Editorial

Thank you Jimmie! Sadly Jimmie Hill has stepped down as editor of Scottish Country Dancer after successfully piloting the magazine through its first four issues. We are all grateful to him. Looking back it’s amazing that for so many years we thought we could manage without a publication such as this. In a very short time Scottish Country Dancer has become part of the RSCDS landscape.

No one could replace Jimmie and no one has. A whole team is now in place to continue his good work. The new editor has seven years’ experience with The Reel, there is a new face and some familiar names on the Editorial Board, we have engaged the professional design services of Dougie Gibson and the Chairman, Chairman Elect, Secretary and Convenors will act collectively as publisher overseeing everything. The new team will continue to rely on the expertise of our Headquarters staff, but above all it will be you, the members, who determine the content of the magazine. Without your contribution Scottish Country Dancer will be nothing. Please let the editorial team know what you think, and send us your ideas, comments and news. We will certainly read and be influenced by everything you submit, even if we cannot print it all.

We are determined to publish the magazine at designated times of the year. This issue should reach you in October, in time for the Society’s AGM. There will be another issue in April. To achieve these regular publication dates we shall set deadlines for contributions, so material for the next issue should be with the editor by 1 February. That’s a long lead-in time, but we hope to reduce that with experience. However a twice yearly magazine with a worldwide distribution is not the place for hot off the press news; check the website for that.

Our publication schedule means that we cannot report on Dance Scottish Week in September, which we are sure has been a great success. Do let us know what your branch or club did during the week, and in the next issue we will share everyone’s ideas so we can make the next Dance Scottish Week even better. Turning to this issue we mark the retirement of Lord Mansfield as Honorary President of the Society, we look again at the life and times of Francis Peacock and, with an eye to the future, we celebrate the continuing success of Spring Fling, our annual event for young dancers, and the first performances of the new, youthful RSCDS demonstration team.

Happy dancing!