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It was wonderful to see so many people on the dance floor at Johnsonville Club’s 2023 St Patrick’s Day celebration. More people always makes for more fun, and that’s what St Patrick’s Day is all about. A hall full of dancers enjoying The Coleraine Rant at the 2023 St Patrick’s Day celebration Every St Patrick’s Day celebration is full of the hilarity and high spirits associated with those tricky Irish dances. Each year Rod tweaks the programme, finding new ‘easy’ dances for us to do, and every year they bring us challenges to overcome. Well done to our new dancers for taking those challenges in their stride so early in the year, and in their dance career. 2019 – A new club tradition The tradition of celebrating St Patrick’s Day as the club’s first special dance night of the year, began in 2019 at Johnsonville School hall. St Patrick’s Day 2019 was such a success, that we’ve celebrated every year since then. I can’t entirely remember who come up with the idea or why, but I suspect it was to give our many new dancers a special experience early in the year. 2019 was a bumper year for beginners. 46 attended beginners’ classes, 21 joined the club, and 19 of them were dancing on St Patrick’s Day. In honour of this celebration, tutor Rod Downey devised his dance The Coleraine Rant, a nod to both the Irish county and the New Zealand wine. The dance was designed as beginner-friendly, and to include a poussette which Rod had been working on at club. In total, 57 people were there wearing green and dancing Irish that night, and ten of the 2019 beginners still dance with us today. You’ll see some of them in the photo below of 2019 new dancers. Some of our new 2019 dancers  2020 – Lucky to make it In 2020, St Patrick’s Day celebrations only just squeaked in before dancing was suspended for three months due to covid. Despite a new venue, and covid in the wings, 20 beginners joined us for beginners’ classes at Johnsonville Bowling Club, and on St Patrick’s day over four sets of dancers took to the floor for a great celebration. The Goat Fell Jig was replaced by A Trip to Ireland as a first dance, but City of Belfast, Lady Glasgow and Rory O’More were back to enjoy. Of course St Patrick’s Day was again on the programme, as well as Rod’s dance The Coleraine Rant. Supper co-ordinator Elizabeth Ngan built her reputation for super St Patrick’s Day suppers on the theme of green, with minted green pea dip and corn chips, Easter eggs and Lindt chocolates in green paper, green apple sherbet fizz and Kiwiberry for the health conscious. 2021 – We move again Covid delayed the start of club nights at our new venue of Khandallah Town Hall, but 2021 St Patrick’s Day celebrations went ahead as planned, perhaps the luck of the Irish was on our side. This, our first special night at Khandallah Town Hall, was made even more special with live music from Aileen Logie, and another new dance devised for the occasion. This time Rod was inspired to write a strathspey, The Parting Glass, again devised to suit beginners, and danced to Aileen’s lovely set of tunes including The Parting Glass itself. Aileen played wonderful sets of tunes for us to dance to in 2021 Dancing the World Premiere of Rod’s dance, The Parting Glass. Just over five sets of dancers once more enjoyed The Coleraine Rant, along with other favourites The Wild Geese, A Trip to Ireland and of course, The Irish Rover to finish the night. A couple of new dances gave variety – Paddy in the Car and The Orchards of Co. Armagh. Once again there was a wonderful green-themed supper. Elizabeth’s green eggs, popcorn, chuppa chups and feijoas (the healthy choice), were served alongside freshly-baked green cookies with white chocolate from Liz Hands. Just the thing to give tired minds a boost. 2022 – The covid effect We were very pleased that 2022 St Patrick’s Day celebrations could actually go ahead, with a fun programme from Rod and lively Irish tunes from Aileen. We had a great time as always, and everyone excelled themselves with every shade of green represented, and accessories adding both glam and fun to the occasion. But covid really was impacting a lot of people’s lives. Beginner numbers and dancing numbers were down, and only 24 people attended St Patrick’s Day celebrations, including four Johnsonville beginners, and four very welcome visitors. A sea of emerald green in 2022. Photo: Robert Vale Lower numbers didn’t dampen our spirits. The music, the dances and the company were good, and there was plenty of green tea, homemade apple cake and green sherbet sweeties for all. Lots of old favourite Irish themed dances like The Wild Geese were back, and a new addition – Dougal of Shandon. 2023 – A sign of rejuvenation You’ve only to look at the 2023 photo of dancers ‘wearing the green’ below, and compare it with the 2022 photo above to see the difference. The 2023 turnout of 46 dancers is almost twice the attendance at last year’s St Patrick’s Day Celebration. The merry band of dancers dressed in an array of green in 2023 We’re still not back to the level of attendance of that original 2019 St Patrick’s Day celebration, but it’s enormously satisfying to have a full hall of dancers once again. It is also another encouraging sign of a return to pre-covid participation levels – together with increased numbers at beginners’ classes (31 this year, vs 14 last year), and new members (10 so far this year vs 5 last year). As has become traditional, we danced the two dances Rod devised for previous St Patrick’s Day celebrations – The Coleraine Rant and The Parting Glass, and welcomed club musician Aileen Logie. This year St Patrick’s Jig and St Patrick’s Strathspey replaced the usual St Patrick’s Day; The Wild Geese and A Trip to Ireland returned; and we finished as always with The Irish Rover – not a dance for the faint-hearted. Elizabeth Ngan’s green supper offered figs, apple sherbet fizz, Lindt chocolate in green wrappers, green crackers with cheese, grapes, and St Paddy’s Irish sandwiches with corned beef and lots of green lettuce. Janet T added to the sweet treats with green gummies. Club bard, Aline Homes, made her first St Patrick’s Day appearance. She told us her version of the battle between folklore giants the Irish Finn McCool (Fionn mac Cumhaill) and Scottish Benandonner, and how The Giant’s Causeway came to be. Aline only had time for the first half of the story, we can look forward to the rest at our next St Patrick’s Day celebration. Kristin Downey23 March 2023 Photos: Loralee Hyde except where noted [...] Read more...
