Category Archives: Event Reviews 2019

Wellington Region Hogmanay 2019

A great welcome to 2020 organised by Johnsonville Club!

20 dancers attended Hogmanay for the very first time!

Despite a bit of a late start on the organisational side, Wellington Region Hogmanay at Crofton Downs Primary School hall came together as a fun and successful event attracting dancers from across the Region.

Johnsonville club members played a big part, with Rod as MC, Kristin as organiser and around 15 volunteers who helped make it such a good night.

Special thanks to Helen Simmers, John Gregory and Pat Reesby for the help and support they gave as previous organisers, and to Loralee Hyde for all her efforts in promoting the event.

Rod worked hard behind the lectern (with some forays onto the floor) to make sure we all had a great night’s dancing. He put a lot of thought into the programme to ensure it was suitable for both newer and more experienced dancers, and it paid off with plenty of chatter and smiling faces. Walking most dances made it an even more relaxed night for everyone, including at least 14 new dancers.

First year dancers Sarah and Jay enjoying The Dancing Bees

Band members Aileen Logie, Iain Matcham and Jason Morris were kind enough to make themselves available for the night, with Aileen missing Summer School to be there.

The band played into the night to bring us music which got us up and dancing even when we thought we were too tired to keep going. Our thanks to them all.

Between seven and eight sets of people attended, including almost a set of spectators. Dancers on the floor peaked at six sets, and there were still three sets dancing when it came time for The Eightsome Reel – a mighty fine effort.

It was fantastic to see nineteen Johnsonville members (as well as past members Anne Lord and Judy and Don Keats) amongst the crowd enjoying this very special night on the Scottish Country Dancing calendar. And it was really exciting to find that twenty of the Region’s dancers (10 with Johnsonville connections) were attending a Hogmanay celebration for the very first time.

Mandy arriving by motorcycle in a sidecar!

Congratulations to first year Johnsonville dancers who bravely attended – Catherine, Jay and Sarah Epps together with Emma Watson, Elizabeth Judge and her (pre-beginner) husband Ross

John Price also came along as a spectator. Mandy Clark made the most memorable entrance, arriving by motorbike in a sidecar.

The Crofton Downs School hall is light and airy, with a lovely feel and a good floor, and it was a perfect venue for Hogmanay.

The hall setup team (thank you all, you are too numerous to list) made sure Johnsonville’s tartan bunting, saltires, tartan rugs and tablecloths created a festive atmosphere. Aileen Homes added that extra touch with her floral creation, and Rod, the band and the dancers did the rest.

Supper with fruit salad (included by popular demand) revived us for the second half. Thanks to Joan Clayton for her work in the kitchen, together with Helen Simmers from Kelburn club and Mandy Clark assisting. Allison Kay was our door-person, and John Markham teamed up with John Gregory (Kelburn and Tawa clubs) to cut a dash as parking wardens in fluoro tops.

As midnight approached, dancing stopped and the singing began, led by Alastair McCarthy (Lower Hutt), John Gregory and John Markham. John G even ventured into a little Australiana, giving us a surprise rendition of Home Among the Gum Trees to acknowledge Rod and Kristin’s Aussie origins and their work organising Hogmanay.

Aline Homes as the Sweeper sweeping out the Old Year (John Homes)

Next it was time for Auld Lang Syne as Aline and John Homes slowly circled the floor with Aline (as Sweeper) sweeping out the Old Year (John).

As Big Ben’s chimes died away, Doug Sinclair filled the hall with pipe music as First Foot Jason Morris entered the hall.

Bringing coal (for warmth), shortbread (for sustenance), and a coin (for prosperity), Jason proposed a toast to the Region’s dancers, joined by Rod and Doug.

Then it was on to home-made shortbread (thanks to Anne Mackenzie, Elizabeth Judge and Jay Epps), a nip of whisky, sherry or orange juice and a chance to meet and greet, and wish all our dancing friends a happy new year. Revived once more, the hardier souls danced the final three dances of the night, before we all set to packing up and heading home.

It was a grand night. If you were there you have memories, if you weren’t you can see what it was all about thanks to photographers Loralee Hyde and John Patterson, and videographer Pat Reesby.

