Helensburgh & District Highland Association

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.

 

 

         

Dance held at the Commodore Hotel, Helensburgh on 28 September 2018

In the absence of President Neil Macleod Vice President John Johnston welcomed 58 members and 4 guests to the September function and introduced the  Alan Ross two piece band. Numbers had fallen back a little from last month's attendance but were still up on the previous two months' totals.

The band coped competently on the whole although there was some confusion regarding the tempo for the White Heather Foxtrot. The dancing was as enjoyable as ever.

The raffle raised a respectable £163 and thanks go to those who contributed to the prizes (and to the ticket sellers).

Although the next event was originally intended to be held as one of the customary twice a year ceilidhs with guest performers the committee, after consultation with the members, has opted to omit this element, partly on grounds of cost, and accordingly our next function will be a dance on 26 October, in the Osprey Suite of the  Commodore as usual, with music provided by the Wullie Scott Scottish Dance Band.  All welcome.

Dance Held at the Commodore Hotel on 31 August 2018

Another enjoyable evening's dancing at the Commodore with the Scott Band SDB heralded a gratifying uptick in numbers over the previous few events. 72 members attended with a further 7 paying non-members, 2 free entries courtesy of the vouchers printed in the Community Mag. (limited success with this endeavour, but worth a try) and another couple of free entrants linked to a Romanian wedding party. A grand total of 83. In addition to the Romanian contingent other far flung areas represented were Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Total ticket revenue amounted to £646.

The raffle prize table was well laden (many thanks to those who contributed) and the raffle raised £206, again a marked increase over recent events.

Our next function will be a dance on 28 September in the Osprey Suite of the Commodore Hotel with music provided by the Alan Ross Scottish Dance Band. All welcome as ever.