Dance held at the Commodore Hotel 25 August 2023
For the last dance of the calendar summer the rain gods grimaced rather than scowled as a slightly soggy evening welcomed a passable roster of 57 dancers (49 members and 8 guests) to the Commodore. Membership fees for the coming year were taken with entrance fees at the door and membership forms distributed for completion along with the syllabus for the dances until next June. 44 members renewed their membership and 6 new members were added to the role on the night.
The evening commenced as always with opening remarks by President Neil MacLeod and an introduction of the band, the ever dependable Ewan Galloway, accompanied by his drummer and a one man entourage (his dad) hosting a table full of Ewan's CDs, DVDs and memorabilia available for purchase. As was to be expected the music was splendid and the first half concluded exactly on time for the break at 9.30.
Sadly, after early delivery of tea and coffee at the last dance, the Commodore service reverted to type with delivery of refreshments delayed to the point that it had almost been decided to go ahead with the raffle before they finally arrived, and that despite several reminders from the committee members organising. In addition, as has become the norm, the coffee quickly ran out and was not speedily replenished. Two pots had been requested at the outset, but apparently it was impossible for more than one to be provided at a time!
Nor was that the extent of the Commodore's lackadaisical attitude to its customers. For an organisation seeking to attract weddings and other mass events the large hole in the plasterboard at the entrance to the Osprey Suite was highly unlikely to provide a good first impression of the facilities; the stage lighting (or inadequacy thereof) was commented on by the band at the outset and it was explained that the President had raised this on numerous occasions with the Commodore management to no avail; instead of the customary long rectangular tables, round ones more appropriate for a meal were set out and were presumably left over from the last function; finally, and most damning for a dance event, the floor had obviously been treated and polished to a slight sheen with some substance which, while slightly tacky at the outset became more and more adhesive as the evening wore on, presumably the heat from the hall and pressure of the dancers' feet producing some sort of melting effect on the polish – again the treatment of the floor had previously been raised on several occasions with the management. Add in the dilapidated state of the toilets and all in all this was a far from stellar service from the Commodore!
The raffle was held as usual at half time and raised the respectable sum of £178. Thanks as ever to those participating and in particular to donors of the prizes.
Admittance fees for the evening amounted to £586 with a further £250 generated by membership dues. Total income with raffle included was £1,014 with outgoings of £515.90 leading to a net profit of £248.10 discounting the membership dues received.
Dancing continued (with ever more floor related difficulty) after the interval and the evening ended with the usual address from the President followed by the last waltz and Auld Lang Syne.
The next dance will be held in the Osprey Suite of the Commodore on 29 September with music provided by the Wayne Robertson Duo.
Ewan Galloway, accompanied by his drummer and a one man entourage
(his dad)
And Well Done all the Dancers 