Photos

See John Patterson and Kristin Downey’s photos of getting ready for the evening

See Loralee Hyde and John Patterson’s photos of the dance

Videos

Click below to see Pat Reesby’s videos of the evening:

The Den O’Mains

Singing the Northern Lights of Aberdeen

Singing Auld Lang Syne as the Sweeper sweeps out the Old Year

Piping in the First Foot

Download the Wellington Region Hogmanay 2019 Programme

Maureen Robson Tribute 2019

Maureen in the centre set dancing More than Friends – a dance she devised

A good number of Johnsonville dancers joined Tawa Club at a special dance on 7 December at Ngaio Town Hall to pay tribute to Maureen Robson who is retiring after teaching the Club for 38 years.

The eight sets on the floor, together with other friends and former dancers as spectators, enjoyed a programme of dances specially chosen by Maureen.

Some were dances she had devised, others were of special significance and one, The King of Spain’s Daughter, was devised for her by local devisor Iain Boyd.

Dancing Busy B

One of the dances of significance was Busy B, devised by Maureen for her granddaughter Brianna who was busy training to be a nurse.

The dance was the winner of the Scottish Country Dance Club of Canberra 2018 Scottish Country Dance Devisers’ competition and is published in The Second Canberra Book of Scottish Country Dances.

Special dancing friends of Maureen and fellow tutors, Philippa Pointon (Johnsonville Club President 2001-2003) and Melva Waite, briefed the dances while Hilary Ferral and Aileen Logie provided the music—which for dances from Maureen’s book From North to South included tunes composed by Peter Elmes and arranged by Aileen.

Melva and Désirée Patterson gave speeches of thanks to Maureen for her dedication to Tawa Club along with anecdotes of her dancing life. One outstanding feature was Maureen’s commitment to ‘theme nights’ at the Club, both for arranging programmes of relevant dances that were appropriate to the themes and for her marvellous costumes.

John Patterson copied photos Maureen had taken over her years of tenure at the Club. Désirée created posters of the photos which were displayed on the walls of the hall. John also developed a visual photo show which dancers could watch between dances.

Maureen with her Tribute from the Wellington Region. Barbara Kent, a former Johnsonville Tutor, is sitting next to Allan Robson.

Ann Oliver, RSCDS Wellington Region President, presented Maureen with a framed Tribute in appreciation of her support, commitment and dedication to all dancers, tutors and musicians of the Region.

Maureen and husband Allan are originally from Northumberland in England.

A highlight of the evening was A medley of tunes from North-East England … with some ‘different’ lyrics – by musicians and singers from Tawa Club.

The ‘different’ words to songs well-known in the North-East of England were written by Moggie Grayson, who both sings and plays guitar.

Click here to watch a video of the item filmed by John Patterson

One spectator particularly welcomed by Johnsonville dancers was Barbara Kent, a former tutor of Johnsonville Club.

Maureen and Allan were also Johnsonville Club members in years gone by, also tutoring and serving on the committee, so we too have benefited from their service to Scottish Country Dancing. See more about Maureen’s contribution to dancing

Thank you to Tawa Club for arranging such as special and happy evening as a tribute to Maureen’s contributions to Scottish Country Dancing.

Click here to see more of Loralee Hyde’s photos

See Pat Reesby’s videos of the evening below.

Salute to Mrs Mac

Marie’s Jig

Christmas lunch at Café Thyme 2019

Lovely food and coffee at Café Thyme

Twenty-one club members got together for this year’s Christmas lunch at Café Thyme on 5 December, a relaxing occasion full of chat and good cheer.

The weather was just a little too windy for the less staunch among us, so it was inside rather than out.

Thanks to Kristin, Liz H, Loralee, Mandy and Wendy who arrived early to ‘occupy’ inside tables as they became free, and scavenge extra chairs from here and there.

It was really nice to have newer dancers (Bruce, Elizabeth J, Helen T and Nancy) joining regular Christmas lunch attendees (Aline and John, Deborah S, Désirée and John, Janet, John M, Moira B and Pat). A pleasure also to catch up with Joan who’s not been able to dance this year, and to see Liz R and Sandra along for the first time.

As always, it was a great opportunity to find out a bit more about each other’s lives outside dancing, and to eat, drink and be merry. Loralee managed to get photos of pretty much all of us on the day, a great feat and much appreciated.

Click here to see Loralee’s photos of everyone

Thanks to café proprietors Jackie and Livi who looked after us and made us welcome, despite our taking over half the café and more than our fair share of the chairs!

If you couldn’t make it this time, we hope to see you next year.

Tartan and Final Night 2019

Dancing Jim Dougal of Eyemouth

What a final night we had on 25 November, our last ever night of dancing at Johnsonsonville School Hall.

