Burns Night Ceilidh 2007
Dressed to Kilt - A Ceilidh Success
January is always a good time to hold something Scottish in theme, as it signifies the very essence of Scotland’s national poet, Robert (Rabbie) Burns. And so it was that we chose to kick off the 2007 BritSoc social calendar with a cross between a Ceilidh and a traditional Scottish Burns night. Although ticket sales were initially slow (they can now all be booked on the website with great ease) they picked up rapidly towards the date, and ended up in the bookings being closed before the event. Nearly eighty people came along on Saturday night and enjoyed a great live band, hot food (including McSween Haggis) and a complimentary drink or two, all for the price of twenty Euros. Dancing was again led by our resident Scottish Dancing teacher, Margaret Lambourne, who filled the floor with experts and beginners alike – but everyone seemed to enjoy it. If you fancy do- ing more Scottish dancing (it is a great way to keep fit) then keep an eye out for classes in Amsterdam starting again in March or April.
Although this was no formal affair, it was great to see the gentlemen dressed in their kilts and the ladies in their lovely dancing dresses. There was even a young lad dressed in a kilt and after a reluctant start, he looked every bit an expert by the end of the evening. The band kept us entertained during the meal and gave us some really great melodies and harmonies.
Whilst the idea of the evening was to have music, dancing and fun, we still retained some of the traditional Burns evening and three speeches were given by Rob Fenwick (The Immortal Memory), William Laird (The toast to the lassies) and Delia MacMillan (the reply, aka the toast to the lads) The speeches were great – short, sharp and funny and added to the evening. Another session of dancing followed the speeches and helped the Haggis settle. Margaret then coaxed us all through some more fun dances before the band finally played us out with some great tunes. I was fortunate (and privileged) enough to be invited up onto the stage to play the last couple of numbers (Will ye go lassie go and Auld Lang Syne) with the band, which had everyone in great spirits by the time we finished.
It was lovely to see the smiling faces at the end of the Ceilidh and everybody I spoke to said they had had a great evening. Thanks therefore to everyone for coming and making the evening enjoyable, and also to those who worked so hard behind the scenes in making it such a success. It was a great way to start the year!