Aileen Logie with her sets of tunes for two of Rod Downey’s Irish-themed dances: The Coleraine Rant on the left and The Parting Glass on the right A hall full of dancers You’ve only to look at this year’s photo of dancers ‘wearing the green’ below, and compare it with the 2022 photo to see the difference. The 2023 turnout of 46 dancers is almost twice the attendance at last year’s St Patrick’s Day Celebration. The merry band of dancers dressed in an array of green celebrated St Patrick’s Day in style We’re not back to the level of attendance at Johnsonville Club’s 2019 St Patrick’s Day celebration, but it’s enormously satisfying to have a full hall of dancers once again. It is also another encouraging sign of a return to pre-covid participation levels – together with increased numbers at beginners’ classes (31 this year, vs 14 last year), and new members (10 so far this year vs 5 last year). It was a grand night, full of the hilarity and high spirits associated with those tricky Irish dances. Every year, tutor Rod Downey finds new ‘easy’ dances for us to do, and every year they bring us challenges to overcome. Well done to our new dancers for taking those challenges in their stride so early in the year. As has become traditional, we danced the two dances Rod devised for previous St Patrick’s Day celebrations – The Coleraine Rant and The Parting Glass, and welcomed club musician Aileen Logie back to play for us in 2023. Rod tweaks the programme each year, introducing a new dance or two. This year St Patrick’s Jig and St Patrick’s Strathspey replaced the usual St Patrick’s Day; The Wild Geese and A Trip to Ireland returned; and we finished as always with The Irish Rover – not a dance for the faint-hearted. The Leprechaun will have to wait for another day, as we ran out of time. There were so many green supper-time goodies this year, we were spoilt for choice. There was something for everyone, no matter their preference or dietary restrictions. Elizabeth Ngan supplied green figs, green apple sherbet fizz, Lindt chocolate in green wrappers, green crackers with cheese, green grapes, and St Paddy’s Irish sandwiches with corned beef and lots of green lettuce. Janet T added to the sweet treats with green gummies. In what we can hope will be a new tradition, club bard Aline Homes, made her first St Patrick’s Day appearance. She told us her version of the battle between folklore giants the Irish Finn McCool (Fionn mac Cumhaill) and Scottish Benandonner, and how The Giant’s Causeway came to be. Aline only had time for the first half of the story, we can look forward to the rest at our next St Patrick’s Day celebration. Click on the gallery below to see Loralee’s photos of our newer dancers with the more experienced enjoying The Coleraine Rant (with an allemande substituted for the poussette) devised by club tutor Rod Downey. 20 March 2023 Johnsonville St Patrick’s Day Celebration: Dancing The Coleraine RantAileen Logie playing1003 The Coleraine Rant DSC_32611004 The Coleraine Rant DSC_32621005 The Coleraine Rant DSC_32631006 The Coleraine Rant DSC_3264 Prev 1of5 Next Kristin Downey23 March 2023 All photos: Loralee Hyde [...] Read more...