With MC Rod at the helm, the hall was alive with dancing fun, fine music, chat and laughter.

Nine sets of dancers made for a very special night, with toe-tapping music by Lynne Scott, Sharlene Penman, Richard Hardie and Ann Goodbehere.

It wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun without the three sets of dancers from other clubs who joined us in marking the end of our 49 year relationship with Johnsonville School.

Rod and Kristin with their Honorary Life Membership certificates

The highlight of the evening was the awarding of Honorary Life Memberships of Johnsonville Scottish Country Dance Club to our Tutor Rod Downey and President Kristin Downey.

See the details of their significant achievements during their time at Johnsonville and their full commendations

The commendations also provide a comprehensive history of the activities and the essence of our very successful Club over the last few decades.

Many thanks to all the Johnsonville Club members who pitched in as always to make it such a successful night.

See more of Loralee Hyde’s photos of the evening here

Download the Johnsonville Final Night 2019 Programme

Dancing with Robert: Eastbourne and Carterton

Club members Mandy and Pat dancing at the Carterton Annual Dance. Photo: John P

Our new Club secretary Robert is a keen dancer, travelling with wife Brenda (a Tawa Club member) throughout Wellington and to the Wairarapa to get his fill of dancing.

He was joined by Désirée, Maureen, Sandy and Wendy at Eastbourne’s final night, while Désirée and John P, Jeanette, Mandy and Pat also made the trip to Carterton’s Annual Dance.

See more about Robert’s experiences at Eastbourne and Carterton below.

Eastbourne Final Night

Several Johnsonville members enjoyed the drive round the bays to Eastbourne on the night before Hallowe’en  (Wednesday 30 October) to enjoy Eastbourne’s Final Night at the Muritai School Hall.

The dances were themed round a journey, so after warming up at Rona Bay and attending the Highland Fair, we caught the Royal Deeside Railway to Balmoral for a Strathspey.

After that  we clocked up an awful  lot of air miles (via the City of Belfast, a Trip to Bavaria, and some Australian Ladies, among others) and ended up back home with Pelorus Jack.

The dances were walked in advance which made it a whole lot easier and a delicious meal was provided at the end. Many thanks to Eastbourne Club for entertaining us so well and to Aileen Logie and Hilary Ferral for some great music.

Carterton Annual Dance

On the Saturday night of the same week, quite a few Johnsonville members were “over the hill” at the annual dance at Carterton, The Scarecrow Caper, held during the annual Carterton Scarecrow Festival.

As well as members who came from around Wellington, former Johnsonville Secretary John Munro who lives locally was in attendance.

We danced in the very smart and spacious Carterton Events Centre accompanied by Scottish musicians Marian Anderson and Max Ketchin. We had at least eight sets, presided over by scarecrows Petronella and Fair Donald plus quite a few of their scarecrow friends.

There were lots of dances, and nearly all of them were familiar from Club nights, (although that did not necessarily mean that I got them right!). Just over half way through the evening  the Carterton Club laid on a huge and delicious supper out in the foyer.

After the supper interval one of the dances was a new one written for the Scarecrow Caper called appropriately The Capering Scarecrows. Fortunately we got to walk that one, as it was a bit complicated, but there were lots of experienced dancers among the sets to offer advice.

We finished soon after 11:00pm with the very popular Reel of the 51st Division. At that point those who had been wise enough to book somewhere for the night could go back to their motel while the rest had to face the trip back to Wellington, but it was a lovely starry night and there was hardly any traffic at that hour.

Thanks to Carterton Club for a  great night’s dancing. my only regret was I had to get up at 7:00 the next morning.

The Capering Scarecrows

Enjoy watching  Johnsonville members (and our guest tutor Catherine) dancing in Pat’s video of The Capering Scarecrows at the Carterton Annual Dance – you can catch glimpses of Robert and Brenda dancing in the set to the left).

AGM and Samhain/Halloween 2019

Johnsonville Scottish Country Dance Club AGM 2019

As in the last few years, we combined the Club AGM with a celebration of the Scottish tradition of Samhain (Halloween).

With Rod dancing we had five sets on the floor, and a good smattering of witch’s hats, capes, pitchforks and themed t-shirts adding to the atmosphere.

We also welcomed a few unwary visitors who patiently waited through our AGM for the second half of the dancing programme – nice to see Bruce and Fiona, Kair, and Tom.  Commiserations to two of our dancing witches (Désirée and Loralee) who were missing due to illness.

