report and photos from the function held at The Commodore, Helensburgh on 26 August 2022

The third post covid dance and the first in the newly refurbished function suite of the Commodore

took place on a dry and warm late summer evening and was introduced with a welcome and

opening remarks by President Neil MacLeod. Music was provided by the Steven Carcary Scottish

Dance Band and was much appreciated by the dancers.

The event was one of the better attended of recent times with a total of 66 dancers comprising 57

members and 19 non members and bringing in the sum of £546 in ticket sales.

As to the venue, the seating arrangements were a little haphazard with an additional table and seats

having to be sourced and set out. The bar was non operational due, apparently, to the “pipes”

needing to be cleaned out....somewhat surprising given the recent refurbishment. Waiter service for

the Commodore's main bar was, however, available. The cost of teas and coffees had also doubled

to £2 a head, an increase only disclosed on the night, although on the plus side the service of

refreshments appeared to go smoothly. The floor which, it had been feared from previous

inspection, would be somewhat sticky for dancing on thankfully appeared to have “weathered” a

little, though there is still some room for improvement. 

Whilst the Association's finances are currently in a fairly healthy state such increased costs (coupled

with an expected rise in the cost of band hire) may pose problems for the future.

The hire of the venue had on this occasion been set at a rate of £130 

(still £30 more than the pre covid cost). With the possibillity of further increases, the President has

undertaken to discuss with the Commodore's management the future booking fees given the 

Association's long standing relationship with the venue. Regardless of the outcome it

is imperative that attendance at dances remains at a financially sustainable level to secure the

future of the Association.

The long delayed AGM took place after the refreshments and before the raffle. A number of

directors were due to stand down and, given a lack of expressed interest, it had been feared that

insufficient replacements would be found to provided numbers enough to prevent a threatened

winding up of the Association. Thankfully (and a little surprisingly) on the night a number of

volunteers came forward, both members and non members, and were duly appointed, raising the

number of directors to 15, the highest for some considerable time. An updated list of the office

bearers and directors can be found on the Information page of the website. Thanks are due to the

retiring office holders and directors for their long and unstinting service and it is to be hoped that

they will continue to grace future events with their presence.

The raffle raised an impressive £205 in ticket sales and thanks go to those who purchased tickets

and in particular to donors of the prizes. Unusually not one but two bottles of whisky, paid for from

Association funds as customary, were amongst the prizes, a gesture decided upon on the thankfully

unrealised supposition that this was likely to be the last dance before the dissolution of the

Association. Profit for the evening after expenses amounted to £312.50

After a lively second half the dance ended with closing remarks by the President followed by the

last waltz and Auld Lang Syne. The next dance is tentatively scheduled for Friday 28 October,

probably at the Commodore, and with band to be arranged. Details will be advised to members

once finalised.