New Zealand Recordshop

Dorothy Wilson looks backover her 28year experience ofrunning the New ZealandBranchRecordshop

The Branch Recordshop is a service which has been available to dancers for almost 40 years. In the early days, NZ dancers were 100% dependent on recorded music, but bringing LPs into New Zealand involved much paperwork and expense for each individual purchaser. So it evolved that the incumbent Secretary / Treasurer took over this responsibility on behalf of members until in 1974 the NZ Branch Recordshop was officially established. Miss Mary Ronnie managed the shop from 1976 to 1985 when I accepted this honorary appointment. Jim Ronnie, Bookshop manager for 32 years, and I worked well together, and when in 1994 a Gift Shop service was launched, managed by Marjorie Crawford until 2012, the three of us were a great combination. This added to the pleasure of our roles, not only throughout the year but especially during the very busy, annual Summer School period. Like Topsy, as the popularity of the dancing spread, trade through the Recordshop grew. It is predominantly a mail order business, with customers ranging from Kaitaia in the far North to Invercargill in the deep South, plus the occasional order from Australia and even from Fiji. My main ‘ personal appearance ’ is at the annual Branch Summer School held over the New Year period.While attendance at Summer School is more or less expected (I have missed only two in 28 years, when I ‘ wintered over ’ in Britain), I also make every effort to attend other, shorter Schools held around New Zealand. To keep the membership informed, I regularly issue a Recordshop Newsletter. The latest edition of this and also of the Recordshop Catalogue is posted on our NZ Branch website. Purchasing stock today is a far cry from the days of LPs, when it all came by sea, a journey of up to eight weeks. Records would often arrive buckled and had to be carefully ‘flattened’ , or with the sleeves slit along the edges probably as a result of the throb of the ship ' s engines. This hazard increased over the years as LPs became thinner! The first music cassettes made their relatively short-lived appearance in 1990. By 1995, to my relief, they had replaced LPs altogether, and the first CDs had started to appear on the market, an even bigger improvement from my point of view.They are much more able to survive the rough treatment often meted out to packages on their week-long journey by air to the Antipodes. There seems to be Recordshop business almost every day of the year and, because most come by email, communications come in round the clock. When New Zealanders are at the close of their day, our colleagues in the Northern Hemisphere, especially Britain, are just starting theirs. I have found this twelve-hour ‘head start’ to be very useful and advantageous at times, especially when placing an urgent order! The best bonus for me, however, as Recordshop Keeper is the contact with so many members of our world-wide SCD family, and the opportunity to share the wonderful recorded music that is available. The subject of correspondence is by no means restricted to the ordering of an item; it can often extend beyond the music and the bands, to the dances themselves. Because I am myself a fully certificated teacher, programmes are discussed, ideas exchanged. I enjoy getting to know my correspondents, and it is a real delight, when the opportunity presents, to meet them personally. Although some I may never meet, good friendships are often established. Looking ahead, as technology continues to advance – and already we have the facility to download music – it will be interesting to see what impact this will have on the Recordshop service. Perhaps that will be the time for me, and maybe the Recordshop, to quietly and gracefully retire.

varied performers who will sign in blood that they will keep within their allotted six minutes. Of course it’ s also handy to have an MC. I suppose the evening could run itself, as happened traditionally, but it’ s safer to have a list and someone to organise the evening. I try to balance out the turns, mixing music with sketches or dance items. Providing variety is the key, with turns briskly offered and carefully timed, and if the MC can introduce a humorous story or two related to the sketches, so much the better. Everyone likes to laugh. I am sure that the MCs over the years will all have a wonderful repertoire of anecdotes – Captain David Huxley with his rolled umbrella, Bill Ireland, Jim Rae, John Wilkinson, Dave Hall – I shouldn ’t think there is anything they haven ’t experienced, nor laughed or cried about afterwards. The performer ’ s tape recorder or CD player that wouldn ’t work on the night; the act that failed to turn up; even worse, the act that wouldn ’t stop. It’ s a skill that I struggle with to tactfully and kindly haul someone off the floor with my (metaphorical) shepherd’ s crook without damaging their neck too much! Fortunately it doesn ’t happen often. Miss Milligan had the right idea, as Norah Dunn recalls. If she thought the evening had gone on long enough, she would stand up, raise her arms in the air, and call out ‘Enough for the night’ , then march out of the room, courtiers and all. Ah, those were the days! Then the mad scramble to put the chairs away – that hasn ’t changed, but the frantic rush afterwards to join the queue for a cup of tea maybe has. What’ s that, I hear you say? ‘TEA! Hah! I can think of better drinks to put my lemon in!’ I must confess, when it is all over, the chance to chill out with a glass, or two, of something cheery in good company is not to be sneezed at. This article has been intended to inform and encourage the would-be ceilidh talent planning to attend Summer School. Prepare well and bring all necessary props!

Thanks to Stephen Webb for assisting and encouraging the author, and to Norah Dunn for sharing her memories of the Summer Schoolceilidhs.