As requested at last year’s AGM, minutes and reports were emailed prior. Less reading of reports moved the meeting along and allowed more time for discussion, especially the topic of change of venue for club night.

Kristin took great pleasure in honouring four of the 2019 committee members with service awards – read about awards to Elaine Rowse, Allison Kay, Maureen Sullivan and Nancy Tay.

Our new committee for 2020 was elected. Congratulations and many thanks to Allison, Charles, Elizabeth N, John H, John M, Maureen and Robert for offering your time and energy in the Club’s service. And of course to Rod who continues as our tutor.

Thanks to all those who came along to make up a quorum, help with decision making, and enjoy our fun night of Samhain-themed dances, music and supper treats.

As usual Rod brought us excitement on the dance floor. We ran the gamut of werewolves (The Scottish Werewolf), fairies (The Fairy Dance), snakes (Slytherin House), witches (Dancin’ Witches), the ghostly music of the big grey man in Ferla Mor and finally the frantic fun of Ellwyn’s Fairy Glen.

Elizabeth made our supper very special, this year managing to create both Halloween and Guy Fawkes themed goodies! Thank you Rod and Elizabeth for your efforts.

And thanks to John Patterson for his photos of the night – dancing fun, and AGM deliberations. See more of his photos here

John Munro: Shooglenifty melodies

John Munro at the New Dancers’ Celebration dancing with Catherine McCutcheon who often teaches at Johnsonville

Past Johnsonville Club member (and current Carterton dancer) John Munro tells us about a Shooglenifty concert in Carterton and the Wairarapa’s Kokomai Creative Festival.

While Wellingtonians were immersed in WOW, us Wairarapa folk were diving into Kokomai – that’s not a local swimming hole it’s a 10 day Festival of music, writers, dance, art, etc.

I started quietly with a rare opportunity to visit the privately-owned Greek Orthodox Church of the Transfiguration and view the interior. This little gem, built by a Greek immigrant who owned a fish and chip shop in Masterton, sits prettily in a field to the west of the town.

Every inch of the interior is decorated in glowing icons that give the effect of medieval stained-glass windows. There are over 800 figures that Stephen Allwood painted when he was a 19 year old student at Canterbury’s art school.

I ended noisily with the Shoogles. Shooglenifty are seven musicians from the Scottish Highlands, Orkney and Edinburgh. They fuse traditional and traditional-sounding melodies with the beats of modern music.

It’s high energy and high volume and the 210 (I asked) attendees were attentive but not inclined to dance out front in the first half. At the break the bar was busy and in the second half the vocalist Kaela Rowan invited someone to join her at the front to demo the Canadian Barn Dance

Curiously the first to volunteer was an older man with a walking stick! That wasn’t a great start but luckily some more agile people became involved and soon there were about 30 dancers happily leaping around, although ceilidh moves were in the minority.

Overall I found Shoogles traditional melodies hard to detect but I’m hanging out for Marian and Max at the Carterton Annual Dance.

From John Munro, 24 October 2019

New Dancers’ Celebration 2019

The Wellington Region New Dancers’ Celebration on 12 October at Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua was a lot of fun, with a festive atmosphere and a great turnout from Johnsonville.

Sixteen of our first and second year dancers attended, supported by fifteen of our experienced dancers, plus Hilary in the band.

Rod and Jeanette had prepared us well. Quite a few of our new dancers also took advantage of the two Region preparation sessions taken by Maureen Robson who was MC for the evening.

Thank you for the great effort by Tawa Club in organising such a successful event.

It was fantastic to see 18 sets of dancers up and enjoying their dancing to rousing music by Aileen, Don, Hilary and Terry.

Events like this give us the opportunity to catch up with dancing friends.

It was a pleasure to chat with with Johnsonville past secretary John Munro, and to see past members Judy and Don Keating amongst the dancers.

Thank you to John Patterson for his photos of the evening. Click here to see more of the fun our dancers had

Our Annual Dance: A happy and fun night!

Our shared annual dance on Saturday 24 August at Ngaio Town Hall was a really happy fun night. Members of both Capital City and Johnsonville Clubs can pat themselves on the back for organising such a successful event.

An excellent turnout

Hisako dancing Barbara’s Strathspey with Elena and Ian with Prisilla

We had an excellent turnout of Johnsonville members (37 plus our two MCs, Jeanette and Rod), and fantastic support from dancers across the Wellington Region.