Covid has affected not just our individual lives over the last three years, but also the life of Johnsonville Club. Club nights were cancelled, we had to change venue at times to find somewhere that would allow us to dance, and we were forced to re-locate, re-schedule or cancel any number of club events. Covid also affected membership, as individuals reacted to the impact of covid on their own lives. And it definitely affected the numbers of beginners coming through the door, and staying on to dance with us. Despite that, in each of the last three years we have welcomed new dancers as members of our club community. It’s not been an easy time to start any new activity, with all the disruption that Covid has brought. Congratulations to all those who’ve stayed the course. I had a look back at membership records from the last three years, and between 2020 and 2022 membership dropped from 64 to 58. The 13 new dancers of the Covid years have been instrumental in bolstering club numbers, and keeping the club alive and well. Some of Johnsonville’s new dancers from the last four years at our first club night in 2023 2020 beginners’ classes were pre-covid, and in the club’s new venue of Johnsonville Bowling Club. Of the 30 people who came along, 10 or so stayed on and enjoyed the club’s 2020 St Patrick’s Day celebration on 16 March. Then came Covid. When dancing resumed in June, only four of our beginners returned. The bowling club four still dance with us today – Gill, Isabelle, Lizzie and Maggie. 2021 beginners’ classes started out well, with two classes at Khandallah Town Hall, but Covid level 2 postponed class number three, and moved class four to Johnsonville Bowling Club. By the time we returned to Khandallah Town Hall for opening night, beginner numbers had dropped from twenty-nine to eight. Just four keen 2021 beginners remain as club dancers – Anne H, David M, Pam and Veronica. Last year we really didn’t know if anyone would come, and considered cancelling beginners’ classes altogether. In the end Johnsonville was the only club in the Wellington Region who did offer beginners’ classes, attracting 14 people – more than we had anticipated in the circumstances. We were so pleased to have five of those fourteen become club members – Carol, Christine, Ian, Janet T and Verne. In 2023 we seem to be emerging from a lot of the constraints of the last three years, and this seems to align with revived enthusiasm for Scottish Country Dancing. Thirty beginners have come our way this year, and it was wonderful to see twelve of them dancing with us at our first club night of the year on Monday 6 March. Welcome all. Dancing Lady Catherine Bruce’s Reel, a 32 bar Jig, at our first club night in 2023 Sets filled the floor while dancing Lady Catherine Bruce’s Reel at Johnsonville’s first club night of the 2023 dancing season Great circles round and back during Lady Catherine Bruce’s Reel! Kristin Downey8 March 2023 Photos: Loralee Hyde [...] Read more...
Bowling Each year I check that indoor bowls is available as a backup option in case of bad weather on the day, but we’ve never had to move indoors – until this year. For the first time since 2014, the sun didn’t shine on our summer ceilidh on 28 January. But we still had a great day, starting with indoor bowls rather than the usual lawn bowls. Janet from Johnsonville Bowling Club was wonderfully friendly, patient and helpful in setting us up, and explaining how it all worked. Teams of dancers and family members showed their competitive side with intense discussion and concentration, but it was all in fun and there were smiles all round. Janet from the Bowling Club explaining indoor bowls to Johnsonville dancers and guests Once the mats and bowls were packed away, and the non-bowlers amongst us had arrived, we enjoyed nibbles and a chance to socialise. The surprise centre-piece of our snack table was a magnificent Scotch thistle contributed by Charles and Tomoko, spurring us on to the ceilidh section of the afternoon. The Scotch Thistle centre-piece surrounded by an array of delicious nibbles The dancing Our trusty tutor Rod always makes it fun for everyone, with a mix of ceilidh dances and easy Scottish Country dances. This year we started with the Canadian Barn Dance, then Thread the Needle (guaranteed to create confusion and laughter), followed by A Trip to Sucker Bay, Seann Triubhas Willichan and Virginia Reel, finishing with club favourite, De’il amang the Tailors Everyone had fun dancing a mix of ceilidh dances and easy Scottish Country dances Our ceilidh performers I’m always so impressed by the generosity of club members who share their skills and talents to entertain us between dances. This year we had an amazing array of items, really adding to the day’s fun. Kat and Thomas were up first, bringing us the relaxed vibe of Hotel California as they sang to ukulele and guitar. Then it was on to one of our most longstanding ceilidh performers. Malcolm has played for us almost every year since the first of the summer ceilidhs in 2014. This year he played two popular keyboard pieces from the past – Blue Tango by Leroy Anderson and Ragtime Nightingale by Joseph Lamb. Unfortunately, he had to whizz off to another engagement, and couldn’t stay on for dinner. Deborah S and Veronica shared the next performance slot. Deborah kept it Scottish telling a joke about a man buying Dunlop tartan and being sold McIntyre’s … Veronica followed on her alto saxophone with Summertime by George Gershwin and The Midnight Sun Will Never Set by Quincy Jones and Henri Salvador. Club bard Aline H read three short original poems. The Meadow concerned a favourite place that was destroyed in the name of progress, Hogmanay was her most recent poem, and Running Wild was a poem that came to her in a dream and just needed writing down. The final performer of the afternoon was Kate, singing two songs in German, Gesellenreise (Life’s Journey) by Mozart, and Guter Mond (Lovely Moon), a traditional German folk-song. It’s so nice to have Kate back in our midst, and she plans to be back on the dance floor this year. The dinner With the last item performed and the last dance done, it was downstairs for a wonderful pot-luck dinner. Many thanks to Maureen who took on the job of organising the pot luck food offerings, despite being unable to attend. Thanks also to all our kitchen volunteers, and those who came early to decorate and set up, or stayed on late to pack up. And to Loralee for her work behind the scenes updating the online registration form. We all had a lot of fun, and after last year’s covid cancellation of the ceilidh, it is a very encouraging start to the 2023 dancing year. View Kristin’s photos of bowlers, dancers and performers, making for a great start to 2023 Kristin Downey10 February 2023 [...] Read more...
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