From the Trustees 3

2024 will be a very special year for RSCDS Edinburgh Branch as we celebrate our own centenary - 100 years of dancing in Edinburgh.

Our Trustees are busy lining up a programme of events to celebrate the occasion, with something for everyone, no matter how long you have been dancing or whether you just like to watch and listen to the music.

Plans already include a Centenary Ball on Saturday 4 May in Greyfriars Kirk, dancing to the legendary Iain MacPhail and his Scottish dance band, along with an Afternoon Tea dance on Saturday 1 June at the Walpole Hall. Other celebrations will soon be announced and we hope to see you joining us at many of these events, in addition to our many regular events that you already enjoy. There has never been a better time to be a part of the RSCDS.

Ahead of our Centenary, we are approaching our Annual General Meeting in September and we are looking forward to many of our members joining us for some lively discussions.

Sadly, Ken Lawson passed away earlier this year (see page 9) and his wife Christine has decided to take a step back from being our Membership Secretary. If you are interested in taking on this role, or helping us in some other way, as a Trustee or a volunteer, we would love to hear from you. Our Trustees work well together as a team, we don’t spend all the time making difficult decisions - we like to have fun too!

The Agenda for our Annual General Meeting is enclosed with this magazine. Our Trustees Report, Annual Accounts and other AGM documents are available for members to access via our website.

Lastly, our children and adult classes are about to restart for the autumn and winter sessions. It would be wonderful if you could be our ambassadors and to tell your friends of your love of Scottish dancing and its music. Encourage them to come along and help us to grow our Branch as we move into a new century of Scottish dancing.

Happy Dancing!

Our Chairman and Trustees putting their teamwork skills to the test decorating our venue with bunting ahead of our Ball.

“A truly wonderful way to celebrate a once in a lifetime event!”

Dancers from around the world came together to celebrate the Coronation of Their Majesties King Charles and Queen Camilla.

Our Chairman, David Watson, proposed a Loyal Toast to HM The King before the dancing started with amazing music to dance to from James Coutts and his Scottish dance band. One of our dancers sums the evening up saying “Our annual ball is always a great evening but this was one of the friendliest, most enjoyable evenings.”

Who knew HM The King likes a complicated dance!

Alex Dyet and I were delighted to attend this year’s Royal Garden Party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on behalf of Edinburgh Branch. The invitation arrived at the beginning of June and we began to make preparations – in particular making a note of the long range weather forecast!

A week before the event, we were somewhat worried that the forecast was for thunder and lightning, but did not concern ourselves too much as we were sure that it would change as we got closer to the day. It didn’t.

On the morning of the party it was overcast but dry so we set off armed with golf umbrellas and crossed fingers. As we arrived it started raining and this continued for most of the afternoon. We all gathered under our umbrellas in the area surrounding the Royal Tea tent, watched a pipe band play and waiting for the Royal Party to appear. After a while Queen Camilla appeared on the far side of the area; but then disappeared into the Royal Tea tent with several officials. At this point we decided that the Royal walkabout was over but then spotted King Charles making his way to our side of the crowd. After a short while, he approached Alex and me and, after shaking hands, said that he hoped we weren’t too wet and asked which organisation we were there to represent. We chatted briefly about the RSCDS and the number of dances available. He said he liked the complicated ones, before moving on. The rain intensified shortly after that so we decided to leave. In spite of the rain it was an interesting and enjoyable afternoon that we will both remember for a long time.

Stephen Carr

The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (Edinburgh Branch) is a charity promoting the fun, fitness and friendship of Scottish country dancing since 1924.

Website: www.rscdsedinburgh.org

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Email: info@rscdsedinburgh.org

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