With 10 sets on the floor (as well as a few more people on the sidelines) the hall was buzzing with laughter, music and conversation.

It was a real treat to have past members attending – Hisako and Ian Ewing from Australia, and Judy and Don Keating from Waikanae.

Thank you for making the evening a success

Thanks to everyone who made the evening a success – MCs, musicians, volunteers and club dancers from Waikanae to the Hutt, as well as clubs closer to home.

Special thanks to the organising sub-committee – made up of John Jowett, Neil Bromley and Jeanette Watson from Capital City, with Allison Kay, Elizabeth Ngan, and Kristin and Rod Downey representing Johnsonville.  Loralee Hyde was comms person extraordinaire.

Setting up the hall

Everything went well. Aline Homes’ beautiful floral arrangements, Johnsonville’s tartan bunting, and Capital City’s stage banner set the scene.

We had plenty of volunteers for hall set-up and pack-up, masses of delicious food for supper, super fruit salad (as promised!), great music from Aileen, Don and Hilary, and a fun programme of dances for everyone.

Most importantly, we all looked after each other, and experienced dancers from all clubs made sure newer dancers were well supported. Congratulations to the 10 first year and three second year Johnsonville members who bravely came along to their first Saturday night dance, and never looked back once they hit the dance floor.

Making sure all our dancers had a good time

This year we tried to do everything we could to make our Annual Dance appealing to new dancers, and to ensure they had a good time when they came along.

Dancing Midsummer Common

Our Annual Dance e-news mail-outs aimed to give people all the information they needed in advance.

Rod and Jeanette elected to walk all dances for the first couple, allowing that couple to then dance from wherever they were comfortable.

Additionally we offered less confident dancers the option of adding a red dot sticker to their name tag, so more experienced dancers could buddy up with them on the dance floor.

A great response!

The response to all our preparation was a great turnout of new dancers, happy faces on the dance floor, and positive comments from both new and experienced dancers.

Andrew Macbeth’s photo shows a full hall, our colourful tartan bunting in service once more, and Capital City’s banner providing a great backdrop for the band.

Here’s a comment from one of our new dancers that says it all:

Such a fabulous night in so many ways. The hall looked magnificent, MCs Rod and Jeanette guided us through the programme with ease, supper – we were spoilt for choice, but the best part of all was seeing the smiles on each and everyone’s faces.

Please email Kristin if you have any comments, or suggestions of how we might further improve the organisation, information, promotion etc next year.

See lots more photos by Loralee of happy, smiling faces on the night.

Click here for more about our weeks of preparing for the dance

Download the Johnsonville Capital City Annual Dance Programme 2019

A Tartan-Filled July Night

Tartan as far as the eye can see

What a great night we had on Monday 22 July at our second Tartan Night of the year.

Fifty dancers, a jolly (if hobbled) MC, and three talented musicians made for a really fun night.

The hall was buzzing with conversation and laughter, and the atmosphere was heightened (as always) by the Club’s colourful tartan bunting and the excellent supper.

Everyone loves a good supper! Thanks to club members for their delicious contributions, and the supper team for their dedication behind the scenes.

Monday was a very tartan-filled night. Thanks to everyone who came early to deck the hall with tartan rugs and tartan bunting, and those who bedecked themselves in kilts, tartan skirts and sashes, plaid shirts and more. It’s a joyful thing for the Scot in me to see a hall full of tartan. Well done all.

And well done to Loralee for making it back from Auckland post-fog, in time to capture that tartan filled atmosphere.  See more photos below – including a lively one of life member John Homes swirling his kilt!

Sharlene, Lynne and Heather with their ‘game faces’ on

For such a good night of dance and music, we must thank Rod for his programme, and Lynne, Sharlene and Heather for their stirring music. As Rod often mentions, the Wellington Region is blessed with Scottish Country Dance musicians, and more are continuing to emerge.

They make time in their lives not only to come along and play for us, but also to learn the repertoire for each event, bringing us so much dancing and listening pleasure.

We were so pleased to welcome over a set of visitors from clubs around Wellington, making a good night even better. Special thanks to Vicky from Nelson, who was in Wellington for the night, and past members Judy and Don Keats who made the trip from Waikanae.

Commiserations to those Johnsonville Club members who couldn’t join us, through illness or being off on their travels. Hopefully you will all be able to make it to our Annual Dance coming up on 24 August.

Download the Johnsonville Tartan Night July 2019 programme