Chairman’s Letter,
RSCDS Croydon and District Branch November 2024
Summer is over, although the weather has been such that it is sometimes hard to believe it ever arrived. I hope all those who attended our summer socials have enjoyed them; the feedback I’ve received has been good.
This season we will be experimenting with a few changes of venue to see if we can attract more people to our dances. The first of these will be our beginners dance on 22nd February which will be at Northey Avenue. Several other groups regularly use this hall and we are hoping to attract some of the less experienced dancers from these groups. It is also outside the ULEZ zone. Our April dance will be at Coulsdon Methodist church hall, where the Friday classes are held. Parking should be a little easier as there is space behind the hall as well as at the front. It also has a new floor. We know these changes won’t suit everyone but we feel that given the numbers attending we need to find ways to attract more people. Please do ask if you need a lift to these new venues.
James Fairburn was our teacher for our Eastbourne weekend and we are hoping he will return next year, together with Ian and Judith Muir providing the music. This year we had a really good attendance and the hotel is under new management who are gradually improving the rooms. As ever bookings will open in the summer.
On a wider note the RSCDS has made 23rd November a “dance around the world day” and asking for pictures of events to be posted on social media and to them. That is the date of the Tartan Jigsaw charity dance that Croydon run so we are planning on taking photos (provided we don’t get too much caught up in the dancing!).
Looking slightly longer term the annual RSCDS Spring Fling will be held in Brighton and Hove over the weekend 11 to 13 April 2025 (Friday to Sunday). While the spring fling itself is open to dancers aged 35 and under, there will be Fringe events on the Saturday for those of us who don’t quite meet that age criteria. The teacher will be Mervyn Short and the musician Ian Robertson, who played for our recent band dance.
Happy dancing
Alison